THEY WILL NOT YIELD.

WESTERN RAILROAD OFFICIALS OPPOSE THE EIGHT-HOUR LAW.

A Request of the Freight-Handlers for Shorter Hours and Former Pay Emphatically Refused by One Road--Fears of a General Strike Among the Low-Priced Freight Men In This City--The General Situation in All Lines of Trade.

The Western railroads, judging by the acts and words of their chief officials, seem to have already determined to oppose all attempts to introduce the Eight-Hour law. Evidently they fear that if the concession were granted in any one department of railroad work, however unimportant, it would be but the beginning of a fight which would eventually spread to every department and over all lines. It is probably with this in mind that the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Road has refused to comply with the demand of a few of its unskilled freight-handlers for "eight hours' work and eight hours' pay." The reply of this road was that it would not change the rate of pay nor the working hours, as the conditions were such that neither change would be warranted. The men earn only $1.50 to $1.75 per day of ten hours' work, or 15 to 17 1/2 cents an hour, and they ask to work for eight hours only and be paid for only eight hours' work. This demand was made by the freight-handlers employed at the "out" depot only. Their fellow-employés at similar labor at the "in" depot, on the other side of the tracks, and at the "transfer" depot, a few rods off, have as yet said nothing. Wednesday afternoon Local Freight Agent Cooke sent for six or seven of the men to come and talk the matter over with him at his office at the "out" depot. The talk lasted over two hours. Mr. Cooke said it was wholly impracticable for the road to get through its work properly within eight hours, no matter how many hands were employed, and he was authorized to state that the request was respectfully but firmly refused. Mr. Cooke knows most of the men personally, and has spoken of them as men of intelligence and good character, and the talk was therefore not altogether of the formal kind customary between labor delegations and managing officials. No demand being made for higher wages, Mr. Cooke asked how or why they should be satisfied or could get on as well when their present wages of $9 to $10 a week were reduced by $1.50? To this the men made no reply, and finally retired to consult with their fellow-laborers. Whatever further action the men take it seems as though the railroad will not concede the eight-hour day without a bitter fight. If the men strike there are thousands of laborers eager for their places, and with the experience gained by the Lake Shore switchmen's strike such legal action could be promptly taken as would prevent serious interference with the business of the road. Mr. Cooke and the other officials of the road prefer to say nothing to the newspapers at present, but their impression seems to be that this isolated demand was but a "feeler" to find out the attitude of the road. If one freight depot worked only eight hours soon every one and on all roads, East and West, would demand the same, and this be followed by a battle royal for high wages--this is about the way the corporations feel on the matter. The railroad labor unions, however, seem to have arranged that the freight-handlers shall bear the brunt of the battle in the eigh-hour contest. It is only within the last week or two that anything approaching a general organization has existed among these men, but the leaders and professional organizers from other departments of railroad work have apparently made up for lost time, and it is not improbable that today or tomorrow the freight-handlers on every road in the city will strike work. The men are not properly organized for a strike; their wages are the smallest paid, and they have only the promised help of other unions to enable them to live and support their families during the strike, even supposing they got employment when it was over; they are men who, as a rule, would rather work ten hours under any circumstances if paid by the hour; the railroads can fight a freight-handlers' strike easier than any other; and, altogether, it would seem that these men would perform a most ill-advised act if they carry out their threat.

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Men.

In a talk with P. E. Wilson, the local freight agent of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, yesterday, he said the only move made as yet by the freight-handlers of his road was the presentation of a numerously signed petition by his men asking for a reduction in the hours of labor from ten to eight, without a corresponding reduction in the wages now paid. When asked what action he thought his company would take in the matter he said he hadn't the suspicion of an idea, as he had talked with none of the higher officials and did not know what opinions any of them entertained. He said the petition had been presented to him about 11 o'clock in the morning, and that as he was powerless to act in the premises he had sent it to Milwaukee, where it would reach those who could act upon it and return an answer to the men. He said the petition did not hint at a suspension of work by the men, but was nothing more than a simple request for a reduction in the hours of labor. Mr. Wilson's assistant was asked if he had heard anything about an understanding among the several roads leading from Chicago that in the event of labor troubles among the men they would close down operations and starve the men into coming back to work. He said he had heard nothing authoritative on that point, but had heard indirectly that something of the kind was contemplated.

