Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-02
FOR EIGHT HOUR DAY
Contest Between Printers and
Their Employers.
THE EFFECT IN BIG CITIES
New York Regarded as the Storm
Center
TYP0THETAE MAKES PROVISION
Instruction to the Unskilled in Use of
Machines-Large Amount of
Capital Involved.
TYP0THETAE MAKES PROVISION

In New York and other large cities all
the magazine and book publishers We're af-
fected by the big strike of the printers.
The Typothetae has taken up the gauntlet
laid down by the unions and says it will
not accede to the demand for an eight hour
day. Among other preparations for the
mammoth contest the employers have Sc
cured non-union printers from the whole
country and have taught typewriters to
operate the linotype machines.
The strike. which began in New York
yesterday, is expected to be one of the
mightiest conflicts of its kinds in the his
tory of capital and labor. In substance,
the situation is that the International Typo
graphical Union declared It's intention of
calling out all its members employed in
every shop that will not grant them the
eight-hour day. and the United Typothetae
of America, with equal firmness, made plain
the intention of resisting the demands of
the employees. Those in position to know
say that compromise seems to be i'm
possible, and that both sides are prepared
for struggle tc the bitter ehd
The Employers Ultimatum.
While the men in New York ask merely
for an eight-hour instead of a nne-hour
day. the employers reply that 1t is time
there was complete change in the rela-
tons of the two parties. The ultimatum
Is that the closed shop must CO. the en-
ploying printers must be left free to man
age their own shops on their own lines
and, since industrial war Is declared upon
them, they will not consent to peace until
g radical change has come over the whole
situation and they are allowed to conduct
their business without interference on the
Ia hG
union men or not
The suggestion has been made that one
important condition be remembered in
reckoning up the chances of victory The
Internal ional Typogra phical Union includes
printers of every Kind in the United States
Canada and Mexico and the insuIar pos
sessions of this country. The membership
comprises both newspaper printers and the
compcsitors in the book, magazine and
ordinary job offices, but only the latter are
out on strike. The newspaper printers had
the efght-hour day while their brethren Of
the book, magazine and job Offices as a
rule, had the nine-hour day. The result is
that while very large number of men
have quit. large proportion continue at
work, and their contributions, regula ted by
the laws of the union must be regarded as
most important consideration in esti-
mating the power of the strikers to resist
the demands of the employers
Scope of the Strike.
As an evidence of the scope of the strike,
the statement is made that in the book and
job trade of the United States the sum of
81, 500, 100000 is invested that the circula-
ton OF 50O,o0,OO0 copies of magazines and
100000 railway guides may be hindered:
that there are in the United States ana
Canada 1900 hotels that print their own
daily bills of fare or get them set I'D In the
union shops. of which 226 are in New York
city: that in the international Typograph-
ical Union are 1900 men, who earn yearly
ST. 100000, and that the Wage-earners who
Will indirectly be affected by the strike num-
Der 10000 and that they earn on the av-
eEage $S5,GO0,000 a year. Therefore il is
added, quite aside from the Inconvenience
to the public, it will cause a matter of
first class economic Importance that will
make itself felt even in such a time of pros
perlty as that the country is now enjoying
Scab labor has come to the fore to take
the place of the strikers for the Typothetaa
has not allowed matters to go the length
they have without taking steps to safe
guard their interests. One OF the most in
teresting aspects Of the contest 1t is
claimed, is going to be its effect on the
standing of the linotype operator in the fu-
ture. In the old days the compositor was
hlghly-skilled artisan. To set type in the
stick required deft hand, quick eye and
a good judgment to make q neat lob
With the machines the actual letters
are picked out by playing on a key
board like that Of a typewriter and
q Gnachlne tnat Is almost uncanny In its
sagacity does nearly all the rest Yet for
all that the linotype operator has troubles
of his own. 1t is, nevertheless a great
question how long it requires to make a
skilled linotype operator The Typothetae
says only two or three months, and has es-
tablished in several of the large cities tech
nical schools for the training OF linotypers.
The union men laugh this to scorn, and de-
clare that two years at least is necessary
before men attain the skill demanded
in a New York job or newspaper Office
Linotype Operators Status.
The assertion is made that the linotype
operator will not be benefited by the strike
in that the mystery of his calling will be
exposed to the gaze of all. What is said
to be a refreshing part of the attitude of
the union is that 1t does not claim that
the reduction Oh hours will cause such an
increase in efficiency that the output WIFI
not be diminished. 1t simply declares that
for its class of labor eight hours is suffi-
cient, and treats calculations OF the en-
HANGED cost of printing with philosophic
calm. The printers contend that there is
no work so combining as setting type under