The daily worker., 1926-08-17
GARMENT BOSSES
TRY CREDIT BAR
ON SETTLEMENTS
Jobbers' Fake Proposal
Punctured by Hyman
Especial TO The Daily worksr)

NEW YORK CITY, Aug. Is The
Industrial Council Of the cloak manu-
facturers was accused by Louis Hy
man, chairman Of the cloakmakers
general strike committee, of trying tc
influence banks and credit men to
withhold credits from manufacturers
settling the strike on complete union
terms. The move is bound to fail, he
asserted.
Mr., Hyman referred specifically to
letters sent by Jacob Rapport, chair.
man of the Industrial Councils special
banking committee, to 100 officials Of
banks and commission houses, accom-
panied by copies of contracts now be-
ing signed by the Cloakmakers' joint
Board with manufacturers and job
bers.
Bankers Bank.
"It is interesting to observe" declar-
ed Mr.. Hyman, that the Industrial
Council, instead of waiting to learn
the opinion Of the bankers whose judg-
ment they solicit concerning the 36
weeks work clause in the agreement,
tries to Influence their opinion against
the manufacturers who are accepting
it by assuring them that bankers and
credit men already interviewed are of
the opinion that anyone signing the
contract is most foolhardy.'
But the fact is that for number
OF years, a great many manufacturers
have signed time agreements with us
guaranteeing not merely sc weeks
work year, but 40 weeks, As weeks
and 4s weeks per year Yet such an
agreement never hurt their business
and bankers never refused them cred
Il. They are outstanding firms who
have signed such pacts and It never
scared credit away from them"
Willing-With Reservations.
Overtures toward settlement by a
member of the executive board of the
jobbers' association, A Kopeloff, who
is former president of the group, were
characterized as meaningless yester-
day by Hyman. Kopeloff, in an inter
view, declared the jobbers' association
would be willing to help the union es-
tablish order in the trade and make
il possible for the workers to make a
living. He admitted the strikers are
entitled to decent living conditions -
and believes the jobbers are willing to
make a settlement on this basis. How
ever, Kopeloff declared, the jobbers
would never accept the demands for
limiting their number of contractors
and for a guarantee of minimum o
SO weeks work a year. Hyman, IN
reply said:
Statements of this kind have beer
heard from jobbers before. The trou
BILE is that they admit the workers
suffer and are entitled to better con
ditions, yet they reject every one oi
the remedies suggested by the uniol
to eliminate the evils Of the industr!
and they do not suggest any rene
dies themselves"
Contractors Victims of Jobhers.
''To tell us to reach an understand
ing with the contractors is simply alb
surd and ridiculous, because, as we
have pointed out time and again, the
contractors are powerless to remedy
abuses, since they themselves are be
ing mistreated by the jobbers. The
jobbers employ ten times the number
of contractors they really need anC
subject them to accept prices from
them for finished garments that do no'
permit even the contractors to live
decently. The contractors cannot give
the workers more than they receive
from the jobbers."
Hyman ridiculed the assurance Civ
en- by the jobbers' association to the
contractors that they will help then
to get out work unmolested during the
present strike. He said such promises
would have no effect on contractors
who know that such promises are kept
until the contractors can be whipped
back into their previous condition oi
servitude.
Since the Inauguration Of night pick
citing, four more non-union shops seek
ing to operate after business hours
we're stopped yesterday. They were
Youthmaid Garment Co., Carmel Bros.
Cohen and Placks aud Sternberg &
Linden. The union has announced ten
more Independent settlements yester.
day, bringing the total to 30.
A remarkable meeting Of the strik
ing cloakmakers was that Of 1,4OO cut
ters, addressed by Ben Tillett, secre
tary of the British Dockers' Union, in
behalf Of the striking million British
miners. III the British miners are de
feated," said Tillett. "its reflex will
operate, not only all over Europe, but
also in this country"