The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1911-10-13
STRIKE BREAKERS
They Make Easy Money During
Labor Troubles.
POCKET THE CAR FARES.

RENDER NO returns TO the otreet hali-
way Companies-Other Sources OF
Income That Come the Way of the
Professional Breaker"
The following from the Brooklyn
Eagle throws light on the methods of
the professional strike breakers and
explains why they are so readily OBJ
tainable:
"The strike breakers on the Coney
Island and Brooklyn railroad are re-
feiving only $3.50 a day, and can
prove 1t from the vouchers" said a
man who has taken an inconspicuous
but none the less effective part in the
war between the company and it's mo-
tormen and conductors. "Of course
they get their board also, but they
signed up for $3.50 day, and they get
no bonus either"
Didn't they get $25 trip for TAX
ing out the first cars?' he was chal-
lenged.
"They did not" he emphatically re-
torted. "They didn't get even a dollar
extra pay for taking out the first car
or any car. But" he added "they do
not ring up any fares. They pocket
all the fares they get, and that's their
graft. And they make good money at
it. Some of them will leave here with
$3.50 or 5000 apiece. This graft Is not
recognized in the contracts, of course,
but there is an understanding about it
which Is not mentioned by either the
company or the men. When they come
on the understanding is that they are
kept on for five or six days after the
strike is broken. That is when they
clean up. They are at it already.
"a man will come back from a trip
with Sc or 81, and he will join in the
crap games at the barns If he wins
he keeps on playing, but if he is
cleaned out back he goes to the starter
and says, I'm ready to take out anoth-
er car He gets his car, divides with
the motorman and gets his pay and
board and lodging just the same. Some
of them lose all they make in the crap
games, and others are lucky. They
are glad of the chance to work under
these conditions. l suppose there are
about 5000 men in this industry. The
company had no troublelin getting all
it wanted
"These fellows make plenty Of mon
ey," he continued, land they drift
from town to town, all over the coun-
try.
"Why, one Of these men told me
that he and another fellow had cleaned
up nearly $500 between them in a
couple of days during the sugar strike
over at the refineries in Williamsburg.
He said they were sent out to deliver
big load of sugar They drove along
all right with the load and sold 1t out
to grocers along the line for what they
could get. Then they turned their
horses and drove up to the section
where they were ordered to deliver the
sugar. They took the nuts off the
wheels, let the truck smash to the
ground, spilled some sugar around and
a couple of broken barrels and yelled
for the police. They even biffed one
another in the face, he told me. The
police came and found the men were
Slightly hurt and the truck wrecked.
"They told the police that they had
been attacked by the striking sugar
drivers, the wagon broken down and
the sugar stolen. They banged them
selves up generously, accepted the es-
cort Of the police and went back to
the refinery to repeat their tale Of out
rage. Then they laid off for few
days at So day until they were told
to take out another load of sugar.
They worked the same game, were
escorted back to the works with a
squad of police for protection and
were the heroes Of the strike.
"They said that the same thing was
worked in the strike Of the meat driv-
ers over in Manhattan. The strike
breakers would take out a load of
beef and sell 1t to small dealers for
whatever they could get What will
you give for a side of beefp they
would ask butcher. Two dollars
the butcher might say. of with It,
they'd say and heave him the side of
beef and drive along, pocketing the
So Then they would let wheel off
the wagon, break down. call for help
and be escorted back to the market.
"But the railroad company has no
complaint to make about the men.
They stand by their contracts and
have their own code Of 'on the level,
man to man. They give the service
all right, but they're all descendants
of Captain Kidd"