Year: 1879

TIE COMING STRIKE.


We do not suppose there is any longer


disguise of the purpose TO have gen


eral elght-hour strike on the part of all the


mechanical employments in this city, if such


a result can be accomplished. The senseless


proceedings Oh the part Of a portion Of the


furniture-makers leave no question that


their strike means more, and is intended to


reach further, than the purely imaginary


grievances of that trade. In point of fact,


the furniture men do not claim they have


any grievances. They are all at work :;


every man who is able to. work can obtain


employment; not a word is uttered con-


cerning wages; the demand is that no man


belonging to that trade, whether employed


on piece or other work, shall labor more


than eight hours per day. This is the de-


mand, and to enforce it strike is ordered
ceptable wages, shall lay down their tools
and work no more. Of course, there is 10
possible reason why the furniture-makers
should take this extraordinary action that
does not apply as well to every other
mechanical occupation in tbs city. As there
is no purpose on the part Of employers to
submit to any such demand, the strike in
wolves the loss of summers work, the loss
to 500 families of the wages for the whole
season There can, Of course, be but one
outcome to this struggle,-as such things
always end. The loss at an average Of $12
per week, for thirteen weeks, to 500 men,
will be about $125:000. To the persons called
upon to surrender this large sum the sum
1ner's holiday will be q costly one. It is
proposed, after closing the factories in Chi
cago, to extend the strike to all the furniture
factories throughout the country. Agents
are already ut work at Grand Rapids and
other places, to induce the workmen there to
strike also on the same demand If this
strike be limited to Chicago, then the manu-,
facture of furniture must Geese here. Our
manufacturers cannot sell their goods in
competition with those produced elsewhere
at 25 per cent less cost. If the
strike be general, and 25 per cent be added
to the cost of all furniture produced
in the West, then there will be of necessity
a reduction of consumption. The strikers
idea is that the general advance Of % Per
cent in all kinds Of furniture will be paid by
the purchasers; but the purchasers have
the means Of protecting themselves by not
buying. The present comparative cheap
ness of furniture has produced great
revival in the trade in all parts of the coun-
try. But the rise in the cost of production,
and still greater rise in the retail prices to
consumers, will have the effect of arrestine
the great demand, and of filing warehouses
and warerooms with stocks which cannot be
sold even at old prices. There Is no branch
Of trade where the proportion of sales is 80
closely regulated by the price as that of
furniture. Four-ffths Of the furniture sold
is to replace that which is out of style or
little old-fashioned. An advance of price
arrests this demand, as was witnessed dur
ing the hankrupting business done during
he five years just preceding the fall in
prices and large increase of demand.


The strike, supposing it to be general and
would result in reducing before
next January the number Of men at work
,ne-half, leaving the others without labor
md without wages.


The cabinet-makers' strike is, however,
,ut the prelude to the grand work marked |
mt by the managers. We mean that class
# men who may hare reluctantly worked at
lines, but who prefer the more conpenia1 |
abor of 1ecturing and Grating upon the
wrongs Of those who do work; the men
Eho get up picnics, and who preach for the
gate-money," thus raising the wind which
hey are too lazy or incompetent to earn by
abor; the men who "pass the hat" at
Ialls or professions, and at strikes, and thus
'et the means Of living while they harangue
be multitudes upon tho dignity of labor.
.hese idle, blatant demagogues are the men
rho are urging On this general strike, who
re engineering and forcing this general
uspension OF labor, and who are laborinc to
rrest the generh resumption Of employment
Or the direct purpose of having some griev-
nee and hardship to complain Of, and On
'hich they can make themselves conspicu-
us and be recipients of gate-money. The
Ill employment of labor at remunerat,ve
ages would extinguish this whole class Of
city agitators aud gate-money" dema.
ogues, and hence the present demand for
enerd strike Of all mechanical trades, SO
lat there may be something to bevnil.
We suggest thai, before the ten thousand
age-worRers in this city lay down their
'ols: abandon their. weekly wages, and sus-
and labor, they glance at the situation Of