A TRIBUNE reporter had a long talk with one of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad freight-handlers yesterday. The man was evidently about the average in intelligence, and succeeded in presenting his side of the case plainly. When asked for the main points covered in the petition presented to the railway officials he said that the men asked for a reduction in the hours of labor from ten to eight, basing the request on the widespread movement on the part of the workingmen for shorter hours.

"Don't you know," he was asked, "that almost without exception the employers of the city are opposed to the movement and say they will never yield to it as long as it is possible to resist?"

"O, I know some of them will fight it, but you'll see that the majority will give in after the first few days. They'd rather continue work on small profits than shut down and lose everything."

"But they claim that the active competition of recent years has done away with big margins, and that should they grant the demands made by their men they would be ruined in short order."

"Yes, that's the way they talk, but you'll see they'll keep running right along. Now, about the freight-handlers. Of course we don't want eight hours for a day's work unless all the other workingmen get it, and I don't think our boys will go out on a strike unless every railroad-man in the city does. You see, sentiment is somewhat divided even among ourselves, and a good many of us believe we ought not to strike at all, but simply present our side of the question to the company and let the company decide it on its merits. Others think we ought to strike anyhow, claiming this the only way to bring the company to time. Now, in the petition we presented to Mr. Wilson we only asked for eight hours' labor and ten hours' pay and overwork pay. We didn't threaten to strike, and it's doubtful if all the boys would go out anyway. You see, we may be compelled to go out, but of that I haven't heard much."

"Then the matter isn't left entirely to the men?"

"Of course not. There's a big pressure from behind, and the idea is that all of us will have to stand together in order to carry our point. The rules of our union compel us to obey our leaders whether we want to or not, and we're afraid to break the rules, because if the union did succeed none of us could ever get work again."

"What do you think of the agreement among the railroads to close down if the men insist upon ten hours' pay for eight hours' work? Do you think they will be able to starve the men into coming back to work?"

"I don't know anything about any such agreement, and as far as starving us out is concerned I guess we can do a little of that ourselves. When the whole town begins crying for something to eat the railroads will have to come around and put us to work."

"Do you think it the right thing to make every one in the city suffer in order to carry your point?"

"Well, we haven't considered everything

yet, but we don't think it will go that far. We think our demand will be acceded to if all the other men succeed; and, of course, we've got to stand or fall together. Now, the majority of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul freight-handlers are opposed to quitting work, and we won't strike unless we are compelled to."

MILWAUKEE, Wis., April 29.--[Special.]--At a late hour this afternoon officials of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway were in receipt of notice, by telegraph, of the demands made by that corporation's freight-handlers at Chicago. When seen by the TRIBUNE correspondent this evening, General Manager Miller said: "Our reply to these demands has been prepared, and will be formally submitted to the men tomorrow. I do not feel at liberty to give this reply to the public until the men shall known its nature. It rightly belongs to them first. The public must wait until after tomorrow." Mr. Miller's tone in a further conversation, however, as well as several sentences spoken in an unguarded moment, made it an easy matter to foresee the nature of the company's reply. The demands are believed to be unreasonable, and such that no railway company can afford to grant. They will be refused in the reply to be submitted to the men tomorrow. The Tribune correspondent has been thoroughly satisfied that this will be the case by interviews with several prominent officials of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway.

The Northwestern Freight-Handlers.

It was reported yesterday afternoon that the freight-handlers on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad had gone out, and that the road had suspended all freight receipts. The report had little foundation, and grew out of the rumor that the men had requested a reduction in the hours of labor. A TRIBUNE reporter had a talk with Mr. A. B. Brinkerhoff, the local freight agent, in his office yesterday afternoon.

