The Breckenridge news., 1906-09-12
STRIKE AT
| CANNING
FACTORY
Thirty Odd Girls Walk
Out Monday Morn.
ing.
and Fireman Also Re-
fuse to WOrk...Plant Running
+, in Crippled Condition.
GENERAL MANAGER POLK HERE.

A strike was inaugurated at the
lcloverport Canning Factory Monday
Emorning when the thirty odd young
women who are employed there refused
ito go to work. The engineer and fire.
man rendered their sympathies to the
strikers and also walked out.
The factory has on hand nearly a
Thousand bushels of tomatoes, and the
strikers left them in bad predicsment.
However, the plant resumed operation
yesterday morning in a crippled con-
dition and the managers are making the
best of the situation by employing all
the available help that can be found.
General Manager Polk, of Greenwood,
Ind, arrived Monday night, in com.
pany with fireman and engineer and
assisted local manager Fred Whiteneck
in resuming operation. This is being
done under great difficulties, as yester-
day there were hardly a half dozen
employees in the canning department.
Three of the present force have been
with the company for some time and
refused to accompany their fellow work.
ers out on the strike
Several different versions of the cause
of the strike are given, but some of
the girls employed stated yesterday that
when they reported for work Monday
m8rning they were confronted by the
manager with the announcement that
negro laborers would also be employed
IN the canning department The young
women did not approve of this innova-
ton and so expressed themselves. and,
IT. is said, were told by the manager that
they were.at liberty to choose between
working with negroes or not at all.
They chose the latter aud Immediately
walkedsout.
Manager Whiteneck's version of the
trouble is that about thousand bushels
oftomatoes came to the factory Friday
and it was imperative that they should
be canned Immediately, He so told the
employees and asked them to work
Saturday. This they promised to do, but
it is said that at work time Saturday
morning they did not show up. Sun
Brothers show was IN town on Saturday
and the employees, it is presumed, de-
cided there was more pleasure to be
gotten out of circus than at work can
ming tomatoes, and hence their decision
1t is said that the failnre of the en-
ployes to work Saturday occasioned some
loss to the company and Manager White
neck. in trying to save the perishable
vegetables, went in search of negro labor
ers.
The girls now say they will not re-
sEme work unless they are given an in
cfease in their salary. Heretofore they
have been getting three and one-th:rd
cents box. They now demand FIVE
Manager Whiteneck says the scale of
wages will not be changed, and as the
matter now stands it seems it will not
be early adjusted.
n a lCAhN AhNOAAAA6 Vi hhC NAAlIOho VI
the town and the managers of the plant
yesterday afternoon it was shown that
sufficient white labor could not be EN-
ployed to operate the factory to its full
est capacity, but the company agreed
to erect a partition, thereby enabling
the white girls to work in a separate
room from the colored employees. AT
this offer the citizens Of the town agreed
to call meeting of the former en-
ployes at the factory to-day to confer
with them and see if the trouble can not
be adjusted along the lines proposed by
the company.
The canning factory is of considera.
bic benefit to the town and surrounding
country, but unless sufficient labor can
be obtained to keep it in operation dur
ing the season, Cloverport can not hope
to keep the enterprise.