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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
The Situation in Chicago
PRACTICALLY THE SAME AS LAST WEEK—BENT TREATS WORKMEN TO THANKSGIVING GIFT-
MANY TAKE ADVANTAGE, SURPRISING MR. t)OLD A BOYCOTT SCHEME TALKED OF
WORKERS VISIT KIMBALL SMITH & BARNES MAY MOVE TO SPRINGFIELD, O.
TALK OF OTHER FIRMS LEAVING CHICAGO—CONDITIONS AT
STEGER SOMETHING OF THE PADRONE SYSTEM.
[Special to The Review.]
Chicago, 111., Dec. 6, 1899.
It looks almost as if the piano workmen
of Chicago would not enjoy their Christ-
mas dinner as men engaged in active em-
ployment, for there is a well-defined belief
existing here that the piano manufacturers
have determined to maintain an unbroken
front as far as acceding to the dictatorial
demands of the union officials goes. The
quicker the men realize this the better it
will be for them. Soon the holiday trade
—as far as the manufacturing interests are
concerned—will be of the past, and then
manufacturers themselves may decide to
keep their factories closed until spring.
I wrote you about Geo. P. Bent's invita-
tion to his men to enjoy a Thanksgiving
dinner at his expense. A long file of men,
numbering hundreds, were present on
Wednesday to avail themselves of his hos-
pitality. Mr. Bent's cashier had beside
him a pile of bills running in denomina-
tion from one to five dollars, which were
passed out to the men, while business
agent Dold stood on the outside of the
building at Sangamon and Washington
Boulevard, together with a few of his lieu-
tenants. Dold had stated that he would
eat his hat if the men responded to Mr.
Bent's invitation. He looked on in amaze-
ment at the large number in evidence, but
no one has yet heard of his coming down
to a hat diet. Some of the men asked the
cashier when they would be at work again.
"Soon, I hope," he replied, as he deftly
arranged a fresh pile of bills for the new
comers who were filing past him. "We have
nothing against the union men," he added,
"but we shall run our business to suit our-
selves and will never submit to dictation
from any union."
Here is one of Dold's latest schemes, the
introduction of the novel boycott, which
was decided upon by the Chicago Federa-
tion of Labor: The plan is to induce the
renters of pianos to shun the product of
the factories involved in the labor troubles.
Wherever the tabooed instruments are
found on rent the users are to be asked by
a committee of the federation to return
them to the warerooms where they were
obtained and replace them at once with in-
struments made in factories that have re-
fused to join the lock-out.
The talk of manufacturers moving from
Chicago continues unabated, and a despatch
from Springfield, O., says:
"There is a pretty good prospect that
the Smith & Barnes piano manufactory
of Chicago may be removed to this city.
The firm now employs 300 men, many of
them skilled artisans who command big
wages. The factory now occupied by the
firm is too small. They cannot keep up
with orders and have been obliged to call
in traveling men for this reason. They
must enlarge or seek a new location. It
seems that it is not feasible to do the
former except at a very heavy expense, so
the firm is considering the latter.
"Two of the representatives of the firm
are here to-day. They are W. N. Matre,
secretary, and H. P. Nelson, superintend-
ent. In company with Mayor Bowlus and
John Chapman, of the firm of Wickham &
Chapman, piano plate manufacturers, from
whom the firmbuys its piano plates, the
two gentlemen, this forenoon, looked at
the north wing of the East street shop,
formerly occupied by the Standard Manu-
facturing Company, with a view to mov-
ing in there. They expressed themselves
as being well pleased with the place.
"This afternoon the two visitors met
President Sparks, of the Commercial Club.
Later they were driven out to the old
Whitely steel works building and looked
through it with a view to moving into it."
The men seem to think that the proposed
removal of piano factories from Chicago is
something in the nature of a bluff. They
may find out their mistake in this later on.