"Our men," said he, "presented us a petition today, or that is, the eighty men employed in the out freight-house, asking for a reduction in their hours of labor. I had no authority to reply to them, but I received the committee politely and told its members that I couldn't act in the matter, but would take pleasure in submitting the petition to the Superintendent. I received the committee about 2 p. m., and shortly afterward forwarded the petition to the office of the Superintendent."

"Was it accompanied with a threat that the men would quit work if their hours of labor were not reduced?"

"No, sir. It simply requested that the hours for work be reduced from ten to eight at present wages, and calls for an answer by noon Saturday. I promised that the men would have their answer by that time."

"What are the prospects for a compliance with the demand?"

"That I don't know. I can't see, however, how it can be complied with, for the bulk of our freight is rushed in upon us towards the latter part of the day, and the men have to work like Trojans to get it properly shipped before we close for the day."

At the Stock-Yards.

It is probable that unless the packers and others at the Stock-Yards accede to demands to be made shortly by the men employed a strike of immense proportions will occur. At Armour's packing-house, where upwards of 3,000 men are employed, the eight hours' work and ten hours' pay question has been worked up considerably. One of the department superintendents said yesterday that the men had told him they did not intend to strike, but May 1 would ask that the new law be adopted in the house. If the request was refused, then they would do something else. The "something else" they refused to talk about. At Swift's slaughter-house the matter has been discussed by the employés. They said they will ask a reduction of hours and an increase of wages. A rumor has been circulated to the effect that 800 Stock-Yards employés had adopted resolutions favoring the eight-hour plan. "The eight-hour plan," Mr. G. Titus Williams, Superintendent of the Yards, said yesterday, "will not affect the employés from the fact that a majority of them do not work that long, while they are paid wages ranging from $55 to $100 per month, and seem contented with their lot."

A meeting of the employés of the different packing-houses at the Stock-Yards was held last evening at No. 3109 Halsted street. Committees from the various houses will wait on their employers today and demand eight hours hereafter, letting the pay regulate itself, excepting that the men will ask to be allowed time and a half for all overwork. The following named firms were represented and will be waited on by committees made up of men in their employ this morning: Armour & Co., Fowler Bros., Jones & Stiles, New York Packing Company, Morrell & Co., and Silberhorn & Co.

The Chicago Packing Company has already agreed to give its skilled men eight hours' work with nine hours' pay, and the laboring men who work for smaller wages are to receive ten hours' pay. N. K. Fairbank & Co. will probably give their men a definit answer to the same proposition today.

Armour & Co.'s coopers held a separate meeting and resolved to ask for eight hours' work with nine hours' pay and time and a half allowance for all overwork. They said they would go out if their demands were refused, and were ready to fight it to an end. The different committees will report their progress at a meeting to be held tonight at No. 3109 Halsted street.

The Federal Courts to Be Appealed To if Necessary.

If the railroad freight hands should go out Saturday, and, having done so, attempt to interfere with the work of any new men, or with the movement of trains, the roads will not call on the police or the Sheriff, but will go directly to the United States courts and get out an injunction against any parties intefering with them. This they will do under that provision of the Revised Statutes which reads: "If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire, or go in disguise on the highway or on the premises of another for the purpose of depriving, either directly or indirectly, any person or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of the equal privileges and immunities under the laws; or for the purpose of preventing or hindering the constituted authorities of any State or Territory from giving or securing to all persons within such State or Territory the equal protection of the laws; each of such persons shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000, or by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, not less than six months nor more than six years, or by both such fine and imprisonment."

This applies to a road chartered by Illinois and operating a line wholly within the State, as much as to one which is not chartered by it, and runs mainly in another State. Nor is it necessary to exhaust one's remedies in a State court first. Proceedings may be commenced originally before the Federal tribunal. There is a general idea now that the United States is bigger than any State, and the orders of its courts are treated with much more respect even by the most ignorant people.

Parlor Furniture Manufacturers Will Fight the Union.

