New-York tribune., 1915-02-28
Contractors Dismiss Men
by Wholesale Because
of Court Decision.
NATIVES CALLED
UNEQUAL TO TASK
Down-and-Outs Unfit for Hard
Work Repeal Possible, De-
spite the Unions.

some places, and halted in many others.
The people and the press of New York
are clsmoring FOR change in the alien
law. preventing foreigners from work
ing in the subways. The contractors
are complying with the Court OF Ap-
peals decision, but say if New York
wants subways the situation must be
altered.
Organized labor is rsllying its forces
to try TO prevent the repeal OF the law
It is understood Governor Whitman
will send a special message to the
requesting repeal. # re
Quest is made TO him.
Almost all Of the contractors on the
subway sections dropped aliens right
and left, beginning early yesterday
morning. Short. strong, swarthy men,
armed with picks and shoyels, were
turned away from the shafts and told
to report to the pay windows when they
could not produce citizenship papers.
Hundreds Discharged.
In lust one SPOT. in Seventh Avenue,
between Thirty-third and Forty-second
streets. the Rapid Transit Subway Con-
struction Company discharged no fewer
than eight hundred Austrians. Polaks,
Russians. Hungarians and Italians. In
other places scores and scores of men
were thrown out Of work. There was
no set Of figures yesterday to show the
number Of aliens employed. but it was
estimated that. of about 10000 men
employed. no less than so to 90 per
cent were not citizens.
The F!inn-O 'Rourke COMPANY, which
is building the East River tunnels, said
SEQ Of their 700 men would have TO be
discharged under the ruling. The
United States Realty and Improvement
Company saved only Is per cent Of
It's men or its Seventh Avenue work,
and only 20 per cent on the Broadway
section. Out Of 500 men at work in
the Broadway section, 900 were dis
lnlS company sent 70 llle NUdilN
Society and got sixty or
seventy men.
"Only about 10 per cent of them
were any good for the job" said Sam
uel s. Jones. Of the company, last
night. "They wont last You can't
take gang Of ill-fed down-and-outers
and get the same results as with o
gang Of big, strong Polaks.' The
American men simply haven't got the
constitution to stand the work
Out Of 100 native born or natural
lied citizens who applied for work at
Street and Seventh Ave
nue.. only twenty we're taken or. The
foreman said half Of these would prob
ably quit the job before the end Of the
Gay.
"Some people seem 70 think" said
{. a. Crane, secretary Of the General
Contractors Association, that we are
against giving the American citizens
work. That's foolish. It's simply that
we have got TO have the proper men
for the tasks. Even if We paid the
Americans much more than the Hun
earians and Italians the natives could
not do the heavy manual labor.
Doesn't Want Negroes
This afternoon was quoted as say
ing We were considering importing
Southern negroes TO do the digging.
That was rot correct 1t would be as
much a violation of the law as the en-
pioymert of alien labor; for, under
the statutes. We are obliged TO give
preference 10 the citizens of the state
! only said il was q remote possibility
T.. .. ka
negroes are unreliable laborers, as a
whole.
"The contractors are willing to DO
anything that's reasonable and fair .'
he continued. "even If it costs them
money. They will not lay down on
their work until ali possibilities are
exhausted. Ii they do have to stop
completely, the people viii realize that
something will have to be done with
the situation"
Mr.. Crane said that contractors had
introduced a repeal bill in the Legis-
lature for the last three years, because
they had feared that such contin-
gency as now confronts them might
arise. Reports from Albany yesterday
stated that Governor Whitman said he
favored the repeal of the law. Ii was
-
ton would be introduced this week
One dispatch said that the general SEN
timent in the Legislature apparently
opposed the present law.
The financial aspect of the situation
was a feature that appealed 20 many
The fact was brought out that II work
is halted completely and the cOntrac-
tors. plants and equipment allowed 70
i;e idle depreciati,n will follow. II
was also said that. II the stOppaGe IN
the wsrk was of sufficient length the
Ppblicl Service Commission would not
allow the contractors 10 suffer finsn-
cially, but would grant them exten-
sious.
Work stopped on the Lexington Ave.
aue line, between Forty-third snd
Fifty-third Streets and between Sev-
entv-ninth and Ninety-third Streets
IN sections handled by the Bradley
contracting Company. James Bradley
aid he was willing TO employ all
American citizens who could do the
work at the prevailing rate wage.
Work which will be most affected
according TO Mr.. Crane, is that or
Seventh Avenue, Fifty-ninth Street, The
William Street-Mail Street link, the
Flatbush extension and the contraet'
,,ot to bo let. II is expected that al
The East River work will be shut down
Monday.
Labor Men Against Repeal.
The labor forces said yesterday they
ala not expect the law TO be repealed
A characteristic expression was from
Hrgb Frayne, organizer of the Ameri
can Federation of Labor. He said:
az is not conceivable that highel
,o,r, could reject this decision II Il
Continued on page L. column