New-York tribune., 1919-04-01
JfWeather Turns Warm and
Garbage on Piers Menaces
Health the Commissioner
Declares He Will Act
Owners Refuse to Sell
Say They Will Only Furnish
Boats if Allowed to Oper-
ate With NOn-Union Crews

In an effort to raise the embargo
on garbage, the Marine Workers Affili-
alton last night telegraphed Acting
Secretary of the Navy Franklin D.
Roosevelt, asking that a navy tug be
placed at the disposal of the Street
Cleaning Department. The request
followed tho refusal of private boat
owners to lease or sell boats for the
purpose, or to permit the crews the
unions offered 10 provide free of
charge to operate them.
The great piles of garbage on the
piers and dumps in three days of
warm weather, DR.. Copeland says,
would be a source of Imminent peril"
to the health of the city. In such a
condition, he declares, the Board of
Health will commander as many boats
as it may need to move the garbage
The unions and the city officials on
Saturday arranged to take care of the
city's garbage with tugs brought from
another city. When the time came for
them to begin operating yesterday,
however, the agent who was to provide
them announced that the private boat
owners had succeeded in preventing
delivery. The city officials then took
up negotiations with representatives
of the Cahill Towing Company, which
for some years has done this work.
Tug Owners Refused
Commissioners McStay, of the Street
Cleaning Department, and DR.. Cope
land represented the city; Thomas L.
Delahunty, William A. Maher and F.
Paul A. Vacarelli, the unions, and
Messrs Card and Pollard, with William
Martin, their counsel, the towing COM
pany. The city repre- esentatives asked
to be permitted to charter tugs with
out crews. This was refused, the own
ers insisting that unless they were al
lowed to work with non-union crews of
their own choosing the boats could not
be had
Mr.. Delahunty for the unions then
offered to provide union crews with
out charge to anybody for the purpose
OF clearing up the accumulation Of
waste. This, likewise, was refused.
Then Captain Maher offered to buy two
boats.
1--WE know you've got the money"
counsel replied, "but the boats are not
for sale"
After the conference DR.. Copeland
declared that the representatives of
the unions had shown a desire to CO.
operate, but that the boat owners per-
sisted in their policy Of utter indif-
terence to the public's needs"
Mr.. Bonynge talks about my firing
blank cartridges and this morning ex-
pioded a % calibre SHE'LL" said DR..
Copeland. "My answer to that is that
II we reach that point where boats are
necessary to protect the public health
we'll explode a 16-inch shell and com
mandeer as many of Mr.. Bonynge' g
boats as we may need"
Bargemen Can't Go to Work
The vote of the tidewater boatmen
to accept the compromise offered by
the private boatowners, through l.. V.
OConnor, was accepted in part b. the
Marine Workers. Affiliation yesterday.
So far as it relates to men operatjnf-
grain and coal boats for S1l0 a month
the arrangement was approved That
part Of it, however, which fixed 500 a
month for men employed on scows was
oisapproved
An attempt was made by friends Of
O'Connor to obtain withdrawal of
the charges made against him by
Thomas L. Delahunty and others of the
leaders. Delahunty refused to with
draw anything and reiterated his
charge that O'Connor is "an inter
lorer"
The settlement" according to the
strike leaders, does not materially help
TIE boat owners
1T will not put a man to work"
said Mr.. Dalahunty, "and it will not
rfeturn man to a barge. The fact is
that these men have remained on the
barges. They did not have the means
to stcure quarters ashore, in many in
stances, and are not to be criticized
for not having moved. But until the
bosses succeed in getting tugs to move
the targes they will be Of no use to
them
There never was time when thew
couid not have had Sl1O month if
there were tugs available to tow the
basgss. That is the crux of the stu
alton"
"'Fornor refused to discuss the sit
ussion yesterday.