,Nearly all the manufacturers of parlor furniture in Chicago met at the Leland Hotel yesterday and formed themselves into an association to be called the Chciago Parlor Furniture Manufacturers' Association, with the following officers: C. C. Holton, President; William Geffert, Vice President; A. J. Copp, Secretary; A. C. Schmidt, Treasurer; William S. Rothschild, William Giffert, E. J. Riley, T. W. Buhman, and Joseph Deimel, Executive Committee. It was resolved that the members of the new association would not accede to the demands of Upholsterers' Union No. 1 of Chicago for an increase of 20 per cent on all piece-work prices, and that eight hours should constitute a day's work at ten hours' pay, which is virtually an advance of 25 per cent on day-work. This association is composed of the following firms, which comprise with one or two exceptions all the manufacturers of parlor furniture exclusively in the city: Ketchem, Rothschild & Co., William Giffert, S. G. Wilkens & Co., Copp & Harlacher, A. Deimel & Bros., C. C. Holton, A. C. Schmidt & Co., E. J. Riley, Keck, Buchman & Hansen, Schutte Bros., Charles Zierke, Karpen Bros., Andres Bros., D. T. Childs Chair Co., Hartley Chair Co., Ott Lounge Co., W. H. Averil, Funk Bros., and J. R. Sheridan & Co.

Machine Manufacturers Combine.

Following in the wake of other lines of manufacture some twenty-five machine manufacturers and foundrymen met at the Grand Pacific yesterday to talk over the eight-hour movement and agree, if possible, on united action. A circular from a mass-meeting of foundrymen April 25 was read, in which the men pledged themselves "as honorable men to adopt the eight-hour system in all the foundries throughout the city May 1, believing that it will redound to the best interest of both employer and employé; all time over eight hours be paid at the rate of double time, and that the time to begin work in the morning be 8 o'clock."

After considerable discussion it was apparent that the manufacturers were at present too far apart to successfully combine, and an adjournment was taken until next week. The prevailing sentiment in the meeting, however, was decidedly opposed to the eight-hour day as disadvantageous in the foundry business outside of any wage consideration. The closing of the shops if the men insisted upon extortionate demands was advocated by a number as the most satisfactory manner of meeting the approaching crisis, and then to allow matters to take their natural course in reopening.

Eight Hours for City Employes.

The Eight-Hour Committee met again yesterday to consider the ordinance drawn by Corporation Counsel Winston in accordance with the State law, which makes eight hours a day's work unless otherwise stipulated. Ald. Ernst thought it well enough to try the plan, though he didn’t believe it would amount to anything. Ald. Drew said it meant ten hours' pay for eight hours' work. Ald. Cullerton was opposed to that, as he didn't believe in it. His understanding was that the men simply wanted eight hours to be a day's work. The committee ought to recommend the passage of the ordinance and let the plan be tried. Ald. Drew took the position that nothing more could be done, as the State law covered the matter. He didn't believe the agitation of the subject would be productive of any good to the workingmen. He thought there would be a reaction to their disadvantage. He felt that he would be doing them a kindness by withholding his assent. He believed that the ordinance was simply buncombe, and was not in favor of that kind of legislation--would not be a party to it. Cullerton and Ernst agreed to recommend favorable action, but Drew declined to sign the report.

Clothing and Hat and Cap Makers.

The wholesale clothing dealers conceded the eight-hour demand of their cutters some weeks ago, and as the cutters are the only employés in the trade not paid on the piece system the manufacturers do not anticipate any serious trouble from the movement. The great bulk of the work is done in several hundred little shops outside the business district, employing from one to twenty men each, and it is on the proprietors of these that the brunt of the battle will fall. There is nothing to hinder a man doing piece-work at home from working eighteen hours a day if he wants to as long as the manufacturer gives him the materials, and as there are very many tailors so situated, the proprietors of little shops--in nearly all of which the regular weekly-wages system rules--will fight bitterly against reducing the hours of work without an equal reduction in wages. The tailors' unions are agitating to enforce the eight-hour rule in all shops, big and little, and partial success--for it can be only partial at the best--means either less wages to the men or a loss to the proprietors. The manufacturers, however, fear that the result of it all may eventually be an increase in piece rates, and anticipate this by informally demanding, as the shoe manufacturers have formally demanded, that such action be made simultaneously East and West. The leading Eastern clothiers have branches in this city, and to raise the piece rates in Chicago only would give the East an unfair advantage which would naturally be resisted. The difficulty unions have in not being able to strike directly at the manufacturers will probably render the movement inoperative in this trade except among such workmen as are willing to accept reduced wages corresponding to the reduced hours of labor.