The Chicago Chronicle of last Friday con-
tained the following: A pseudo padrone
system was exposed before the State Board
of Arbitration yesterday as being responsi-
ble for the prevailing strike of Chicago
piano workers. The board is seeking to
settle the differences between the em-
ployers and the employes, and when sev-
eral witnesses said that workmen at the
various factories were compelled to pay
from $2 to $3 per week each to contractors
who stood between the men and the com-
panies, and that the contractors did no
work whatsoever, the commissioners were
surprised.
"It is simply a system of rake-off," said
Charles Dold, representing the Piano
Workers' Union. "The firms have sup-
posed that the employes got the money,
but they do not. The men were supposed
to receive from $15 to $20 per week, while,
as a matter of fact, they get only from $13
to $15.
" I t is a system closely akin to the plan
of pay-roll stuffing in politics, and I am
free to say that it was a revelation to me
to find Contractors Christophson, Helmuth
and others admit that the power to fix the
rate of wages is solely in the hands of the
slave-driving contractors. It is an infam-
ous system and labor will demand its aboli-
tion at the hands of the next legisla-
ture."
I understand that the Commercial Club
of Louisville will send a delegation to Chi-
cago to interview some of the manufac-
turers relative to a removal to that city.
This move I do not believe will be made
any more than other reports that factories
would go as far South as Norfolk, Va.,
and Hagerstown, Md. Whatever removals
occur will not be farther than a radius of
a couple of hundred miles from this city.
The employees of the Kimball company
sent a delegation to talk with the officials
of that concern. Their reception was kind-
ly in every way, and it is a fact that hun-
dreds of the men would return to their la-
bors to-morrow were it not for the influ-
ence of the union. They seem to be owned
wholly by that body, to whom they have
delegated all rights of control of their acts.
They are no longer free agents, and it cer-
tainly is to be hoped that they may break
away from the pernicious thraldom of Dold
and his associates. Surely they must un-
derstand by this time that the manufactur-
ers do not intend to recede from their posi-
tion ; indeed, if they should, they would be
signing away their business independence.
Regarding the conditions at the Steger
factories, the Steger Herald has the follow-
ing to say : "Some three weeks ago the
Steger Company notified their employees
that the factory would close in two weeks
from that time. The employees vigorously
protested the proposed lock-out, and the
attention of the president of the company,
Mr. J. V. Steger, was called to the rules as
laid down in the co-operative profit-shar-
ing system under which the shop is work-
ing; also a verbal agreement which Mr.
Steger entered into with his men some
two or three months before the trouble
in Chicago came up. Mr. Steger read-
ily saw his mistake and recognized
that should the factory close he would
be breaking faith with his employees,
who had given him no cause for such a
move.
Mr. Steger has made it a point to interest
himself in the welfare of his men, both in
and out of the shop, encouraging public
improvements, as well as aiding in the
social advancement of the community.
To close the factory would to a great extent
overthrow what had taken time, money and
the perseverance of the people here to build
up. The factory continues to work over-
time, and our citizens have again settled
down to their various occupations with a
feeling of safety and contentment."
Business Healthy.
The condition of the country, as reported
by the different financial authorities, con-
tinues to be most encouraging. In the
latest issue of Dun's Review business is
reported as wonderfully large, prosperous
and healthy. As the detailed statement of
failures by branches of business cannot be
made until next week, it seems well to say
that in four weeks failures have been re-
ported amounting to $6,848,590, against
$8,110,475 in the same weeks of last
year, $11,610,195 i n l8 97» a *id over
$12,000,000 in 1896, and also in 1895.
Yet the volume of solvent trade repre-
sented by exchanges at the principal clear-
ing houses has been for the month 22.5 per
cent, greater than last year and 46 per
cent, greater than in 1892. Thus the ratio
of defaults to business payments was $2.57
in $1,000 for November, 1895, and $2.75
for 1896, and $2.15 for 1897, but $1.25 for
1898 and only 90 cents in $1,000 for 1899.
In many lines the volume of business has
been larger than in October, notwithstand-
ing the extraordinary flood of buying ever
since the beginning of last March.