Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-10-03
THINKS STRIKE OF
 CARPENTERS MERE MISUNDERSTANDING
Builders Exchange Has Com. promise Plan Believed
 Will Stop Trouble
1 WORKERS DECLARE
 THEY WILL STICK
Progress of Construction on Prac- tically All Jobs Halted When Men Lay Down Tools
 Saturday

That misunderstanding lies at the bottom of the strike yesterday of union carpenters, and that the situation will be cleared up by next week in an amicable manner is the text of a statement given out by the secretary of the Pine Bluff Builders Exchange, after a meeting held last night.
 The members of the Exchange agreed on a proposition last night, which will be taken up with the members of the carpenters union probably Monday, it was stated last night. The proposition to be pre- sented is settlement of wages on minimum wage scale of 82 1-2 cents an hour for journeymen and 92 1-2c an hour for foremen.
 The popular misunderstanding, the statement said, has been that the members of the Exchange are trying to cut wages by fixing the new wage scale. The Exchange, it was stat ed, is willing pay each man what he is worth, and they favor a mini mum scale beginning at 82 1-2cents and 92 1-2 cents rather than flat scale of $1 an hour. It is not the idea of the Exchange, it was stat ed, to cut wages.
 Denies RumOrs.
 Rumors that the Exchange is be- ginning a fight for the open shop were denied in the statement. The Eyobopra dooe not holiavo if wisa to try to initiae the open shop here, the statement said, and it was stat ed that the Exchange is not trying to initiate a fight to break up the unions, but on the other hand, pre- fers that unions remain inact.
 While it was stated that the Ex- change would not go to the union in an effort to compromise, the plan is to go to the union heads with the agreed upon at the meeting last night, and try to cor rect what they believe to be a mis- understanding on the part of the arising, it was stated, over the fact that the Exchange set the wage at 82 1-2c and 92 12 as to range upward according to the ability of the individual car penter. By the workings of this scale, it was pointed out, some car penters will be paid more than the flat rate of $1 an hour set by the union as the wage rate.
 Srike in Effect.
 Some contractors, not members of the Exchange, are paying up to the rate of $1 an hour, and some above that, it was stated, but practically all work was stopped yeserday by the strike. Every member of the union, excepting those working on the First Methodist church, and some working on buildings of con- tractors not in the Exchange, stop ped work when called out by union officers. There are 133 members of the union, and not more than six or eight, it was stated last night, are on the First Methodist church. The work on the church is under the direction of Albert Craig, who was authorized by the church to pay the rate of $1 per  hour.
 Among the buildings on which work stopped when the strike was called are the Boys Industrial school, the Henry Haizlip residence at Fifth and Oak streets, the Eagle store, and the Wilkins residence on West Fifth.
 A statement from the carpenters union last night said that the car penters were willing to arbitrate with the Exchange, and J. R. Har- grove, chairman of the grievance was instructed to com municate with the Exchange to that effect. However, the carpenters will stand pat for their demand of the $1 an hour wage set by the union, it was stated last night, and no work, it was stated, will be done except un- der this rate.