The wholesale hat and cap people are unaffected by the movement, as practically all of the manufacturing in this line is carried on in Connecticut, New Jersey, and other out-of-the-way corners of the country. The wholesale furnishing people also anticipate little trouble, as almost all of the work is done on the piece system and no agitation for a change of hours or wages has yet been heard of.

The Cloak Manufacturers.

There are about 7,000 working cloakmakers in the city at present; Christmas last there were probably not 700, and Christmas next there may be only 700 again. This is a riddle that is bothering the Cloakmakers' Union. The trouble with the cloakmakers is that most of them are cloakmakers for only eight or nine months of the year, if so long; and are seamstresses, or housekeepers, or something else, if not compulsory idlers, the rest of the time. About seven-eighths of the workers in this trade are women, and about seven-eighths of the work is done on the piece system. Only a little of the work is done in the manufacturing establishments. Nine hours a day has been the rule in the manufacturing houses until a few weeks ago, when some of the houses voluntarily changed the time to eight hours. The manufacturers did not believe any demand will be made on them for a reduction in hours, and care very little anyhow.

Julius Stein, who employs about 200 hands in the cloakmaking business and looks after them all himself, said that the hours in his place now were nominally eight and one-half hours, but really less than eight. Less than 10 per cent of his workers are males. He did not know whether his hands were union or non-union, and did not care so they kept from chattering about it.

Fred Siegel, the head of the largest cloakmaking house in the city, said he thought the union would have a great deal more trouble getting the employés to agree to the eight-hour system than the employers. He told of Polish Hebrew refugees he knew of here--most of thee people, it seems, are cloakmakers--who work eighteen to twenty hours a day every day except Saturday, and of other foreigners he knew who worked sixteen to twenty hours a day every day in the week. How was an eight-hour law going to reach such people as these? And if foreigners here wanted to work literally day and night when they got a chance and in order to earn passage-money for suffering relatives in Europe, what law was there to hinder? Mr. Siegel anticipated no trouble whatever.

Stove-Men and Ironworkers.

Mr. Cribben of Cribben, Sexton & Co., stove manufacturers, said that since the fire in their establishment last winter they had been employing only half the number of men they used to employ. Their new warehouse was completed, and they were at present moving their machinery and stock into it. They would not start the works for a month at least, and were, therefore, not immediately concerned in what the workingmen might do May 1. The firm had not mapped out any course to pursue in case of a demand for eight hours' work.

Mr. Collins of Collins & Burgie, stove manufacturers, said he considered it simply out of the question for the manufacturer to give ten hours' pay for eight hours' work, and that he believed if the men were to insist upon the adoption of eight hours for a day's work, without a corresponding reduction in pay, that it would result in the closing down of nearly every manufacturing establishment in the country, or an immediate advance in everything to correspond with the increased pay. Very few of the workingmen, he continued, stop to think how much the earning capacity of invested capital is lowered by the reduction in the hours of labor from ten to eight.

