The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-02-21
BR|CKLAYERS'
ROW CREATES
BIG STORM
MuSkOges Is Sore Because
Quarrel Is Taking Trade
Away From Town
Special to the Daily Leader.


.Muskogee, Okla, Feb 2O.-Eyer
since that turbulent night in Labor
temple last summer when the mem
bers of the brick masons' union mad
general iight and there were lot
Of broken chairs as we'll as broken
neads and almost the entire member
ship of the union was in police court
the following morning, the brick lay
ers have been having trouble. II has
now reached the stage where the To-
cal brick company is refusing to sell
brick to two or three Muskogee con
tractors, and an order for 10000 brick
which one OF these contractors had
made, and which had been accepted,
was cancelled, and these contractors
are forced to buy their brick out OF
town This Is no great loss to them,
as they state that they can get the
brick laid down here from CoffeyyilIe
and other points in Kansas, just as
cheaply as they can buy them local
ly, but they are all members of the
commercial club and they have in the
past insisted on spending all their
money for brick with the local brick
yards And the local brick company
would like to continue to furnish the
brick to these contractors but to do
so they fear would involve them in a
labor controversy which they want
to avoid if possible.
Following the fight in the Labor
temple that night there was a split
in the brick masons' union. The To-
cal union then operating here was
working under the nationaf charter.
This union is still in existence under
its original charter. A new union was
formed, however, under a state char
ter, and those who were dissatisfied
with the old union embraced the new
one. 1t appears that the old union
laid a fine of 500 each against GER
tain of its members who went with
the state charter union, and that the
old union will not recognize these
men as being in good standing in the
union until they pay this fine. which
! they have failed to do. The new union
however, is perfectly willing to recog-
nlze any member of the old union in
good standing
Because certain contractors. w. F.
Herber and j. J. Rooney, among 9th
ers. permitted members Of the new
union to work ON their contracts
and some OF these union men not hay-
ing paid the fine laid against them by
the old union, the old union made a
protest me contractors did not ac
cede to the demand that these mer
should be taken off the job, so the
brick company was furnished a list
| by the old union of all the contract.
ing firms which they considered fail
and requested the brick company not
to furnish brick to any other contrac
tors. This does not constitute a boy.
cott under the wording of The law
and the contractors left out could not
invoke the aid of the courts. The
brick company, according to the con
tractors simply acceded to the re
quest of the union, and since then
| the contractors whose names were
left off the list have not been able to
buy bricks locally One Of them had
already made a contract for $4,000
brick. but this order was cancelled.
In the meantime thousands of Kan
sas brick are going into Muskogee
buildings, when there are plenty here
Of Muskogee made brick in the yards
which the contractors would buy as
a matter of keeping home money at
home if they could.