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i i ah ti a tenendll een ee ee nS Pee rine 4 ee eT oe 1900] MARINE REVIEW. OAs (= ea TY a tute for the demurrage clause, will be modified in consultation with the counsel of the Lake Carriers’ Association, so as to express correctly the practice which it is understood will, by mutual agreement, govern the unloading of grain cargoes at grain delivery ports this season. The secretary of the Lake Carriers’ Association will then submit the detention clause, as modified, to each vessel owner for vote as to the advisability of inserting said clause in lake grain bills of lading after a named date. Seventh—lIt is understood that the grain trade, rail carriers and ele- vators will cooperate in every reasonable way to correct abuses in the matter of shortage and detention and to secure dispatch to vessels at ports of loading and unloading. Subsequently a local committee, consisting of Messrs. Brown, May- tham and Keep, was appointed to represent the association at Buffalo, and to receive complaints of vessel owners where dispatch in unloading grain cargoes was not given, and to take the matter up with the commit- tee of control appointed by the Western Elevating Association. Upon this plan the grain business has been carried on during the past season, and during the greater part of the season very prompt dispatch has been given to vessels at Buffalo. Two courses, however, neither of them connected with any defect in the grain bill of lading, have prevented the new system from having an absolutely fair trial during the season. The first of these was the shoveling strike at Buffalo in the spring, which is referred to in this report hereafter, and the second the extraordinary business offered to railroads of the country and the shortage in rolling stock, in consequence of which the elevators at Buffalo became clogged early in the fall and some delays resulted owing to the inability of the roads to take away the grain as fast as it was received by lake. In the in- terval between the close of the strike, however, and the clogging of the Buffalo elevators from the cause above mentioned, the service at Buffalo was as good as could possibly be desired. The Buffalo committee of the Lake Carriers’ Association found the board of control of the West- ern Elevating Association at all times ready to act promptly upon com- plaints, and where there was just cause for dissatisfaction, a prompt remedy was applied. The cooperation of vessel owners was also sought by instituting a system of notice from the agents loading vessels with grain at western ports by which the authorities of the Western Elevating Association were advised in advance of the boats coming to Buffalo with grain, and thus enabled to place them amongst the different elevators in a manner to facilitate dispatch in unloading. No cases of exceptional shortage or demurrage were submitted to the secretary with request for arbitration. GRAIN SHOVELING AT BUFFALO AND LABOR DIFFICULTIES. The contract for shoveling grain at Buffalo during the season of 1899 was awarded at the last annual meeting to W. J. Conners of Buffalo. It became apparent before navigation opened that there was to be a labor controversy at Buffalo between the contractor and the shovelers. It is not necessary to recite here the history of the differences of opinion between the contractor and shovelers. It is enough to confine ourselves to the position taken by the Lake Carriers’ Association and to recite the part which it took in the troubles at Buffalo during the early part of the season of navigation. The greater proportion of the grain fleet arrived in Buffalo on the third and fourth of May. The work of unloading the boats proceeded very slowly. At no time was the work of unloading entirely discon- tinued, but the force of men employed was much smaller than under ordi- nary circumstances. Whatever form the differences between the con- tractor and his men had taken in the first instance, soon after the open- ing of navigation the shovelers took the position that they would not work under the contract system, but that they, would return to the sys- tem of shoveling grain under boss scoopers at the different elevators, which had prevailed before the contract system was put into effect. Under these circumstances the executive committee of the Lake Carriers’ Asso- ciation, at their meeting in Cleveland on May 3, adopted the following resolution: “Whereas, The system of grain shoveling in vogue at Buffalo for three seasons past has operated to correct many abuses; has furnished good wages to the men actually doing the work; saved vessels from delays and extortions and been of marked advantage to the grain trade of Bui- falo, and for the mutual advantage of the shoveler and the vessel this system should continue; and ‘Whereas, A contest has been excited in Buffalo to do away with this system and compel a’return to the old system with all the abuses; “Resolved, That the members of the Lake Carriers’ Association have confidence that their contractor, W. J. Conners, is ready and willing to give the men fair treatment and the same wages as last year, and that they stand by Mr. Conners in this contest and insist on the performance of the work under his contract.” ies On the 5th of May a conference was held at the Iroquois hotel in Buffalo between members of the executive committee of the Lake Car- riers’ ‘Association and a delegation from Local No. 51, headed by Presi- dent McMahon... This meeting was practically held under the auspices of the New York State Board of Mediation and Arbitration. Messrs. Goul- der, Wilson, ‘Coulby, Corrigan and Brown attended on behalf of the Lake Carriers’ Association. The various labor interests in Buffalo were repre- sented by officers, and a number of the elevator men were in attendance. The position of the Lake ‘Carriers’’Association was stated by Mr. Goul- der to the effect that the association had entered into a contract with Mr. Conners; that he had given them a bond for the faithful perform- ance of the contract, and that the association had determined to stand __by its contractor and by the contract system. On Saturday, May 6, another conference was held at the Iroquois hotel, at which repsesentatives of the Lake Carriers’ Association, the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration, representatives of the ele- vator association and all the various labor organizations of Buffalo were present. At this conference a paper was drawn up and signed by the various interests, proposing a basis of settlement. This basis included the preservation of the