Mr. Benner of M. Benner & Co. said if his men were to demand ten hours' pay for eight hours' work he would be compelled to close down. "The iron business is run on a very close margin," he said, "and there is such active competition that the profits have been cut away down. To illustrate, let me mention a case: I can name a firm which took a contract last winter at an actual loss for the reason that it wanted to keep the men to work, knowing that if it lost the work the establishment would have to close down, which would have entailed a loss of $30 per day under its contract with the men. By taking the contract this loss was reduced to $15 per day, although work was continued right along. Now, the figure at which the work was taken was only slightly below opposition bids, which goes to show that in the iron business the margins are so exceedingly narrow that it would be simply impossible to increase the pay of the men 20 per cent, which reduced hours of labor at the old standard of prices would mean. Another point to be considered is outside competition. We have more to fear on that score than any other, for everybody knows there is no eight-hour movement worthy the name in a great many places which compete with Chicago in our line of business."

This firm employs about seventy men in the foundry and in the manufacture of ornamental iron railings, fire escapes, and general housework.

The Bakers.

About 100 persons are employed by the firm of Blake, Shaw & Co., proprietors of the Dake bakery. In conversation with Mr. Blake on the eight-hour question, he said that if the people in his firm's employ were to demand ten hours' pay for eight hours' work he didn't see how successful competition with other points could be kept up. He said he thought it a little singular that the saloonkeepers kept right along at eighteen and twenty hours per day without anyone raising a voice in their behalf, and that if they would consent to eight hours' work he believed nearly every firm in the country would concede eight hours to employés. He thought, however, that the saloonkeepers should open at 8 in the morning and run to noon; then again from 1 to 5. "The trouble with the bakers," he said, "is that our machinery has a certain capacity, and all our calculations are based on running it full time--that is, ten hours out of every twenty-four; and as soon as you diminish the earning capacity of our machinery or our capital we will either have to advance the price of our product or be forced out of business."

At the F. A Kennedy Biscuit Works H. J. Evans, Secretary and General Manager, said the baking business was somewhat different from any other, and that it would be difficult to fix the precise number of hours for work, as so many things had to be taken into consideration in the preparation of dough, but that as a rule his employés only worked about nine hours per day on an average. "If our people were to demand eight hours' work," he said, "it would practically bring it down to seven because of the troubles mentioned before. If it were enforced, the first thing to happen would be an advance of half a cent a pound for our products, and if we couldn't get that we would shut down our works. We're not going to put out $1 and only get back 90 cents. Personally, I would like to see the eight-hour movement succeed, but it can't be enforced in our factory unless it is enforced in all. About 150 people are employed by the company, and as yet none of them have expressed any dissatisfaction, nor have any of them said anything about the eight-hour movement."

Roth, McMahon & Co. are manufacturers of bakers' machinery and tools. Mr. Roth said his firm would have to close down if the men demanded ten hours' pay for eight hours' work, as the profits in the business were already at the lowest possible figure. "Competition," he said, "is so brisk that none of the manufacturers in our line are making extravagant profits, and none of them can afford to increase their expenses in any department, which a concession to the eight-hour demand would do."

Frank Lawler.

The Hon. Frank Lawler commences a letter to the Eight-Hour Day on the eight-hour movement by a touching reference to what he terms the "many long and weary years of patient waiting for the dawn of a day which [appears] happily about drawing to a close." As to whether it is the "patient waiting" or the "dawn of a day" the termination of which is looked upon as a blessing of such unparalleled dimensions he does not particularize, but lays especial stress upon the fact that it is the toiling masses who are to benefit by the termination of one or the other. Further on Mr. Lawler waxes more emphatic than coherent: . . . "Its adoption," he says, "will be the means of taking up and putting into active employment the million and a half of unemployed people in this country, for when active industry abound throughout the country what happiness is found upon all sides. Again, has it not been demonstrated to the most bitter opponent of the shortening of the hours or labor that it may and will produce as much in eight hours as they now perform under the slavish ten-hour rule?" The following sentence, too, expresses a satisfaction that may be pardoned for the ghastly stab it inflicts upon the reproachful shade of Lindley Murray: "I am proud to say," exults the West Side statesman, "that never in the history of the Congress of the United States was there ever found so many who now think [the "now" is very properly italicized in the original] that legislation of some kind should be had for the poor toiling masses." The remainder of the letter is just as eloquent.

