Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-05
STRIKE THROUGH SYMPATHY.
Work on Senator'S Bath Room at Capt..
tol ut a Standstill.


Three marble settlers and an equal mum
| Der of their assistants struck on their wori
at the Capitol today in sympathy with the
marble cutters who are locked out in the
principal cities of the country by the asso
members IS now completing contract In
finishing the Senate toilet room with Its
marble settings
The action Of the marbleosetters who lef,
their work at the Capitol today Is the re-
suit of very complicated situation. I'm
less the strike is soon settled by the con-
tractors and their men the senators. when
they assemble in November at the meeting
OF the extra session, will have to make use
OF barber shop and bath room finished
with wooden partitions instead of with the
beautiful marble which a long time ago was
delivered In this city, ready to be put in
place
The situation at the Capitol is such that
there is nothing that the superintendent,
can do, In the view of some labor leaders
here, that could bring the difficulty to a
close. 1t is declared that if he should I'M
dertake to abrogate the contract with the
contractor putting the marble work up in
the bath room and to hire labor for that
purpose, union men could not be secured
as their objection would continue against
the contractor now doing work in the toile,
room. -
The latter contractor is now carrying out
his agreement, so that there is no reason
that could be urged under the law the
terms of the contract for taking the work
out of his hands, and any attempt to do
SO would probably be followed by very
serious difficulty
The result Is that it now looks as If the
completion of the work on the Capitol
cannot possibly be accomplished before con-
gress assemblies Except for this uneX-
pected complication. everything would have
mo- hn tty,rr Of hn
senators long before November o.
Members of other trades are at work on
the building but there has been no sugges-
ton that any other sympathetic strike will
be attempted there.
The story of the complications which have
led up to the present difficulties is a long
one. 1t commenced when the association
of manufacturers. with members in the
the cutters employed by them violated their
contract, whereupon the manufacturers
ordered shutout in all their shops where
marble was being cut. Before that all the
marble needed for the improvements being
made the Capitol had been cut and de-
livered in this city.
Upon the inauguration of this shutout the
marble settlers in the principal cities In
which the manufacturers association had
| members struck in sympathy with the cut
tiers on all work being done by members of
the association. That was ten days ago,
at which time the Hilgartner Marble Com
o
tract to provide beautiful marble fittings
for the Senate toilet room.
The company met the difficulty promptly
by sending settlers here from Baltimore
who went to work outside the union. The
Hilgartner company and all the men en-
ployed by it were pronounced unfair by
the unions. but the work went steadily on
So long as the Hilgartner company con-
tinued with its work there was no possible
means for any one to interfere with them
under the law. Today the marble settlers
employed by j. F. Manning of this city
in fitting up the senator's bath room and
barber shop reported for work. and Their
struck in sympathy on account of non
union men working at their trade in the
same building. J. F. Manning was not g
member of the association which had shut
out the cutters at work in its shops, anG
was in no way involved in any difficulty
with the union.
Labor leaders today expressed the opin.
Ion that the strike at the Capitol was one
that should be arranged if any way could
be found to do The fact that there is
a great necessity for the completion of this
work before Congress meets was recognized
by them as giving 1t a peculiar bearing.