Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-03-31
THE STRIKE BREAKER
Resembles His Prototype, the
 Mercenary of Old.
THE HESSIAM OF INDUSTRY.

This New Element In the L-abor World Is Conapoaee Largely Of shiftlees
 Mechanics and the Criminal Classes.
 Skill Not Required of the Buster"
 Strike breaking iS Il uaW field of la-
 Dor brought about lT the banding to-
 sether of laJ.sa employers of labor
 throughout t!e country to fight to the
 death striking union employees in all
 capacities, and tlla expense of so doing
 Is borne hy this association through
 means of an assessment on all it's mem
 bers, so it virtually is q union of en1-
 ployerS to wipe out the unions of en-
 ployees of course some firms wage
 war on their striking employees nd-
 viduaIly, and naturally bear all the ex-
 peilse of so doing, but the great ma
 jority belong to the association, as the
 fight can be made less eXpensively anG
 more effectually under it's influences.
 The strike breaker is q composite study ill human nature. He may be an eX-nnion man or he may be a book
 keeper. clerk or salesman down on his luck, Eut in go per cent of the cases he is q shiltless mechanic whose only care is for the present. The character of the work fascila1es him both as to it's eX- citement and it's profit. Every year sees new recruits to the ranks of the strike breakers. as once q man has q taste Of the N olh he is untitted to hold down steady job at ordinary business Wages, and lie enters the field of strike breaking with it's checkered living for the newcomer, as the agencies keep only their most experienced workers employed steadily. and the newcomer has to accept pot luck, which means generally that he is flush one month and broke" the next.
 The employing of strike breakers is generally done through detective agen- cies. which find this work immensely profitable. several of them continng their business to this class of work exclusively. says q professional strike breaker in the Chicago Tribune The writer knows of one agency in Chica- go which cleared S50, 600 on the team sters' strike two years ago. and 1 also know of workers who made as high as S1 ,o0o during this strike working for the express companies. Part of this latter amount however, was made in rewards fer arrestiag stone throwers. the strike breakers having this power of arrest hy being sworn in as depu- ties
 The agencies in extra hazardous strikes generally receive $10 per day for each man placed, one-half of which they pay to the man hired as wages. inclusive of board. transportation. etc. As q genera! rule, however, the agency receives 8 per day for each man placed, S3 of which he receives as pay, leaving ;9 eiear profit of S2 per day per man fer each man placed. The em- plori2g firm pays all expenses of trans i p0rtsttien, board etc. \ large strike l job is d veritable bonanza for de- tectiye agency. the heads of which l take absolutely no risk of injury phys | ically or loss financially and yet take l out profit unheard of in the business world
 As q rule, employers are not overpar { ticular as to a strike breakers skill ill [ his line of business. If he merely [ has a knowledge of the work or even [ adaptability. so as to help keep the 1 works going as a bluff, he will fill the | bill. for. after all it merely is game of freeze out, the employer winning be- cause he can hold out the longer. He | figures on a large dead loss through 1 the strike period. but considers it a splendid investment if he breaks the [ union, and he is only too glad to hire 1 the old men back as individuals, know ing that the strike breakers will hike ! out for other fields after the strike is settled and the usual wage rate re- stored.
 Consequently the professional strike ! breaker, through his varied expert | ences, is Jack of all trades and mas 1 ter of none I met one who had fair | working knowledge of eight trades. 1 though really competent only as ma chinist, his regular trade. l also have 1 seen a bunch of 200 men hire out in Chicago as experienced motormen to ] take the places of motormen in Oak land, Cal. contemplating striking. l When quizzed out there by the com- pany's superintendent as to their knowledge of the air brake, not more ] than one-flfth proved at all competent to operate one, and several conflded to | me secretly that they could not even operate an ordinary hand brake, merely 1 having bluffed it through that they 1 were motormen. Fortunately this trou- ble was settled by arbitration before q strike was called, so Oaklanders were not forced to risk their necks on cars operated by inexperienced motormen.
 Strike breaking Is poor business, of 1 course, aside from any moral or eco