Trouble Brewing Among the Blast-Furnace Men.

There is trouble brewing among the blast-furnace men at the South Chicago Rolling-Mills which may result in a strike Saturday morning for eight hours. It is said that the company has informed the men that the entire works will be shut down indefinitly if they insist on their demands. As the rolling-mills are by far the most important part of the town the prospect of a lockout creates great alarm, and every effort is being made to prevent it. Today will probably decide the matter.

Miscellaneous Opinions.

J. W. Reedy, manufacturer of machinery at No. 91 Illinois street, employs 150 men, the majority of whom have demanded eight hours' work with ten hours' pay. The firm has not yet given them an answer, but says it is willing to accede to their demands if others in the same line of business do so, and will do so anyway rather than shut down the works.

Ross, Henshaw & Co., butterine manufacturers at Nos. 80 and 82 Illinois street, give employment to about fifty hands. Mr. Ross said that he had not heard from his men on the subject, but he intended voluntarily to give them ten hours' pay for eight hours' work after May 1.

Van Pelt & Co., manufacturers of lasts at No. 114 Indiana street, employ thirty-five men, who as yet have said nothing to the firm about the eight-hour question, and the latter say they have every reason to believe they will not make the demand. The firm is in favor of eight hours' work with the corresponding amount of pay.

The Crandal Barbed-Wire Manufacturing Company at No. 74 Michigan street gives employment to fifty men, who as yet have made no demands for eight hours' work. One of the members of the firm said, however, that they would not give the men ten hours' pay for eight hours' work, and would shut down the works rather than do so.

John Davis & Co., steam-fitters at Nos. 71 to 79 Michigan street, employ 135 men. The latter have asked for eight hours with ten hours' pay, but the firm refused to give more than nine hours' pay at the present scale of wages for eight hours' work. The men will probably accept these terms as a compromise.

The proprietors of the Northwestern Boiler Works, at No. 64 Michigan street, say they are willing to give their twenty-two men eight hours' with nine hours' pay.

There are seventy-five employés at the Chicago Forge and Bolt Works, whose office is at No. 234 Clark street. The firm says that it doesn't expect to make any change from the present number of working hours, which is ten, because their men are for the most part paid by the piece and seem to be perfectly satisfied with the way they are now working.

Eight-Hour Notes.

Rand, McNally & Co. desire to contradict a report published in a morning paper yesterday to the effect that they had agreed to allow their printers ten hours' pay for a working day of nine hours.

The wholesale grocers, with one or two exceptions, have agreed to close their places of business Saturdays at 1 p. m. during May, June, July, and August.

The Journeymen Lather's Union, an organization which numbers 200 men, held a meeting last night in the hall at No. 54 West Lake street. The men will request of the employers a concession to the demand which will be made at once to pay the men at the rate of $2.50 per day for eight hours' work. The sum mentioned is now paid for ten hours' work.

The Patternmakers' Association met last night at No. 213 West Madison street. A discussion of the eight-hour movement took place, and it was stated that some of the shops had already agreed to conform to the movement, and it was probable all would.

The Metalworkers' Union held a meeting last night at No. 99 West Randolph street. The eight-hour question was discussed, but nothing definit was reached.

The Picture Frame Workers' Assembly held a mass-meeting at No. 45 North Clark street to take action on the eight-hour question. After a long discussion it was resolved to adopt the system. A committee was appointed to wait on the employers.

Branch 1 of Union 21 of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America met at No. 213 West Madison street last night. About one hundred new members joined the organization. In addition to this brotherhood, which numbers about 7,000 members, there is in the city a German carpenters' and joiners' union numbering over 1,500, and an organization known as the Amalgamated Union of carpenters and joiners, which is affiliation with the English order of that name. They ask for eight hours as a day's work, but do not ask for ten hours' pay. That, they think, will come by and by. Tonight there will be a meeting of all the carpenters and joiners in the city at Uhlich's Hall, when definit action on the eight-hour movement and other matters special to the craft will be taken.