The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-06-23
CIGAR MANUFACTURERS
PRESENT THEIR SIDE OF THE
 CASE TO THE PUBLIC.

Say the Strikers Misapprehend the True
 State of the Case-Are Influenced
 by Irresponsible AgitatOrs-Extrava-
 Eant Stories Both False and Mislead-
 Ing.
 The Cigar Manufacturers association desires, through your valuable columns, to correct some of the erroneous state ments made by so-called labor agita- tors regarding the present situation or the cigar industry and the tobacco strippers' strike. We have not up 10 this time thought it proper to annoy the public with our difficulties, as the general public are not so much inter- ested in tobacco or cigars as they would be in coal or ice or other necessities ol life. But, we see daily mention made dn the papers that different labor org annizations are taking an interest ana financially supporting this un-calleo TOT labor trouble In the cigar industry, ana it has reached a state when silence on our part ceases to be virtue ana the true facts should be known.
 The cigar making industry has been conducted for years without any To- bacco Shippers union and the girls be- gan work in our factories when the lett school and were of the necessary age flo work, and genrally (with very rare exceptions) remained with us until some gallant youth led them to the al- tar. The conditions, treatment and wages were always satisfactory These pleasant relations have taken a sudden change, for in the past six months cer- tain agitators have approached our to- bacco shippers with some of the most extravagant and untruthful stories ot how they were abused and underpald inducing some of them (particularly the youngest) to join the union and those who were not willing to join this union were practically forced to be- come members. A few weeks ago a committee of strippers waited upon the manufacturers with a demand fol wages so unreasonable that the manu- facturers saw the industry seriously threatened, and although the manufac- turers of this city had up to this time no association, they saw the danger of the cigar industry, so meeting was called and the situation thoroughly dis eussed. The manufacturers decided tC send a representative to the different localities where it was claimed strip. per unions existed to find tut if we, the New Haven manufacturers, had ir reality underpaid our help. We learned that although we had had no shippers union in New Haven, the manufacture CTS here had practically paid as higl Gin some instances higher) wages thar the manufacturers in stripper unior shops of our sister cities, Hartford and Springfield. The highest price paid in Hartford is $8 per week and in Spring field $7 per week for wrappers and bookers. The printed price list of the Springfield Shippers union can be seen and examined by any one interested, at the office of F. D. Grave, 210 State street, This fact proves beyond ques- tion that the manufacturers of New Haven have been paying (without the existence of any union) the union wage scale of our sister cities, to which the strippers working in our larger factor. les can testify.
 These so-called lovers of the laborine people have told the girls that from s! to SIP was paid for wrapper stripping in the above named cities, and that the New Haven manufacturers were extor' tionate by underpaying the poor tobac. co shippers. There may be few fay ored tobacco shippers somewhere 1T New England who receive this amount but they fail to have it in print on theil price lists. These false and misleading statements have been made so persist entity that even some of the girls havt appeared before othr labor organiza tions and declared the above to be true If the different labor organization! really knew the favorable conditions oI the workers in the cigar industry, they would soon reach the conclusion tha "charity begins at home" The cigal manufacturers decided, in order tC avoid all difficulties, to recognize this new born Shippers union, and modified their extravagant demands by offerinG them a price list equal to the best ir Hartford and a grading scale for those of experience and ability, higher thar any price list of our sister. cities, yet their advisers saw fit to induce tht union to unanimously" reject tht same What can be the object of thu tobacco shippers agitators? Do they wish to destroy the cigar industry 1T New Haven? Hartford and Springfield are competing in our limited marke and if the New Haven manufacturers must pay for stripping tobacco iron one to two dollars more than the above named cities, for each one thousand cigars, how can we compete? We know that the organizers and instigators o this Tobacco Shippers union are ex treme socialists, but the New Havei cigar manufacturers cannot see hoy 1t can be of any benefit to the causes O. socialism to unjustly burden the ciga industry of New Haven to the advant age of other localities. The cigar man ufaoturers of New Haven, meaning those who employ shippers, know tha the price list offered to our local strip pers is just and fair, and are a unit. il continuing this struggle against thi unreasonable demand. in the hope tha in the near future the members of tn Shippers union will learn that the, have been grossly deceived by their ad