The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-08-09

. George J. Bowen, business agent of the Machinists' union here. and Will liam ,. Larip, state organizer for the machinists, today were confident of the ultimate success of the machintsts' canpaigR for, the eight hour day throughout New England
 They were in attendance, with a score of other officials of the Machin ists' union, at big labor conference in Hartford yesterday. The sense of the meeting was, that the so-called bonus schemes offered by some man ufacturers, in lieu of the eight hour day, be rejected.
 President Johnston, of the Mactfn- ists' International. authorized the fol- lowing statement:
 t'Unorganized as well as organized nachinists are insisting on an eight hour day, with time and half for all overtime, to be computed from the moment the employees day is corn pleted. We have received numerous requests for help from the towns in. Connecticut, Massa acle1serts. and Rhode Island, and there is a. general unrest among the machine tool men, many of whom are working 5 hours and some s9 hours a week. We intend to present a general demand to establish better conditions, and we hope this may be accomplished without the ne cessity of a strike or a suspension of the work However, if the employers are not willing to grant our demands, we feel satisfied the men will not hes itate to leave their serv1ce.
 tsI am afraid the men will act on their owa initiative The hardest task we have now is keeping them at work, and we are being severely crit icised in many places for keeping the men in. In many places in New England the men feel grieved because we won't give them the word In the Hyde Park section of Boston nearly a 1000 men are now out from two shops and I am going there Monday to o4-, serve the situation. Particularly in Bridgeport, the men are finding fault and workmen at other places like Nferidea are asking when we are going to permit them to go out We intend to give the employers chance so we leaders will see them personally, or if, as some of them prefer, they will be visited by committees of their own employees My own personal view is for peaceful conferences and fnegotia- tions, and that was the consensus of opinion this afternoon.
 Membership Growing
 t'In the last two weeks in New England alone Is, 600 new members have been admitted, and we have re- gently obtained an eight hour day for 1G0, ,000 employees in the East some employers are yielding and some oth- CTS are offering fifty-hour week, thinking roneously that bonus offers will appease, the men But the men will now accept nothing short of a straight eight -hour~p proposition, which Tr1achfnists have hoped andsY dsYJrayed for these many years. They have seen other tradesmen going home and they must stay because they are n1achin- ists and perform service that requires skill and close application. Some of the unorganized men thought the en- pIoyers would grant the new cond1- tions without effort on their part, but now they realize there will be no con cessi ons unless they ask for them through an organized association
 ."There will be no general strike, but if certain firms show a hostile atti- tuoe and deny concessions we will strike, though we wish to minimize the number of strikes. A committee of employees will wait on the Locomo- bile Company in Bridgeport Monday, and if they don't get what they ask, nothing under heaven can stop those