The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-07-22
Demand Maximum For I'm
loading all Barges
Twenty Colored Men Leave Iheil
Work This Morning and Hun
garians May BE Imported
COMPANY Is STANDING FIRM

Coal carriers struck az the West
Kentucky C6al COMPANY for an in
crease in wages. tlns.morning. TWEEN
~ colored men employed I'm coaling|
steamboats, and towboats. walked out
and the company's harbor boat, the
Fannie Wallace. was being coa.ec
this morning by the white members
of the crew. including the captain.
The men have been paid two cent?
a box for coallng boats where the
coal was carried from shallow coal
barges. and 10 cents a box from
the deep barges They struck for 2
- cents a box for any barge. deep
or shallow.
Until the strike is adjusted the
West Kentucky Coal company Isl
practically out OF the ooaiing busi-I
ness on the river. The city Of st. JOS
eph. wanting 5000 bushels, and 9th
er boats. will have TO wait Gntil the
colored men go back TO work, asI
white men never have been found
who could stand the work The boxes
the men carry, hold 2 - bushels
with two men to the box. These
boxes are filed with shoyels and are|
carried by hand from the barge toI
the boat In a deep barge. the men
have TO walk upward TO the edge Of
the barge and thence down TO the
boat. The company in the past has
made a distinction In wages accord
Ing TO the depth OF the barge, but
the coal carriers are not satisfied
and walked out this morning on the
refusal OF higher wages.
This dlfBcuity OF barges Is not met
With at the ST. Bernard Coal com
nany's docks. where the men were
al work this morning at wages mol
higher than have been paid az the
West Kentucky Coal company The
barges used By this company are Gov
cred with a floor and the walking PSI
always downward from the barges,
making the work much easier. How
ever the capacity OF these barges' isl
uinlng compared With the regular
barges.
Omce.s Of the West Kentucky Coal
company believe that n the present.
demand Is met. Il VIII be only al
short time until another increase
viii be asked But the river colored
workers hang together fairly well
and to get their contracts executed
the Increase may have 20 be conced-
Cd. The restlessncss OF labor In this
line Is evidenced among the rousters
on the steamboats,.
Captain Leslie Bennett. Dan Reed.
engineer: Charles Boos, fireman, and
Lon Powers. deck hand. were coalingI
the Fannie Wallace this morning inI
the absence of the coal carriers. The
towboat Nellie was waiting to bel
coalod but this could not be done
until hep Is secured. Efforts TO Sc
cure labor IN the place OF the strik
ers were unavailing this morning.
May Get Hungrians.
Hungarian laborers may be
brought from Memphis to replace the
striking coal carriers OF the West
Kentucky Coal company. The COM
pany employs this labor TO a certain
extent In Memphis and It has been
with an interpreter would be sum
Client to place the company above the
yiclssitudes OF the colored river labor.
Evansville river interests are con-
tending with the same labor troubles
that Paducah is facing. The Fowler
line finds Il difficult to secure labor
at that end OF the line and several
arrests have been made by the au-
thorities there in the strike. a river
man experienced in the handling Of
colored river labor said that II you
enter a saloon or other place where
the rousters .congregate and ask the
first man you see If he will work his
answer win control the action or
every man in the crowd. II he
answers yes. you can get as many
men as you want; IL no, not single
man will break the precedent. They
hang together TO thar extent