Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-03-25
Say Company Was Beginning to
 Cypress Men.
SYSTEM BEGUN LAST YEAR

Shortly After the Labor Day Parade,
 So Says the Daily Moth
 ing New or Startling To-day Strike
 Seems to Be Settling Down to .
 Test of Endurance.
 The strike Is dragging along with out any material change or likelihood of settlement in sight. The best of good order is noticeable everywhere, and if trimmers and linemen were not piloted about by body guards, nobody would know that anything unusual was going on in, Waterbury. Some of the strike breakers are bringing their families here and expect to be able to accommodate their fellow workmen with boarding houses, so that the out look for a settlement is not at all en- couraging, and the present indications point to a difference that will last all through the summer and the Lord only knows how much longer. The repre- sentatives of the company appear to be satisfied with the number of pa- irons on the cars and feel that in a short time most people will forget all about the trouble and ride as usual.
 The strikers are as confident as ever, and. in fact, have gone toswork with a grim determination to equip the city with automobiles for the summer pa tronage. This statement has been made so often with no signs of fulfill ment that many are beginning to de spair of seeing the plan carried out. but the men claim that they are bound Co vie with the company for share e3 public patronage, and say that they have reason to believe that they will not be disappointed
 One thing has been assured which ought to go a good way towards easing the minds of people who feared a gem eral strike in Waterbury, Labor lead- CTS and others in a position to know state positively that such a thing never was thought of, and inasfnuch as the rumor did not emanate from labor cir cles, 1t is generally believed that it was noised around with a view to turning public sentiment against the strikers. Nothing is heard about boycotting. ex- cept now and then the announcement Is made that some one whose name has appeared on the cards distributed has had such a rush of business since that time that he has been obliged to em. p1oy additional clerks. If this be true there is nothing to fear from this source of annoyance. which but few aEproved of and nobody cared to father. One merchant told a Demo crat reporter that he didn't care about the boycott from business point of view, but that he hated the idea of anybody thinking that he was opposed to the working people, adding that he was aware that their lot was hard enough and that he didn't want to be looked upon as one who did not desire to see them receive good returns for their labor and enjoy a share of the prosperity that had attended himself and others who had risen from the ranks of labor and made little money in business. He said that he works harder himself than any man in his employ and that there were times when he often wished that he could go home to his family at night with as little trouble i'll his mind as the men ill his employ do. He thought a man with a good days pay and decent employer can go through life if he wants to with much more peace of mind than his em- plOyer, who is ever on the alert in order to keep up with the procession in this age of brisk competition fn all lines of business. He said he knew lots of workingmen in Waterbury who are safer than their bosses, because if they lose their jobs they may "strike" something just as good and probably better in a day or two, while If a merchant goes under he rarely gets on his feet again. He believed employers of labor as a rule meant to- be fair with their help, but was of the opinion that indiscreet foremen often cause friction that could be avoided, but as the man or men owning the business don't have the time to inquire into every little complaint, they are obliged to take the word of the bosses. and in this way sometimes the innocent suffer But he saw no remedy for this. It was always so and he couldn't see how anybody could remove the evil
 The strikers executive committee is sued their seventy-fourth daily state ment this afternoon, as follows:
 .sWe want at this time to refresh the memory of the public concerning the causes which led up to this lengthy strike, as there seems to be contradic tory rumors and stor.es afioat concern Ing them.
 'sLast Labor day we appeared ill public for the first time wearing the buttons of our union. Although or ganized over year prior to that time, that was the first outward sign we had given that we were organized. All most immediately we noticed a change on the part of the trolley officials. The friendly spirit formerly shown the men disappeared. Orders that formerly had been given us in a courteous manner began to be given out to the accom- paniment of barks, whistles and some times curses
 s'At our meetings the men took oeca- sion to call attention to and discuss these changes as thoroughly as the de mands which we had in mind to pre- sent to the company this spring. At tention was called to the thrusting of trivial matters into our path for the evident purpose of testing our endur- ance and finding out If We were look ing for fight.
 "Among the things which caused dis