The Sun. — 1867-07-10 (London, England)

AMERICAN'S EVIDENCE ON TRADES'  UNIONS.  Mr. Abram S. Hewitt, a largo iron manufacturer o, Pennsylvania and Now York, gave evidence before the Royal Commission on Trades' Unions on the working of unions in America. No doubt the Commission was glad to obtain such reliable testimony on a subject which bore on the matter they had in hand. The manufacturers of America are, for the most part, supplied with British and German labour, therefore the Commission in London was able, through Mr. Hewitt, to ascertain how the Unions known to be organised in America worked, and what degree of similarity existing between them and those of Great Britain. Mr. Hewitt began by stating that he was either partner or manager in various establishments employing, in the aggregate, 4,000 workmen. These works are situated in the States of New York, Now Jersey, and Pennsylvania. After describing the branch performed by the puddlers with reference to the heating and rolling departments, Mr. Hewitt showed that the puddlers had enrolled themselves into a union which had no reference to the men of the other branches, although. all engaged in the same manufactures, any one being a necessity of the two others. The great centre of the iron manufacture is at Pittsburgh, extending up to Cleveland ; and there the puddlers have been on the strike for the last six months. The conseluence is that ncta furnace has been lit, and the heaters and rollers have been thrown out of employment by the action of the puddlers. From Mr. Hewitt's evidence it appears that at the time of the "Strike," that though ironmasters were not earning anything, the puddlers took that occasion to demand an increase of wages frCnn $7 per ton to $9, estimated, at an average of the price of gold, at from 21s. to 275. As the business was at the time absolutely unprofitable, the manufacturers would not concede the demand. Therefore the puddlers struck, and each puddler throw out of employment five other men. Mr. Hewitt considers that these five men were constrained by the action of the puddlers to unwilling idleness. He estimates the rate of wages, against which they struck in Pittsburgh, to be in the ratio of what the puddlers get in Staffordshire, as Bs. 6d. is to 21s. 6d. Some puddlers came into Pittsburgh, and offered to work one mill, but were driven away, two or throe murders taking place in the night having an effect very deterrent on outsiders entering Pittsburgh again. " Murders! " exclaimed the chairman (Sir William Earle), "of whom, by whom ?" "This is just the point," replied the witness, "on which lam unable to answer. Three or four were committed in the night, and the general impression was that they were connected with the strike. The state of things in Pittsburgh was very bad, and the moral tone had immensely deteriorated in every respect, for although the strike was of the puddlers alone, as already explained, it affected a large number besides. Although by the laws of the United States fine or imprisonment is inflicted for intimidation of workmen, yet where laws cannot be carried into effect it matters little what may be their purport. Mr. Hewitt related a circumstance connected with a strike at the iron mines of New Jersey which occurred just before he left America. Without notice, and apparently without concert, the action beginning with one mine tho workmen suddenly stopped. Having cleared out of their own mine they marched to the next, which happened to belong to Mr. Hewitt, and directed the hands to desist from work, as they had inaugurated a strike. The owner, in relating the story, and professing to know the circumstances well, stated that his workmen obeyed from fear. They then marched to the