Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1904-07-15
The Local Labor Trouble.

There was quite large attendance
at the Chamber of Commerce meeting
/ Tuesday night, drawn doubtless from
curiosity or interest in the matter
which it was thought would be pre-.
sented by petition to that body for
consideration which is now engaging
so much attention, the employment
of japanese labor by the MUMMY shin
gle mill.
1t is doubtless very generally known
that for several months past there has
been conflict between the local shin
gle mill operators and their shingle
weavers, and SO far has the contest
been waged that the men had declared
a strike, involving an effort to close
the mills until such time as their de-
mands should be complied with.
These was fixed rate, considerably
larger than the mill owners felt able
to pay, and reorganization of the I'm.
ion and its rules. After the mills had
remained idle for some time, and
their supply of timber in the booms
had been gathering barnacles and was
becoming impregnated with a saline
deposit which impaired the durability
OF their product when in use, many
propositions were made to the weavers,
to resume work, all OF which were
rejected, and it is claimed by the mill
men that it was only as last resort
that they resolved to resume business
with such help as they could secure.
The labor OF unskilled employees was
necessarily defective, and their time
uncertain, for it is said the utmost eff
forts of the union was directed TO-.
wards encouragement and disaffection
of such as could be induced to work.
Mr.. Richardson was the first to
make the effort to get his supply Of
bolts out of the water. but he &C.
knowledged, at the meeting, that he
had been hamnered and harrassed by
incompetent help and the obstacles
thrown into his way by organized
labor, and it was probably this expert.
ence that led Mr.. MUMMY to employ
the Jsps, who had elsewhere proved
tractable and rendered good service,
by following closely the instructions
of their teachers and bosses. He
started up this week with a score or
more OF these little brown men at the
machines, under police protection, and
it was this which led to the circulation
OF protest very generally signed by
our business men against the employ
ment of Asiatic labor in any capacity
which would bring them in COMPETE
ton with white men.
Tuesday night being the regular
date for the Chamber of Commerce
meeting, it was announced that the
matter would be presented for consid-
Grafton and action by that body.
When it convened. however, the at
tendance OF the membership was quite
small, but the courtroom was filled
by quite number of spectators,
largely composed, it is said, of the
shingle weavers and their friends, but
after the order of New Business"
had been called, it was probably an
hour before the petition Cor protesD
could be secured, and then it seemed
that nobody had been selected to pre-
sent the matter in proper shape, and
the patience of the assembly was we'll
nigh exhausted before the protest was
brought in and read, and Mr.. Ram.
berg made motion for appointment
OF committee to confer with the
mill owners and workmen for a posi-
BILE adjustment of the difficulty.
1t WAS when the question was pend
ing that Mr.. Richardson arose and
made plain statement of the details
which had led to the present stage OF
the difficulty, and stated emphatically
with reasons why it was now too late
for arbitration. He stated briefly the
reasons why the mill men had to
adopt some decisive method out of
the difficulty. and how they had been
meteor rather the proffers had been
ignored-by the weavers; and as his
statements were not contradicted by
the many laborers present, they are
presumably true.
He said the millmen had proposed
a sliding scale of prices, to 60 up or
down with the prevailing prices OF
shingles. which was controlled exclu-
sively by the Eastern market, based
upon quality; the union to select a
bookkeeper to keep account of the
fluctuations and arrange prices to be
paid by him, on such allowances as
the market warranted. No reply was
received to the proposition. The West
side mill, in order to save their bolts,
proposed that the weavers saw and
market them, and accept the whole OF
the proceeds for their labor, but the
offer was not accepted.
| Mr.. Richardson said that owing to
interference of competent men with
local business, the British Columbia
single had a much better reputation
in the East, sold more readily and for
a better price than the American prod
uct. 1t was true they were made, to
some extent, by Japs. but they were
the product of a tractable people who
obeyed orders and did not shirk their
work or restrain others from the at.