The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-16
TAILORSATPEACE WITHLABOR
THEY HAVE ELIMINATED THE
Walking DELEGATE.
Their WOrknien Propoaeti 10 Abolish over
time and Run the Business, SO the
Employers Formed an Association
which keeps Things Going smoothly.

The administrative council Of the Mer-
chant Tailors' Protective Association OF
America held it's semi-annuai conference
yesterday in the rooms OF the Merchant
Tailors' Society Of New York. 2A Fifth
avenue, and in the evening was entertained
at a dinner at the Arena, given by the
merchant tailors Of New York.
The association was organized in Gin
cinnati last February. 1t owes its existence
to the perennial prosecutions by the walkin
delegates. 1t began with a membership
OF 17s, and now has names OF more than 7Oo
high-class talors on it's rolls, representing
towns all over the country, from Portland
Me-. to Portland, Ore. More individuals
and firms are joining it every day.
About so per cent Of the shops repre-
| sented in the association, said Edwin
N Doll yesterday. were under control
of tbs unions prior to the organization
effected last February. Now none OF them
Is q union shop. The first rule OF the as
ISOLATION reads, No member Of this as
ISOLATION shall treat. arbitrate or in any
way negotiate with any union, trade or
ganization or representative OF the same
other than that Of his employees. That,
you sec, bars the walking delegate. Our
shops are all open shops. We employ
union men or non. union men, just as we
see Al.
THE trouble with the journeymen tailors
began sonle two years or more ago. They
demanded shop back ROOM or. In other
words, that every merchant tailor should
have workroom connected with his es-
Enlistment, where all his work must be
done. This demand was made in Chicago
some two years ago. and the employers
agreed that il the journeymsn voted in
favor Of ii they would yield the point. There
are a good many journeymen tailors who
do not want the shop back room. That
simply means putting a restriction on the
productive capacity of individuals. All
the work then must be done within certain
hours.
Tailoring is done by piece work Quick
and skilful men do not want to be hamp-
cred by any such regulations a. fix the num-
ber OF hours to be devoted to the making
Of each garment. They want to take their
work home with them, get it done as
quickly as possible and earn the money to
which their superior speed and skill en-
title them.
80 1t was believed that the journey
men would not vote for the back room
arrangement. But they did vote for i,
and II they had stopped there they would
have got IT,. But they did not. They
coupled with it the demand that the fore.
man OF the workroom should be chosen
by them, that he and not the employer
should assign to each man his work, and,
furthermore, that there should be no over
time work
Now every merchant tailor has GUS
toners on whose garments certain jour
Il. i
those customers whims and notions re-
garding their clothing. To give the work
OF such customers to new man would
mean giving that new man an education
each time. and then probably complaints
from the customers. and garments sent
emergency work, Of which every tailor
has a great deal, could not be done. The
man who for some unforeseen emergency
required clothing rushed through couldn't
get H. His tailor would be unable to help
him out, no matter how anxious he might
be to do so.
so when the journeymen tackled these
other demands onto their back-room
proposition the employing tailors simply
refused the whole. Then came the strike
in Chicago last winter and still another
strike in Buffalo. which lasted four teen
weeks In the mean time the Merchant
Tailors' Protective Association was formed.
I'VE now have a fixed method of pro-
cedure. When a member Of the associa-
ton is in trouble the representative for
that district calls on him and hears bot h his
and the employees side Of the story. II
he decides against the boss tailor the boss
tailor must give in. II he does not. he
ceases to be a member Of the association.
II the finding is against the employees
they may give in or quit work AZ they
see At. n they quit work the association
takes care Of the shop by getting It's work
done elsewhere
During the strikes in Buffalo and Chicago
work from both Of those cities, lots Ct it
was done in New York. The garments
were cut in Buffalo and Chicago, sent here
by express, made up and sent back by ex-
press as quickly az possible,
There have been many cases where
the association has found against the en-
ployine tailors. In all inst anoes the ma
chnery has worked perfectly We believe
we have reached q basis OF settlement
OF troubles which is advantageous to the
employee as we'll "a to the employer.
First Of all. the walking delegate Is elim-