New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-07-26
GENERAL STRIKE
NOT MACHINISTS'
EIGHT-HOUR PLAN
Union Head Ridicules the
Story That 100000 Men
Are To Be Called Out.
NOT FIGHTING
FOR WAGE SCALE
Expect Trouble Only in Isolated
Cases-MunitiOnS Issue Not
Involved, He Says.
Ry JOHN J. LEARY, JR.

BY JOHN J. LEARY, JR.
There will be no general strike Of
machlnists and metal workers IN New
England or the East. There Will be
isolated strikes where II may seem
necessary to the leaders of the ma
chinists and allied trades to obtain the
eight-hour day, but these strikes Will
not be confined to any one city or TO
the manufacturers OF any one class OF
goods, such as war munitions.
My authority for this statement Is
John J. Keppler, vice. president OF the
International Association OF Machln-
lists. in charge Of the campaign FOR the
eiCht-hour day in the North Atlantic
states.
Il do not know who is responsible for
the statement that 100000 men are
going to be called out that was given
out in New York yesterday SAID he
after an all day conference in the At
lantic Hotel i'm Bridgeport with organ
izcrs and union officials from fourteen
cities in New England, New York and
New Jersey, "but it is insane on the
face Of it.
Not Seeking Trouble.
what we are after is the eight
hour day. That was the subject of
our conference that began last night
and has Just ended. II has been under
/ consideration for some time, this cam
paign for eight hours. 1t is no sud
/ den movement on our part, and we
/ have met here to perfect plans. The
/ men are now on their way 20 their
homes to carry out the plans made
months ago and completed here to-
I day"
DO those plans contemplate a gem
eral strike, as has been said ?" | asked.
+ mo, sir, they do not, and you viii
do us q favor If you viii make that
clear. There may be, there will be,
strikes, in all probability, but we are
looking for the eight-hour day, lot
! trouble and we are going to get It,
The circumstances are such that Tor
. once everything is in our favor. In
some places the conditions make il
necessary for the manufac' urer TO m
stitute the eight-hOur day without any
suggestion or force from US. In other
words, conditions are making our night
for US in most places.
The wage scale is taking care OF
itself in most places. With not enough
machinists TO 90 around-and there
won't be for months and months 10
come. even if the war in Europe should
end tomorrow there won't be any
trouble about wages. The good old law
Of supply and demand that our friends
the manufacturers are so fond OF quot
ing to US at times is working overtime
That is all"
"WiI you explain what is going t.
be done?"
81 cannot do that, but ! can say tina
we have not picked any one oity OF All
one company or any one line OF manu-
featuring for attack. Make that clear
We may strike here, we may strik
there. ! do not know. That remains q
be seen. Later, much later, a genera
strike may be necessary, but 1t Is not
part Of our programme now.
Plan of Campaign.
Here is the way this thing is goini
10 work: Let US say that IN the clt
Of Lowell there is a big plant on al
eight-hour basis In Lawrence, FEY
miles away, all plants are on ten
hour basis. All need more men. VIII
are going TO get them? The eight-hou
sbop. of course. More than that, IN
eIght-hour shop will drag from the oil
staff Of the shops that run ten hours
Gay. In self-defence, If nothing else
many shops Will be forced 10 so on d
eight-hour basis.
"And mark this the shops that g
on an eight-hour basis will never re
turn to the ten-hour schedule. Tn
wheels Of progress do not turn back
ward
we are not out to create a reigI
of terror or to sandbag manu-
facturcrs. Nothing of the sort. Their
are undoubtedly manufacturers who arr
. tied up with contracts made on ten
hour basis that will suffer heavy losses
/. if they 70 on an eight-hour basis. J.
they have failed to protect themselye
against shortage in the labor marke
that is their funeral, not ours. If the!
cannot fin their contracts they lost
money anyway.
"All that we want is a fair share o
the fat. We have had more than oul
share Of the lean. Whenever there j:
any lean TO be passed out the men have
always had their full share. Their
has always been the chuck now thcl
want a bit Of the tenderloin. Mos
manufacturers are willing to conced'
this
"Where the general public and man!