Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-08-25

sineer notified the company officials
by phone Of the order to cease opera
tions.
THE company has simply refused to
obey our order" declared the mayor.
Last Saturday at conference held
between the city, boilermakers' union
and the bridge company, we asked
the city attorney if the city could go
further in the contract than to state
that the employment of union men on
the job was preferred. and he stated
that the city could not. We then
heard from an attorney selected by the
boilermakers themselves, and he
voiced the same sentiment The city
has done all that il could. 1t has ex-
hausted its legal resources. We can
not by law enforce non-union men to
quit the work and put union men in
their places"
THE city can call the work unfair"
replied one Of the labor representa-
tives.
Not unless the work is not I'D to
Standard declared the mayor.
AT the meeting today" declared
Mr.. Pring. the officials of the COM
pany ADMITTED that four men now en-
ployed on the job were competent and
that one man was not. That state
ment alone would be sufficient grounds
to have tl.e work stopped. The com
pany has side-stepped the settlement
of the controversy at every turn, and
is simply discriminating against the
members of the boilermakers' union"
Near a Settlement
Mayor Schriver stated that he had
thought a settlement was near, and
had been prepared to have introduced
a resolution at the present meeting
providing for the acceptance of the
first proposition of the statement
which the Bridge & Iron company
made public last Thursday. This was
to discharge the men now employed
on the work and put boilermakers in
their places. However. he received
just before the commission meeting a
letter from the company Withdrawing
the letter of recent date, in order to
rush the tank TO completion as rap
idly as possible, since it was stated
the public had expressed some criti-
cism of the company in attempting 10
delay the erection of the tank.
THE commission was ready TO ac-
cept this proposition of the company,
and | thought this might be a solution
of the whole difficulty" said Mayor
Schriver. However, its withdrawal
leaves the tank matter where it was
a week ago when a resolution was
passed demanding that work on the
tank be stopped
The two other propositions made by
the company in the letter were to per
NIT the city to complete the tank or
to allow the company 10 do the work
with such employees as it cared to en-
ploy. Commissioner Hart suggested
that another conference be arranged
with w. \. Rosenfield of the Bridge
& Iron works and a further attempt
be made to change his point of view.
This was satisfactory to the union
men. and a meeting was arranged for
this morning at 10 o'clock.
Hold Up Bill.
Later in the meeting Mayor Schriver
brought up the fact that the city owed
the Bridge & Iron works S14,250 on the
tank under the terms of the contract. |
He said the engineer reported that
the work on the tank thus far had
complied with the contract, but |
Commissioner Hart suggested that il |
was an inopportune time to discuss I
paying any money to the company |
while the labor question was so far
from settlement, and il was decided |
to lay the bill over for a week.