The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-08-12

various Kinds Of Men Participate
Some Of Those Who Ware Hsrs.

- '" "N"A"Ns WV fitihihk ththnA'
Of a corporation, this Is not always trn
10 he snm there are bruisers and la
men among the rlkebrcaking crews thu
are nsei TO man railroad trains during
strike OF to resume operations IN a min
iha. has been shu, down because III
regular employees have quit work, hu
there am also educated men At wof
breaking strikes, law students. printer
out Of job. medical students, hook agent,
and college professors with desire /,
study sociological problems are TO be foun'
among the ranks of sirikehreakers. Will
the lasi named take up the work that the
may get a closer view 81 the people the
study the others are recruited largely iron
an army II soldiers Of fortune who desin
Ia see A. much ~ possible III life with0u
any particular effort. The offer 81 :.
a day aud hoard az a ifst-clas- hotel no
| only attracts the thug hut j. an inocntiy,
20 the peaoeahle man who Is out OF jol
and hungry.
A tcn-minuie talk with a dozen strike
hrcakerr who came here during the reoen
railroad strike showed that with the ex
ccpiion Of two professionals the CROW,
was composed 81 various sorts OF men
They were not railroad men and made y,
profession Of knowing anything about IN,
operation Of railroad They hai
answered an advertisement in New Yorl
newspaper for men 90 work ON a railroad
AZ 81 day and expenses. II was a larl
for them. They rolled cigarettes aud told
stories, hut their stories did not deal Will
strikchrcaking. Some Of the men tolc
Of their college life and while more or lcs,
color may have been added for effect Il
was plainly evident that they had AT
some time attended institutions Of learn
ing.
One man asked 10 be excused. saving
that he wished TO write 10 his wife and
daughter. When asked where his family
was he said that he owned home near
Saratoga and lived there when he wa.
idle. This man was professional strike
breaker. lie claimed 10 have participated
in strikc-brcaking in 81. Louis during the
strike in Philadelphia and in the famous
mining strike in Homestead, Pa. mum
her Of years ago. He said that the strike.
breaker never knows anything about the
merits OF either side Of a controversy. As
a rule the rike-breaker is in sympathy
with the striker, this man said and while
the strike breaker appears ON the scene
TO take the job OF the striker he does not
intend TO hold the job any longer than
strike wages are paid. This was shown
here when the strike was declared of and
the new men were offered permanent Jobs
at regular pay. With three exceptions
they declined to accept.
To show that the strike-breaker takes
no particular interest in his employer may
be mentioned the fact that MANY OF the
l.xs bn anf
road during the recent strike offered TO
allow men TO ride on the trains free or
upon the payment OF half-farc providing
they paid cash fares. The strike.breakers
made no secret of the fact that they CON
sidered cash fares one of the perquisities
of railroad strike-breaker's job. While
the strike-breakers acknowledged that they
would knock down" cash fares they in
sisted that a man would lose caste among
them ii he was discovered stealing from
his companions. They said that during
a recent strike of teamsters in a big
western city the strike breakers helped
the strikers by shutting their eyes to petty
looting OF wagons loaded with provisions.
One of the professionals said that he
would take a strikers job as a matter OF
business but at the same time he would
not stop man from stealing something
to eat even if he was hired to do so. He
said it was easy enough not to see man
roll barrel Of flour into an alley.
Among the strike-breakers quartered IN
last month were several law
students. One of these students carried
his law books with him and studied nights
when off duty He said that while he
had been called "scab" he had no inten-
lion of taking mans job except at wages
which would make the job a bonanza for
/ few days. He did not have the least
of accepting steady employment.
He needed about 500, he said, to pre-
,are himself to take bar examinations IN
this fall and the advertise
nent in a New York paper appealed to
lim.
When asked if he did not consider |
trike-breaker's Job a dangerous occupa. |
ion one professional said that he had |
lever been scratched and that he had !
ollowed the business for five years. lie |
aid that he did not carry any weapons
nd demonstrated the truth of his asser'
ion by turning his pockets inside out.
This man was one of the biggest OF the
rowd. He was asked what he would do
/ a fight should start and said that he
id not know. He Guessed" that a dozen
10 fellows would have moral effect up.
n crowd of strikers bent upon mischief
regular employee of New York detect
re agency. He said that strike-breaklng
yas only one phase of the work OF
epular detective. His next job, he said,
,as to be trailing the footsteps OF
,ealthv man whose wife was seeking evil
ence against her husband upon which to
ecure a divorce.
One sort of man that ike-breakers
hun is the one who talks too much. Ihey
ave a horror of man who talks OF
eeds of violence. While the professional
lay get reminiscent and refer to incidents
, his work the amateur who starts 10
III his exploits is, promptly Labelled
crazy" The strike breaker has no use
" "crazy." He says such men pre-
pitate riots. :
The men in charge of strike-breakers IN 4
town or city have orders to discharge
man who is found drunk. This may
,em strange when it is known that the
en- are recruited extensively from the
,yn-and.out class and from the ranks
men who use liquor When hundred :
rike breakers may be sent into a. town
take the place of strikers they do not !
me as individuals without a leader. ,,
hey are responsible to captain. Inc !,
plain attends to the matter OF food ana
dying and is supplied with SUFFICIENT {
ndS to meet any emergencies. :
When the announcement was made that
e Central Vermont railroad strike was !
-er a dozen or more of the strike-break-
$ expressed satisfaction over the an
They were asked why they
ere glad that the settlement had, come
ID said it would mean a change, OF loca-
IN for them. Within an hour the cap,
in" had received orders to send several I
his men to other parts Of, the country
d was bidding them goodbye with IN
ructions. Thus it will be seen that
rikebreaking is an occupation that gives
q a wide range of territory and an !,
nortunity to see the world. However, =
q average man would not care to enter i
range of the professional strike-break- I