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designate, and tell you why you should
submit the wage question to arbitration. Let me know if you
want me to meet you, and I will do so immediately.
Urges Talk at Home
"Take my advice boys, and go home
and talk this all over with your women folk. They have good
sense. They have to bear at least half of the burden of the
strike. Read this over with them and ask them if they don't
think that you ought to submit the wage and other questions to
arbitration..."
* * *
New Yorkers Shocked
by Deadly Stillness of Their Noisy City
______________
by Deadly Stillness of Their Noisy City
______________
It was the deadly stillness of everything that first put a chill into the heart of
New York early yesterday morning.
It seemed as if a vital cord had been severed and the spark of
life had flickered out. People living blocks away from the
"L" and the subway felt that something was amiss,
while those near enough to have the friendly rumble and rattle
in their ears day after day had a definite sense of loss. Their
noisy city had lost some of its vitality, is distinction. They
had a sense of resentment that grew as the day advanced, and
the vague unrest of the early morning hours merged into the
distinct annoyance and anxiety of the afternoon and evening.
But on the whole, good temper and
good humor triumphed over inconvenience. Wit was rampant, for
there was much to laugh at and genuine amusement neutralized
some of the more serious aspects of the strike. Every one
thought it a fortunate circumstance that New York's reversion
to the trans- portation of another era took place on a Sunday -
a dismal Sunday at that, with gray skies, whiffs of scurrying
wind,
blowy street corners and intermittent
showers. Few people wanted to leave the shelter of their homes
unless they had to. Excursions were out of the question. There
was no business pressure of any kind. Even a good many worthy
churchgoers curled themselves up in cosey lounges and read the
Sunday papers with never a thought of the blue Monday stealing
upon them.
Wait for Worse to Happen
A good many were calmly waiting for
worse to happen. Some thought the worst had already arrived as
they were jostled in the street cars and found um- brella
spokes stuck dangerously near their only pair of eyes.
Perhaps in the street cars more than
any where else the strikers were blessed in accents neither
gentle nor mild. There was little moderation in the crowds that
swarmed on the snailing surface cars, but the Fifth Avenue bus
preserved its customary calm and refused to accommodate one
passenger too many.
All the vehicular peculiarities that a
city like New York can master were abroad in the streets and
there was a wealth of color and human interest for the curious,
in spite of the drab tones of the day. The "'ansom"
and the cabby were in their element. The almost forgotten horse
became an object of interest again.
Bicycles were produced from cellars and
borrowed from messenger boys. Great unwieldy trucks put up some
scaffolding and proceeded to take on crowds. Every one was glad
for any kind of lift. The motor, no matter what its age or
make, was easily the ace in the pack.
New Form of Salutation
A new form of salutation came into
being when the wheels of the magic sub and "L"
stopped revolving.
"How did you get here?"
Apparently no one expected that any one
else could get anywhere. A journey of ten blocks successfully
achieved was something to exclaim about.
"Did your leaders go back and
report to you yesterday that I asked Hedley if he would give
you the 50 per cent increase if the Interborough got 8-cent
fares?
Did they tell you how Hedley replied?
In case you don't know what happened, let me tell you.
"Won't Meet Your Demands"
"I asked Mr. Hedley if he would
meet the proposed wage scale if this city agreed to eight-cent
fares, and he said 'No.' Remember that if Mr. Hedley gets
eight-cent fares he couldn't give you that 50 per cent
increase. God knows how much he will give you, but I guarantee
that if they get the eight-cent fares they would give you as
little as they could and give Wall Street as much as they
could, so don't be fools.
"Mr. Hedley went further. He said
that no matter how much income the Inter- borough had he still
would not give you the increase your leaders ask for. It was
right after this that one of your leaders said he would take
Hedley's word as to the income of the subways rather than
statements of the city's statisticians, and he made the remark,
'Hedley is good enough for me.'
"Hedley may be good enough for
that particular leader, but when you come to understand all the
circumstances, you will have a different idea about it. Mr.
Hedley uses your 50 per cent increase demand to ask for
eight-cent fares, and in the same breath says that if he gets
them you won't get the increase you ask. This is the truth, and
if your leaders tell you it isn't, I have a way of proving it.
I am willing to meet the whole 15,000 employes at Madison
Square Garden, or any other place you
©2003 The Composing Stack Inc.
©2003 Gregory J. Christiano
Updated January 20 , 2003