The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1913-10-28
u, s. MAIL DRIVERS
GO ON SUDDEN STRIKE
Leave Wagons without Notice
and Mail Bags Rapidly
Accumulate.
DEMAND REGULAR HOURS
Service DemOralized Between
Federal Building and
Railroad Stations.

The handling Of the United States mails
! between the Post Office and various rail
roads was held up last evening. Promptly
| at s o'clock about 100 of the 1875 chauf-
feurs employed by the Postal Transfer
Company which transfers the mail be-
! tween the chief collection points and the
railroad terminals in Manhattan below
Forty-fi street, wen, on strike.
At the time the men took their automo-
biles to the garage at 5%3 West Twenty
NTH street there was probably lc5 tons
I OF mail at the chief collection points.
including the Federal Building. awaiting
transfer Incoming trains at the Grand
Central and the Pennsylvania terminals
| likewise were piling up mail for points
| In New York.
About twenty-five automobiles were
kept in service. but they could not get
| the hundreds of mail 0Acks to the various
terminals in time for departing trains. The
| pneumatic tubes were pressed to their
! utmost capacity and in that way great
amount OF first class mail was shipped
| to the Grand Central Terminal and To
Station f in Thirty.Arst street. whence
II was hustled to the PENNSYLVANIA Ter
minal.
The striking chaufYeurs who said they be-
long to the Mail Wagon Chauifeurs and
Helpers Union, Local No. a37 Of the
American Federation OF Labor. held a
meeting in hall at Twenty-eighth stree,
and Eighth avenue. Afterward they is-
sued statement in which they com
| plained that they were compelled to
drive recklsssly under penalty Of losing
three TO six days IL they hsppened to mis-.
a train.
! The strikers also asserted ,hAt thev
! had been told by the president OF the
company that they could form a union
and that the men could wear the union
button. Presently. however. they dis
covered that the officers of the union
were being fired" In addition the men
said they were required to work too
long hours. and they demanded a ten
hour day with steady pay
j. J. Cassidy, vice president of the
Postal Transfer Company. said at
O'Clock this morning that he had forty.
! three mail autos in service He COM
plained that one Of his drivers. George
! Carton. had narrowly escsped being hit
by brick at Thirty-third street and
| Eighth avenue He also said that there
were several thousand sacks Of mail
! awaiting delivery
Few strike Breakers Appear.
Despite the efforts OF John w Mas,en,
! superintendent Of the Postal Transfer
! COMPANY. and Postmaster Morgan only
about twenty-five drivers rema med at work
| up to midnight Immediately after the
strike began Mr.. Masten sent out kilograms
to several hundred men who had filed ap-
plicatons for jobs. He Afterward tele-
phoned to Mr. Morgan that he had 200
men waiting to drive the wagons provided
they could have police protection As a
fact however. only about Ave men re-
ported at the garage up to II 40 and the
service was little improved up to mid.
night,
At the request Of Postmaster Morgan
Police Commissioner Waldo issued orders
FOR policemen armed with revolvers and
nightsticks to ride in .sery mail auto
First Deputy Police Commissioner Mckay
went to the garage OF the Postal Transfer
Company with Inspector Gillen and Cant
Mason OF the West Seventeenth street
station Patro!men were sent from the
West Seventeenth and West Thirtieth
street stations to the garages Other
policemen were sent to the Pennsylvania
terminal Twenty policemen from the
! East Fifty-frst street station were de-
tailed under SerEeants Fogarty and
Schmit 10 the Grand Central Terminal
10,
Other policemen were detailed to the Post
ONCE Building.
! 1t was expected to send on, twenty more
| automobiles in the cours. OF the night and
to man ffty at 4 o'clock this morning.
At midnight there were about fifty mail
autos In Twenty-hf,h street between
Tenth and Eleventh avenues which the
strikers had deserted.
; Police Protection he ndcd.
The sudden action of the men IN going
on strike without notice pu, the company
! at a disadvantage and also disturbed
Postmaster r. N. Morgan Mr.. Morgan
hurried TO the Post Office and after siz-
ing the situation up and receiving assur-
! ances from the company that there were
enough men to man the automobiles pro-
n Niucu iieN koA po'iNS plokeNNCT' ne teIe-
J phoned to Police Headquarters His re-
quest for police assistance was granted
| Supt. Masten said last night he did not
anticipate any trouble from the strikers
because the Federal Government can pun
! ish all such offenders He said that such
was the case In the strike in Chicago in
! 1894, when several men were convicted In
the Federal courts for obstructing the
United states mails,
The strike did not affect the other COM
panies which handle the mail in other
sections OF the city.
William J. Simpson OF 334 East Forty
! second street. one OF the employees of
the Postal Transfer Company, was ar
rested by Sergt. Scfkmtt at the Grand
Central Post Office station about II 80
last night on charge OF interfering
with the delivery Of the mails.
Two other striking >mail chauffeurs
, were arrested at Thirtieth street and
Eighth avciue Just after o'clock this
morning. They are Patrick Johnson Of
1927 Avenue A, and William Ufella Of
3S5 East ls4th street. They were locked
up charged with dsorderly conduct.
| The two men are said to have been
In . party Of six strikers. who hurled
| bottles and stones at n mail van as II
nxased I'm Eighth avenue at Thirtieth