Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-06-05
SAN FRANCISCO IN
FIERCE. LABOR WAR
Capital aid Labor Finally fray.
ed Against Each Other IN 6rsat
Flight for Supremacy.
SUFFERS FROM TOO MUCH CAPITAL
Cost of Rebuilding and Prices In
Every Direction Raised to Excessive
Points-BuiIdine Loans Held Up
While the Present Schedules of
Wages and Materials Are Maintained

a mlSnty conflict mas Just begun In
San Francisco. 1t is war between
capital and labor Conditions resem.
BILE those in the nation about the
time of the firing OH Fort Sumter.
A great issue has been dallied with
and temporized with until the battle
has been Joined.
San Francisco is suffering from
over-capitalization In every line. La
which is ovcr-captalized. The cos,
of rebuilding the fallen city has been
altogether excessive. Material deal
crs have been forced to lower prices
within the last two days. They have
done 1t peacefully. in accordance with
the law Of supply and demand.
The next step Is to squeeze the
water gut of the stock of the labor
trust. There is no indication that la
Dor will yield peaceflly. Even with
| the strike of 10000 iron workers set.
tied. there are now 5000 men on
strike In San Francisco. Indications
are there will he many thosands more
idle, with violence and hloodshed as
an incident, and that the progress
of the city will be stopped until this
great issue has been settled Build.
ing is practically ut standstill, and
will remain SO until the cost has teen
reduced to normal
Thousands On Strike.
AT present tnere are on strike about
300 electrical workers, 500 beer bot.
tiers 300 coopcrs. 900 Olaundry work.
ers, 500 telephone girls and 1000 9th
ers. Electrical workers employed by
the telephone companies arc threaten
Ing to go OF In sympathy with the
operators.
This, however. Is not the most i'm
portant phase of the labor situation.
There will be practically no more
bilding loans Mt present schedules of
labor and material. and the building
contractors, architects and building
trades unions. which had entered into
combination of their own to loot
the public. have heen brought face
to face with n readjustment.
Start of Glass Feeling.
From the time of the gold discover.
les until the seventies San Francisco
was n mining camp and the mining
camn spirit prevailed. There were
no "classes" and masses" Gener.
osity prevailed. If man asked you
for -four bits you gave him dollar
and bought hi ma drink,
Kearney, who died recently, with his
sand lot agitation" and began to
stir class feeling. This was directed
principally against the Chinese, and
natural prejudice against Orientas
kept 1t from being confined to labor.
Ing men. The real organization of
labor into n solid body was in 1901.
This was the time of the big team
stcrs' strike. 1t was the first impact
aaginst each other of the two solid
bodies capital and labor.
Various agitators urged deeds of vi
lence, and succeeded in arraying
class against class. Murder and may.
hem went on daily. 1t was favoritc
pastime of union transfers to snatch
| "scabs" from the wagons and break
| their wrists. Agitators applauded and
| this spirit became imLued in the work.
ingmen.
The strike lasted six months, and
was finally compromised by Father
Peter c. York. But the bitterness
of the conflict remained, and agita-
| tors continued to preach the doctrine
that assault and murder were gentle
treatment for the employing classes.
Labor Enters Politics.
Labor became factor In politics
soon after the settlement of the
| transfers strike. A certain element
of the unions favored organizing a
labor party. The majority was op-
posed. A political clique, however
held convention. Abraham Ruef
was then minor factor In Republican
politics. He saw the opportunity.
took possession of the labor conven.
ton and nominated his man, Schmitz.
for Mayor. Glass feeling led the un.
lon men to support the ticket, and
Ruef won.
The political history of labor since
| that time is well known In view OF
| the recent prosecutions. In the indus.
trial history has arisen figure not
so famous as Ruef, but none the less
interesting. He is p. H. Mccarthy,
the John ID. Rockefeller of the San
Francisco building trades. Mccarthy
Is the man who has applied Standard
Oil principles to labor and who is re.
ported to have required quarter of
million dollars during the hours of
San Francisco's distress. He Is an
industrial monarch. More will proba
bly, be known about him when the
Grand Jury finishes It's labors.
The outside world has heard of the
car mems unions. the telephone girls
union. the laundry workers union and
various other organizations of labor
which have gone, on strike. The fact
Is. these unions, while they have been
sufficiently arbitrary and exacting.
have much more justice in their dc.
mands than the building trades labor
trust, which has not yet struck.
The feeling of unrest among the
other unions has been largely due to
the enormous wages exacted by the