Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-07-19
Labor Comr. Eddy on
Portland r. r. Strike

LdDOT OOIUI. Euuy OU
Portland r. r. Strike
| State Labor Commissioner Roscoe A.
| Eddy was at his desk at the State House
| Tuesday after having been absent for sew
eral days in Portland, where he has been
| investigating the Garments strike in that
city. Mr. Eddy stated that while ne was
ready to do anything in his power as
| head of the State labor department to-
! wards settling the strike, he found little
| to do except to keep in touch with the
activities of the board of Cancellation, as
the people of the city of Portland were
so thoroughly with the strikers that I,
was really the public sentiment of the
| city of Portland that brought about a
settlement of the strike more than any
other one factor.
Commissioner Eddy was present at all
meetings of the board of Cancellation ap
pointed by the Chamber of Commerce, at
tending these meetings as an impartial
representative of both sides to the con-
! troversy. He was present at the all
night sessions Saturday and Sunday and
also when the agreement was signed, and
so is thoroughly familiar with the inside
! history of incidents connected with the
strike.
Il have been familiar with strikes in
Maine and elsewhere for over % years and
l have never seen one where the senti-
| ment of the public was so firmly in favor
of the strikers and where everybody eX-
cept the representatives of the company
involved so generally believed that the
strikers had the right side of the matter
as in Portland. l am going to forget all
| the other strikes and remember Portland
lone way in which this was shown was
the readiness of the Portland automobile
| owning public to haul everybody. or
| course the iitneys did a thriving business
but owners of large and powerful private
machines and smaller ones as well made
a practice of not letting a pedestrian
get by them as long as they could pile
them into the cars and on the running
board. In fact it was a safe bet for
man working in the suburbs to start to
or from work on foot in the expectation
that he would be overtaken and given a
ride by some auto owner. He seldom
had to walk more than two or three
blocks.
eft was also noticeable that the store
keepers. hotel keepers and other business
men, although they were losing every
day of the strike. had no condemnation
for the carmen. In fast one hotel keeper
with whom spoke told me he would walk
until the taps of his shoes were gone
before he would ride on the cars unless
the strikers were taken back
THE completeness Of the walk-out
was also noticeable in many ways. 1t
| was the second day Of the strike before
the company was able to operate even
two cars on Congress street. Out on the
Yarmouth line where the division was
not asked to become involved the men
ran their cars into the carbarn out on
Washington avenue and walked into
the CITY and asked to join the union.
! The same was true Of men working on
the track out on the Cape division. One
reason for the general public sympa-
thv with the strikers in addition to the
firm conviction of the justice of the
cause was that the men involved were
the best class of railroad employees in
New England and each man had his
circle Of friends among the public in
the community where he operated
Commissioner Eddy stated that when
he left Portland Tuesday morning the
strike had been settled only so far as
the .Amalgamated Association Of Street
Car Workers is concerned, which in
wolves the platform men. that is. the
conductors and motormen. while the
linemen to the number OF 100 or more
who were included in the Internation-
al Brotherhood of Electrical Workers,
were still holding out for a modifica-
ton of the agreement accepted by the
platform men.
On being asked in regard to the
| agreement accepted by the platform
men, Commissioner Eddy said: 1T is
| the open shop agreement which is con-
| sidered by union men to be a danger
Gus agreement, although it may work
out all right. 1t was because Of this
open shop feature that the Internation-
al Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers,
| through their representatives, did not
accept it at the time that it was ac-
| copied by the carmen