Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-10-20
LIVELY DEBATES AT
CONFERENCE OVER
PUBLIC WORK PAY
Continued from page /.

"In view OF the work being scarcely
started and shortage of material we
have as yet employed very little skilled
common labor. AS soon as sufficient
materials have arrived and other
tradesmen are put to work IL Is Our
intention TO advance the best of the
common labor to skilled common labor
in addition to employing other skilled
common labor which will be rated
higher.
During our investigation of the
prevailing rates of pay for Whining
ton. We found that many of the firms
who are paying common labor 30c and
35c per hour have this rate because
the men receiving 1t are old and ex-
perienced men who have been with
them a long time and have become
TO them skilled common labor. In
practically I'll cases new common labor
hired by these firms is being started
in at 25c per hour.
''The plumbing and steam fitting
for both the terminal and the library
have been sub-contracted and we will
not employ any men of these trades
except possibly one or two pipe filters
at the Terminal for running construc-
ton lines. We therefore did not secure
any rates on plumbers. There are
tracted where certain other trades not
mentioned here will be employed.
II am also attaching sample of our
employment card.
There are at present employed at
the Marine Terminal 215 Workmen.
Out of this total number there are
only IL men who are non-residents OF
| wilmington, these being parts of the
| organization of the contractors,
| specialized in their particular line of
work including general foremen,
special employees, steam shovel oper-
ators, pile driver foremen and the
like.
All persons at the Marine Terminal
are working eight hours per day with
! the execution of the dredge crew
who work with the tides, and the
grading contractors men who are
working 10 hours per day. This con
! tractor is using as many men as his
mechanical equipment will allow an6
IL he worked eight hours per day h'
would not employ any more men, bu
would simply prolong the work. Win
ter is approaching and this class o
work must be as far ahead as possible
before freeing weather, otherwise w.
will not be able to proceed with GER
tain of the industrial construction
work, which is dependent upon tn
completion of the grading.
We are employing at the library a
present, 16 laborers, all residents o
Wilmington, Delaware.
We are also employing 16 carpen
ters, Is of whom are residents o
Wilmington, and one resident 0
Penn's Grove, N. j. The resident o
Penn's Grove is a deaf mute, and wa
first employed by us in 1915. Ill
: dependents are a wife and one child
/. This man is a first-class mechanic
J and we have learned TO use him II
e spite of his affiictiqh. Had we no
1 employed this man 1T is quite unlikel
: he could have secured work elsewher
in view Of the large numbers OF un
afflicted men who are out OF wori
Our carpenter foreman is a residen
of Deep Water Village, n. j., has bee
employed BY us since 1916 and is pan
}, of our organization. Our labor fore
man Is a resident of PennsVille, n. J
8 has been employed by us since 1871
\ and is part of our organization. Gu
concrete mixer foreman is res
dent of PENIS Grove. N. j., has bee
! employed by us since 1916 and is
specialist in operating a Jaeger Cor
| crete Placing Outfit. We have en-
ployed him at various times at Can
ney's Point. Flint, Michigan, Bnifal
n. ", and Newark, n. j.
n All persons employed at the lfbrar
j, job are working eight hours per da,
J. Early last week a representative
i the carpenters, employed on the !
brary, approached us with a reque'
that they be allowed to work NOR
than eight hours per day for the firl
five days of the week and have Sal
:, friday afternoon of. We have no
! up to this time granted this renues
but have il under consideration
Z The above represents the facts q
q TO the method Of employing, payin
and handling labor for both ii