New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-31
st. Regis, Plaza, Astor, Gotham
and Louis Martins Among the
Places to Experience Walk
Outs Last Night.
PLAZA TAKES ON NEGROES
Astor, Forewarned, Has New
Staff at Work as Soon as Old
Men Leave-Martin's Is
Forced to Close-Childs
and bennett Threatened.

HlSHl ny a. IRE suCCtsolOll VI
outs on the part Of their walters and
cooks, acting under orders of the off,
cials of the International Hotel Workers
Union.
The walkouts involved what was esti!
mated to be a thousand men, and 1t be-
gan to look as though the general strike
that has been threatened for a week had
at last arrived to Danish the pleasures OF
undisturbed eating for customers Of New .
York's hotels.
The victims chosen last night by Ed
ward Blochinger. ct al, for demonstrate
ing 10 the hotel men that they were
really prepared to bring an industrial
war upon the city We're the Hotel Astor.
which lost three hundred men; .he
Prince George, over fifty; the st. Regis
and the Gotham, about hundred men
each; the Plaza and the Imperial, ono
hundred each; Louis Martins, two hum
dred and the Elks' Club, in 43d street,
near Sixth avenue, about seventy-hvs
men.
Thoroughly forearmed, William e.
Muschenheim, proprietor of the Hotel
Astor, "swapped horses in the middle ot
the stream" almost as easily a shifting
from one foot to another. The valkour
came at 7:15 o'clock when his three din
ing rooms were packed with unsuspec.-
ing guests, and within periods ranging
from a minute and a half to four min
utes in the respective rooms his strike
breakers We're serving those same guests
with the next course, as though his car
tains and head walters had merely
shifted walters from one table 70 an
other.
New Men Enter as Old Walk Out.
BY prearranged scheme, as soon as
the strikers picked up their last tips and
laid down their napkins the head watt
ers placed upright slips Of cardboard on
every table and as the old men walked
out the new men, who were held In sur
rounding rooms with their aprons al
ready on, marched in and took up the
service at the tables designated for them
by numbers, in accordance with previou.
instructions.
The guests greeted these new ministers
70 their halfsatisfed hunger with ap-
plause, and as the strikers walked out
they received from Mr.. Muschenheim's
assistants slips Of paper bearing the fol-
lowing sentiments about their actions:
It is with regret that see that clrcum-
stances seem 70 compel so many employees
70 leave me- some OF whom have been with
me for many years. am fully aware that
they leave reluctantly, and wish 70 assure
them that | have no hard feelings against
them. and will Try 70 take care OF them as
loose from irresponsible demagog and
agitators.
To each guest was handed a note stat
ing that every effort had been made to
reach an amicable understanding 1t
also apologized for any shortcoming in
service and declared that no further
compromises would be made with the
strikers, adding that the house would
be kept on an open shop basis and would
night the union 10 finish.
At the time the strike came. three hum
dred guests Of the New York Homoeo-
pathic Medical College were just sitting
down to dinner. So quietly were tho
emergency walters thrown into the
breach here that there was no delay in
the starting of the meal, and the diners
long remained in ignorance of the fact
that there had been a walk-out
Nothira for Police to Do.
The strikers went quietly TO their lock-
ers. donned their street clothes and
marched out through Times Square 10
ioin the striking walters from other
places in a mass meeting at Bryant Hall.
in Sixth avenue They went in an orderly
way. and the police reserves on hand for
any contingency had nothing to do.
Times Square and vicinity rapidly as
sumed the appearance of "A general
strike. for shortly after the Astors EN-
ployes went out the walters, bus boys
and cooks poured out of Louis Martins
and Joined them on their march -
BRYANT Hall the new Mecca of all good
walters and cooks.
The scenes at Martins were marked
contrast to those at the Astor, for the
management at Martins was completely
astonished at the action of its men. Mr..
Martin rushed about in voluble con-
sternation, declaring that It was treach-
erv and an outrage. The doors of the
place were Immediately manned by de-
tectives and no one was allowed 20
enter. 1t was some time before Mr..
Martin recovered his composure suffi-
ciently to make a statement.
Il conferred with my men and granted
them everything last Saturday" he said.
They have paralyzed my business.
There is nothing for me to do but close
up
For a while the orchestra continued 10
play plaintive tunes to the guests while
the head walters struggled to finish serv-
ing them their meals. but finally ths
place became dark.
The Trouble at the Plaza.
Trouble began at noon at the Plaza in
an unexpected form. Shortly before
luncheon the manager. Frederick Sterry,
assembled his men and asked them what
they waited. When they said they
wanted more pay and no fines he said
that he would grant both demands. Then
he asked how many belonged to the
union and would go out at the call Of the
union. About forty answered that they
would do so and he discharged them at
once.
They might az well 60 now - to wait