The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-01-30
F. o. DAVIS,
G. e. SEWELL,
e. H. ROCKEFELLER.

G. e. SEWELL,
e. H. ROCKEFELLER.
AS was stated in yesterdays Gate
City, the linemen employed by the
Keokuk Electric company yesterday
presented to the company a new scale Z
of wages for the coming year. This
not on duty.
AT the Trades Assembly hall at III.
Tenth and Johnson streets today the
members of the International Brother
hood of Electric Workers We're in con-
ference and declared that the affair
was precipitated by the action of the
company in refusing to recognize or
ganized labor They termed the pres
emit situation lockout and insisted
that there was no strike. Officers OF
this district Of the international or
ganization are here today to direc. the
moves of the local men.
At the Office Of the company a
statement was issued to The effect
that the men were merely laid off on
account of the inclement weather and
| that work would be resumed In the
spring. Yesterday the officials of the
Keokuk Electric company denied all
knowledge of any dissatisfaction
among the employees OF the company
and declared that they had heard
nothing Of the new scale TO be pre-
scented.
Frank Davis. foreman Of the line
] gang working on the company's local
lines, declared this morning that they
4 had started work that would have to
1 be finished this winter and tina. the
statement of the company that they
were laying off the men until spring
was not true 1t was also said at
labor headquarters this morning that
I the matter had been pending for
nine days and that the company ha
been fully cognizant of the fact that
4 the linemen would ask for an in
crease.
The statement was made around the
city this morning that at the power
house the Stone G. Webster company
were discriminating against the MEM
:, bers of the unions in all departments
and that as the work grows slack the
men who belong to the organizations
are being discharged before the non
union workers.
: Members OF the men discharged
: yesterday declare that they have affi-
/. dayits to the effect that the foremen
/, on the power house work, acting I'M
der instructions from the Stone &
! Webs. er officials, have called men
into the Offices on the works and told
them to either drop their union cards
or get off the job This is emphat-
ically denied by the company officials
Winter Work Expensive.
n The Keokuk Electric company
d takes the view of the situation thai
l. 1t is a matter merely of weather as
y affecting cost Of construction of i'm
d provements to the street railway anc
r cleo, rio utilities of Keoluk. The in
s. formation as given out early tht:
g morning was that work had beer
= stopped by the Keoizuk Electric com
pany on its reconstruction, because
It it had been found that.the cost in thu
IL winter was so much more than il
IS summer as to Justify delay unit
spring in completing the improve
ments planned IN the electric equip
ment of The city Of Keokuk.
4 That this stopping of work ha
IS been under serious consideration TO
y two or three weeks, without any cor
nection whatever with unionism i
n any form, but due solely to weathe
ID factors, and such other things tina
the work got into such stage that tn
Id gangs were small under the foreman
n which is not economical. was ais
w stated emphatically.
~ AS regards the work Of the Ston
" & Webster Engineering corporate
r. In the installation Of the electric wor
ve in the big power house In the rive
Il was stated authoritatively at the of
id ces that unionism Is unknown an
m entirely disregarded here.
In the last three months fourtee
he men have been discharged for variou
al reasons, those some time ago becaus
he of ineficiency chiefly, and more r
Gently ten men were let go becaus
ed of the tapering off of the work,
" was said.
n The construction work on the waite
in power approaches completion and til