Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-02
READY FOR The STRIKE
Union Printers to Enforce Their
Demands.
TYP0THETAE Is DEFIANT
Each Faction Expects to Gain the
Victory.
STATEMENTS FROM BOTH SIDES
About One Hundred and Fifty Typos
Involved in This City-situa-
ton Elsewhere.
FROM BOTH SIDES

| With the expiration of the contract bes
| tween the Typothetae OF Washington ana
| Columbia Typographical Union Thursday
| of this week the strike order which has
| gone out from the international printers
| headquarters will go into effect in this city,
| and about 100 union printers and the ma
| jority of the leading men Of employing
| printers of the city Will be involved. The
| International Typographical Union Of North
America demands of all book and job print.
| ing employers an eight-hour day and union
| shop. The employers absolutely refuse
| this They claim It would eat up their
profits to degree that they cannot and
| will not stand. The employers also claim
| the right to conduct their business az they
see it. Practically every city in the United
| States and Canada is Involved In the fight.
! In this city. where hitherto very cordial re-
| lations have existed between employer and
employed, the number Of men anected Will
| be comparativly small.
The general. strike commenced yesterday,
| the first day of the new year. but because
| that a holiday II was not felt unol
| today. 1t is only because of the existing
contract here that the crucial point ls post.
poned until Thursday.
meeting OF the executive committee Of
| the local Typothetae was held this fore
noon about 10 O'Clock in room All of Tho
Evening Star building, and It was stated
| emphatically that there will be no giving
| up on the part of the employers here One
prominent member of the committee said;
Typothetaes Position.
The outlook is most encouraging at pres"
ent. We will exhaust every resource TO
win in this struggle. even If We have 70
make our business smaller. We will teach
men how to do our work, If we have TO do
so We will not be empty handed Thursday
morning either. We have received assur-
ances from other places by telegraph that
outside men are on their way here TO go
to work and take the places OF the strikers
We shall fight, as true American citizenss
for the right to employ whom we please
and to pay much as man Is worth, re"
gardless of any organization.
Another prominent employer announced
that he will post in his office the following
notice: -
Amy sober, Industrious American citf-
zen, who is acquainted with the printing
business, is eligible to employment In THIS
Office"
Better say proficient instead of 'ac-
quainted,' suggested another employer
NO" was the answer "if he is acquaints
ed with the business I'll make him prom"
cient"
Printers Preparations.
On the other hand, the Columbia Typo.
graphical Union is going about the matter
In a serious, systematic manner. Headquar~
ters are to be established on the third fioor
of the building the southwest corner or
9th and d streets northwest where the
eight-hour committee Will meet and where
the striking printers will report. Ample
preparations are being made to take care
of the families OF the strikers while they
have no work.
The local eight-hour committee this morn.
ing received a circular from the interna.
tional committee stating that the PROPOSE.
ton of a ten per cent assessment on all
members of the union in this country ana
Canada, to support the strikers which was
put to a referendum vote, would doubtless
prove to have passed by a tremendous ma
jority-probably twenty thousand.
Printers Statement.
The following statement of the case by
the local printers has been Issued:
1.-The endeavor TO inaugurate the shorter
workday in this city will commence on
Thursday the contract between Columbia
Typographical Union and the Typothetae
Of washington, composed OF some of the
employing printers, expiring on that date,
and since the Typothetae for several weeks
past have been issuing statements to the
public through the press and circular let.
ters, setting forth their side of the contro-
yersy, we think 1t is due the people of this
community that our side of the case be laid
before them.
THE main contentious or the IypotnetaS
in this city have been, first. that their eus
ployes had not asked for eight hours, but
that the demand emanated from labor Lead
ers with headquarters at Indianapolis (our
international offlcers) and, second, that the
profits In their business would not Justify
them IN granting the eight-hour day, even
If their employees did not ask for 1t. They
also claim to be standing for what they call
individual liberty and the open shop
LAS to the first contention, We would say
that the effort to bring about an eight
hour day in the book and job branch OF
our trade is not of recent origin, but dates
back TO 1902. We realized at :he outset the
Injustice of establishing the shorter day IN
some cities while others were permitted TO
work the nine-hour day, thus giving the
employers of one community decided ad.
vantage over those of another in the mat
ter of competition. Going on this theory
and acting under instructions from our
membership expressed in convention, our
international officers took the matter up
with the national officers of the employing
printers association (Typothetae). and ex-
erted every effort to bring about the eight
hour day.
'.All suggestions from our side. such as
reducing the nine-hour workday by fifteen.
thirty, forty-fve and sixty minutes for
periods covering six months each, looking
to the establishment of the eight-hour day
in two years time were rejected by the
Typothetae. 1t was then, in 1904, that the
membership of the International Typo
graphical Union decided by an almost unan-
imous referendum vote to establish the
eght-hour day on January 1, 1906. Since
that time our membership has taken three
referendum votes on as many assessment
propositions. the last one for a ten per cent
assessment on the earnings of the mem.
bers and in each case the propositions were
overwhelmingly adopted, and the book and
Job printers voted for them almost solidly
SO that. Notwithstanding the Typothetae
contend their employees have not asked for
eight hours, the question has been submit
ted to them four times and each time they
have not only sanctioned the demand for
the eight-hour day, but have voted to assess
themselves heavily to secure it.
.'As to the second contention of the Ty-
pothetae, that they could not afford to
grant the shorter workday, we would call
attention to the fact that In asking for
eight hours we are asking for that only