Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-05-15

I or many OU10E LIOl1oS 1VouS CAAOo6 ho""
 the country.
 l Yesterday afternoon the men waited
 upon Manager Sewell and asked him II
 he had considered their demands. Man
 ager Sewell replied in effect that he
 had and the company would refuse to
 grant them. Further conversation fol
 lowed and the men came away. l The committee submitted the report l of their interview with Manager Sew
 ell and the members received it as q report of progress. It was plain to be
 seen that a unanimity of opinion pre- ] vailed and it was easy to guess what
 would happen when 1t came time to l vote.
 1 Backed By Amalgannation.
 In their movement the men will have the united support of the Amalgamat- l ed Association of Street Railway En- | ployes, which has membership of I 100000 men and has one of the biggest
 funds of any labor body in existence. In addition to this the men will re-
 ceive the cordial support of every un- ion man in this city, and as practically
 every trade is now represented in un- 1 ionism it means that the men will be supported by healthy sentiment. The men will go on record in the
 strongest manner possible against vio-
 fence of all kinds. They believe their
 cause is just one and are certain that when the people understand just what
 they seek they will have the support of the public.
 Further than this the employees as- sert that the safety of the public de-
 mands that only tried and experienced
 men shah be employed and as the po- sftions of motorman and conductor call for men of sober and polite de- 1 meanor the feeling is that $2.25 for a
 day of ten hours is none too much.
 In asking that their union be recog- nized the men say such recognition can not fall but to prove of mutual advantage to company and employees.
 It means that the corporation will know just who they are dealing with and in event of any dispute arising
 matters can be amicably adjusted be- tween committee from the union and
 similar representation from the of | ficials.
 That the employees of the local divis- I ions have been courteous and fair to their employers is evidenced by the fact that when the trouble in Water bury was at it's height the local en- pIoyes were importuned to strike and refused.
 They sent committee to MT Sewell about that time and were assured that 1 later they would be received and that l no doubt their desires would be grant 1 ed without resort to strike. The company have known for some time that the men were dissatisfied with existing conditions. The men | have made it known by direct inter course with the officials. In making up their schedule of wants they took | into consideration the conditions in other places and compared them with l the conditions locally.
 | They did not ask for all many of the | men thought they were fairly entitled l to. Instead their demands were con- siderably modified.
 l They feel they are as well capable { of judging their needs as the company | is to judge its necessities. Most of the
 employees are married men and have
 resided here for years, some all of I their lives.
 l The demand for a change from the 1 conditions under which they have la
 bored in the past has been in their
 minds for many months and their only
 hope was that it could be brought
 about amicably without the necessity | of a strike.
 All along the sentiment of the men
 almost to a man has been that it would 1 be better to wait and hope than strike. 1 This they have done. But the feel ing has been growing of late that it
 was not the intention of the company
 to come to a satisfactory agreement
 with the men, and as if by common l impulse on the part of the operatives l came the determination that if 1t was l necessary to stop work in order to se- 1 cure the condition they honestly be- l Iieved they were entitled to, the senti-
 ment would be to stop.
 Shelton, May 15.-The people of l Shelton, Derby and Ansonia who work l in Bridgeport were to-day subjected to l great inconvenience on account of the | strike. The cars in Ansonia and l Derby are running as the men in those | places are not organized. They claim
 tSey have no grievance. The Shelton
 b:anch is completely tied up.
 At New Haven.
 New Haven, May 15.-No cars are
 running between this city and Bridge | mort to-6au 1aaO,,Ia, o,,,o