Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1908-04-16
The Cost Of the Granite st,ike.

The business interests Of Montpelier,
Barre and ether places in WASHINGTON
county, which have suffered heavily as ne
result Of the tie-up in the granite sitaE-
ton for the PAST fige weeks and few
days, have reason to rejoice over tie settle
ment OF the strike which. IVES Effected on
Tuesday afternoon. Coupled with its
share of the hard times which touched
every section of the country, the strike
was a bitter blow to this vicinity, which
really gets its circulation from the gram
lite business. Barre, the heart Of the
granite district, where over ], 700 cutters
alone, TO say nothing of the workers in
the allied trades, are employed, and
where the pay roll in the granite business
is estimated at nearly $4,000 q day,
suffered the most keenly, bat the results
have been felt in Montpelier heavily, in
Mortified. Waterbury, Groton, Rycgate
and other places.
1t is hard to appreciate the tremendous
cost of a strike OF as short a duration
even as the present one. The loss in
wages in this county would reach nearly
half a million dollars. Granting that
there are 1900 affected by the strike In
Washington county and that each man
received an average OF s2. so day, the
cost in 36 days, six weeks OF working
days, would total over s400, 900. The
manufacturers loss is still harder TO esti-
mate because some OF tine orders wbic h
have been thrown down on account of the
strike may be received later and many or
ders have already been placed eiseW here,
but the less viii go into the hundred
thousands at any rate and it is doubtful
il the total loss to everybody concerned
in the strike could be figured within a
million dollars.
A million dollars out of a small COM
munity like this means something. IL
means that ii win require saving all
elong the line to make up for lost tire
and saving over a long period, for the
velvet both of the laboring man and the
manufacturer does not pile up in
punches. Living expenses and business
expenses go on just the same. But this is
not the time for pessimism. The strike
is over and IL il cause for optimism. 1t
is unfortunate that it rad to come, for
strikes are unfortunate, but it is hoped
that business activity will return and
that spirit of brotherhood Will exist be-
tween employer and employe, both of
whom have been affected.
In some respects this has been re-
markable strike. Not suggestion of vi
olence has been heard, the strikers have
been law-abiding in every particular and
moro than that good feeling has existed
for the most part between the committees
representing the two opposing factions.
This is most commendable. Both sides
have shown a disposition to keep in
touch with each other and eliminate
every possible issue that could be agreed
upon so as to get down to the real bone
of contention. The strike has gone
quietly on from one week to another, but
fortunately special effort has been made
TO keep the parties together so that the
gulf between them would not become any
wider than was absolutely necessary.
Were it not for this fact, it is doubtful il
the strike would have been brought to a
close as soon as this. Montpelier
Journal