The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-07-19
Practically Every Restaurant in
City Affected by Move.
Cafe Owners Declare They'll
Not Meet Union Demands.
STRIKERS OPEN EATING HOUSES
Pickets Also May Be Employed
To Warn Away Trade.
Business as Usual" Is Declara-
tiOn of the Employers.

Promptly at O'Clock this noon
about $50 members of the Cooks and
Walters union in Topeka laid aside
their white aprons and went out on
strike in an effort to force the .es-
taurant and cafe owners of the city to
accede to their demands.
AS the members of the union walked
out of their various places of employ
ment at L o'clock today they formed
in bands and marched up and down
the sidewalks on Kansas avenue. Ev-
cry time they passed restaurant
where some of the mattresses were at
work in spite of the union strike, the
men in the bands would call out
Come ont out. scabs."
In the Cremerie restaurant the girls
continued their work as usual, altho
two of the force of cooks went out
with the rest of the union. The wait
resses at the Cremerie said this noon
that Business Agent Crumb of the
union had approached them within the
last two days urging them to join the
union "as there was no possibility of
a strike being called for two or three
years at least" The girls said that
they refused to join.
The strike order was put into effect
today as a result of the strike vote
taken at the meeting of the union
Wednesday night. At that time it
was threatened that unless the cafe
and restaurant owners came thru
the order would go into effect today
The union demanded a minimum
wage of SO per week for walters. and
a scale graduated to SIS per week for
chefs. The union also demanded GER
tain Other concessions from the pro-
prietors such as shorter hours. pay
ment of laundry. bills and the like.
Owners to Fight 1t Out.
From the statements of numerous
cafe owners this afternoon it is ap-
parent that the war will be foug mt
thru to the end. Several of them
said today that the strike would Of
course cripple them for a time, but
they pointed out that the walters and
cooks are mostly of the '+floater type"
So the strike will not be serious.
1t was announced this afternoon
that every cafe now doing business in
the uptown district will continue to
do busin IS, even Under the rather
pinched conditions Of labor. num-
Der of the proprietors said that they
have already taken steps to fill the
places of the strikers.
The restaurant and cafe men seemed
very confident today that the strike
recent strike of the Kansas City cooks
and walters as an example. The pro-
prietors said that in the Kansas City
strike, the restaurant men pursued
the same tactics as will be used here
and they say that the fight was won
in a very short time.
Start Union Restaurants.
Reports emanating from union
headquarters during the last day or
two indicate that the union will try
picketing methods in carrying out the
strike in Topeka. They have threat
ened, according to all reports, to put
pretty girl pickets in front of every
open shop restaurant in the city which
continues to do business despite the
strike. The daties of these pickets
will be to make personal appeals to
prospective diners to refrain from eat
ing in that particular shop, and it is
said that they will point out the loca-
ton of the two new restaurants which
the union officials declare will be
started up at once.