The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-11-24

figures submitted by the unions COM
,nlttce have absolutely no weight.
the ,eisht-hour committee. insthe opinion
OF the employers. is to call the attention
Of the public to the fact that the con-
tracts for the State printing have been
Public Printer, Of % per cent; as stated
by the union committed, Of from IS to
more than 200 per cent. higher than the
same work was done. for last year" This
Is susceptible of such easy and satlsfac-
tory explanation that we are surprised
that even this committee should have
sought to bring i to the public attention.
ployes in the various book and job of,ces,
members OF the Typographical Union, left
their situations. Very. shortly after the
s,nperin tendent Of Public Printing adyer-
Realizing that there was no law which
would compel man to work who was
not willing to work, and not knowing
VIII success they would have in sseur.
was requested by the employing printers
Of the city to postpone the letting OF tho
work until their offices could be re-or-
ganzed; this he did because he did not
OF the request Of the employers. He adj
vcrtlsed gScond time. Our OFFICES still
being In g disorganzed condition, we
again declined TO bid except for two
tanned the urgent everyday work Of the
State. We had by that time begun to
getour office Into some sort of order,
and shortly afterwards q committee called
upon the Public Printer and told him
that II he advertised the usual term Of
two weeks they would promise to bid
on the work PROPOSALS were, therefore,
received onthe 26th of October. At that
two-thirds of their usual force of men
at work. The prices which we're sub
mtted for the consideration of the Pub
lie Printer were considered by him as
not low enough to justify him I'm awarding
the work without making further et-
fort to secure bids nearer in line with
what had been the general price paid
BY the State for the work during the
last few. years He. therefore. declined
making the fourth time. The Public
Printer wrote letters to every printing
house In the State with facilities large
enough to properly handle the work of
the COMMONWEALTH, and when he ro-
ceived proposals again, found that the
bids OF the employing printers OF this city
members of the Typothetae, were the
lowest that he received. although he did
outside of this city, and from the only
establishment in this city which has sign
ed up with the Union, and which Is the
only one 50 signing with 1.-THE, the slightest
small portion Of the public work. AT
this time the Public Printer sent for a
representative member OF the Typothetne.
and who was one Of the bidders for the
the poSluOn Of the employing printers
was frankly stated to the Public Printer
without the slightest hesitation or reser-
vation
by the Public Printer. that the work IN
preceding years had been done far too
low: that the bitterness Of rival competl-
tors had governed the prices rather than
f,><1.a fNrN n u Z q
worth and that under the existing order
Of things there was not an employing
printer in this city that cared to under
take the responsibility necessitated IN the
assumption Of a contract to do the States
work, the essential feature of which tls
lpromptness OF execution and for which
large bonds are required by, the State
The Public Printer was told that IN place
on the nth OF September the employers
had at work seventy new men Of greater
or less efficiency; that they had al the
work that these seventy men could pos
business Of any character; that there was
no law to compel the union men to go TO
work, and that the employers did not
know where to increase their force eX-
week TO be- picked up from places UNI
known and possibly at that time UNI
thought Of; that the entire state WORK,
under these conditions, would nave 70 pc
question OIL OVERTIME NIiahI $1,000
ars were willing, considering the import
ance of this work, to the stare. ana 20
the reputation of this city, TO unuerta 4.
to do this work. Notwithstanding the IN.
convenience that 1t placed upon them and
It's undesira bility at this
particular juncture and that they had
therefore, at great sacrifice to themselves,
consented to undertake 1t, but were not
willing to do 1t under the conditions then
existing. except at prices which would
reimburse them for the Inconvenience and
trouble which Its execution necessltated
and leave them a modicum Of profit.
1t is useless to say to an Intelligent pub
lie that the prices agreed to be paid BY
the Public Printer for TINS work are eXor-
bltant or that the employers, nave SOAK "a s
ed the State .or that the Typot hetae J, Is s
gouging, when the Public Printer has
made four different and distinct adver-
tisements for proposals to do this work.
Those who are responsible for this extra
one else. The Typothetae members have
the n,a,arIei and the plant, neither OF
which are sufficient to do the work with
out the laborers.
These they have USED the l pest Efforts s,r
cess that they see where It is possible for
the State to hold the session OF the Gem
eral Assembly and have the necessary
n 70 he patriotic members OF the Richmond
Typographcal Union No. 80, would never
be touched except touched as the want
If to be touched in closed shop and at
prices and under conditions Of their own
dictation.
to Ipartake of the fable OF the wolf and
the lamb at the crossing OF the stream.
in which the wolf accuses the lamb Of
muddying the water from which he drank,
nlthough he was up the stream and the
lamb drinking below him. The union
strike upon them because they refused to
grant a simple petition for an eight-hou
dny, and a closed shop. and the right
of the union to dictate, In large and
pursued by the employers in the conduct
Of their business. and SO. now, when the.
union has made 1t impractcable for the
Commonwealth at anything like its usual
cost. they rush into the newspapers and
cry aloud to an indignant public to visit
lis righteous wrath upon those employers
who are willing to do everything they can
10 advance the states interests and who,
If there had been no disturbance of5exist-
conditions, would have been pleased to
have done the States work at the modera-
tion IN price which has always Character
izcd the prices charged by the Richmond
.nnnlovInr printers to their customers and