East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-03-14

In recent issue OF tne CInCdBO
Tribune a professional strikebreaker
tells his experiences in a manner
calculated to cause those who have
heretofore regarded him as a 'mod-
ern hero" to revise their opinion. In
speaking OF the methods of some en-
ployers in breaking strikes the bust
err" as the professionals term them
selves, says:
"Strlkebreaking is new field of
labor brought about by the banding
together of large emp ployers of labor
throughout the country to fight to
the death striking union employees In
all capacities, and the expense of so
doing is horne by this association of
employers. so it virtually is union
of employers to wipe out the unions
of employees"
The arguments of some of the
strikcrrcakers' defenders that he is
q "free and independent" workman,
seeking only a chance to earn an
honest living, receives a severe blow
in the statement of the buster" who
says that Sin 80 per cent OF the cases
he is shiftless mechanic, whose
OHly lE VI TIE pItStUt. ne
scarcely ever retains a position after
the strike is broken, as he has no
desire to settle down to steady work
at wages which he himself regards
as beneath a living standard.
His own wages during the strike
breaking period are from 81 to $40
per day, being regulated by the haz-
ardous nature of the employment.
When he is asked to settle down to
the low standard Of wages of the man
who lad gone on strike to better his
wages he Immediately ceases work
and drifts back t. the slums from
which II Is admitted lie came or goes
TO some other point where a strike is
in progress to repeat the process of
forcing the man with a family. who
is enGeavcring to provide a home for
them and become a self-respectinG.
lpw-abid'ng citizen. back to condi-
tions against which he had struck
Detective agencies find this field
profitable one, and one agency in
Chicago is credited with having made
a prof.; Of $4,000 during the recent
teamsters' strike in that city. Chi
as IL evidenced by the statement of
the "huste," in question, who further
says: SCI
"One thousand strikehreakers can
bc mustered in Chicago within twen-
ty-four hours. and ten times that
number can be mustered within
week In one saloon on East Van
Rrren street. hangout for profess
sional strikebrcakers, 100 strike
breakers can he found within half a
day, ard through their influence 500
more can be secured in a day"
The notorious Curry OF New York
mas become wealthy through his OPP
erations as a strikebreaker. and no
longer takes an active part in the
work, hut has ar office in New York,
from whence he sends out strtke-
breakers TO all parts of the country.
The notorious tough gangs of the
Last side in New York are drawn
upon for recruits, and during the
threatened strike of the street-car
men In San Francisco Curry sent
1900 men, recruited from this source,
TO that city to prevent thr strike. \
tougher gand of hoodlums could not
have been gathered from the s'ums
Of New York, and at many places on
tl,e',oad where the train storped the
towns were terrorized. The buster
who relates the story was member
of this party. and describes the
scenes IN the train and mt some of
the stations along the line ne lawlcss
in the oytreme. At Ha2en and Reno,
New, armed posses Of citizens met
the train, having been warned In ad-
vance of the desperate character of
the strikebreakers, and at both
places riots occurred and shots we're
exchanged.
Tho strikcbreakers were taken in
- San Francisco during the night,
and next morning when the regular
employees reported for work they
were told their services were not re-