contract with Mr. ‘Conners, abolishing the saloon evil, the appointment of an inspector to see that the saloon evil was abol- ished in fact, the abolition of all dummies from the pay rolls and strict supervision in this regard by the inspector. This proposition, though signed by prominent labor leaders in Buffalo as a basis of settlement, was rejected at a meeting of the shovelers, after which the Lake Carriers’ Association, through Mr. Goulder, made a statement showing that they had made earnest efforts to settle the trouble in a manner satisfactory to the scoopers and contractor, and had submiited what they considered a fair proposition to the scoopers, which they had refused to hear. In this statement Mr. Goulder suggested for the first time the name of Bishop Quigley of Buffalo to act as arbitrator. On the 7th of May Bishop Quigley agreed to endeavor to reconcile the contending parties, and on Monday, May 8, a prolonged conference was held at the house of Bishop Quigley, at which were present, in addition to the Bishop, repre- sentatives of the Lake Carriers’ Association, New York State Board of Mediation, International Longshoremen’s Union, Buffalo Local No. 51. Little progress towards an agreement was made at this conference. Dur- ing several days thereafter conferences were held at the house of Bishop ~ Quigley, and on Saturday, May 18, a basis of agreement was arrived at and put in writing, and signed by Mr. Goulder for the Lake Carriers’ Association, and the attorney for the shovelers. The basis of settlement agreed upon was as follows: BASIS OF SETTLEMENT. First—That the price of $1.85 per thousand bushels should be paid ‘to the men actually doing the work of shoveling, with not exceeding one foreman at each elevator leg; no other person to participate therein. Second—Each gang to select a time keeper from its own number. Third—The time keeper and inspector provided for at the conference to have free access to bills of lading and other documents showing the quantity of grain elevated. Fourth~Wages to be paid at elevator offices. Fifth—No bar bill or other accounts to be deducted from wages. Sixth—No boss or pay master to be directly or indirectly connected with any saloon. ‘Seventh—An inspector to be appointed by the bishop to see that the provisions of the agreement where carried out, and to report any viola- tion tu the bishop and to the Lake Carriers’ Association; the inspector to be removable by the bishop with power to appoint another, if neces- sary, to be paid by the Lake Carriers’ ‘Association. 1B ee _Eighth—Bishop Quigley to have power to appoint a. disinterested arbitrator to hear and finally determine complaints. Although this agreement was entered into by all parties to the con- treversy, upon the following Monday morning the scoopers did not re- turn to work as expected, alleging acts on the part of the contractor in- consistent with the agreement. Representatives of the Lake Carriers’ Association therefore gave out a statement that they had entered into an agreement’ which provided a remedy for every abuse she evil that had been complained of by the men; that they had done all they possibly could to put an end to the labor trouble at Buffalo, and not having been successful in inducing the men to go to work, they could only withdraw from further negotiations, leaving Bishop Quigley to deal with the mat- ter as he saw fit. Meanwhile the steam shovels and a force of two to three hundred men were steadily at work in unloading grain at Buffalo, and giving, under peculiarly difficult circumstances, as good dispatch to vessels as was possible. Meantime also, without participation by repre- sentatives of the Lake ‘Carriers’ Association, various questions between the contractor and men, such as the selection of bosses, the temporary suspension of objectionable bosses and the employment of men not mem- bers of Local 51, had been the subject of negotiations between the con- tractor and shovelers, and on the 23rd of May the settlement of these questions was so far advanced that the men returned to work at all the elevators. Bishop Quigley appointed Timothy P. Donovan inspector to see that the various terms of agreement which had been arrived at by all parties were faithfully carried out, and to report any complaints of violation of the agreement to Bishop Quigley or his representative. We have gone into a somewhat detailed recital of the dock difficul- ties at Buffalo in order to show clearly that the attitude of the Lake Car- riers’ Association from the start was one of fairness and willingness to redress all grievances which the shovelers properly complained of, and that the representatives of the Lake Carriers’ Association worked faith- fully at all.times for the preservation of the contract system of handling deve and against the return to the boss scooper system which had pre- ceded it. To meet the large extra expense to which the Lake Carriers’ Asso- ciation was subjected on account of the shoveling troubles, it was decided by the executive committee of the association to request owners carry- ing grain cargoes to Buffalo and Erie to pay an extra 3 cents per thousand bushels on shoveling, this extra 8 cents to go not to the contractor or to the shovelers, but to the treasury of the Lake Carriers’ Association. It was thought that this was the most equitable method of dealing with the large expense in which the association had been involved, as it would distribute the expense amongst all the vessels engaged in carrying grain in exact proportion to the amount of grain carried. THE SHIPPING BILL BEFORE CONGRESS. The bill for the encouragement of building up an American merchant marine which is now pending before both houses ‘of congress, has been before the legislative committee of the association during the year. In January last a joint meeting of the legislative committee of the Lake Car- riers’ Association, which has its, headquarters in Buffalo, and the board of trustees of the Buffalo Merchants’ Exchange, was held, at which Mr. Firth,-president of the association, made a careful statement of the pro- visions of the shipping bill,and the reasons why its passage would be beneficial. A resolution was adopted by the legislative committee and sent to Washington favoring the passage of the. bill; representatives of the association appeared before the house and senate committees at pub- lic hearings on the bill, and the president of the association took quite an active part in framing the modifications and changes which were made in the bill before its reintroduction at the present session of congress. WATER LEVELS OF THE GREAT LAKES AND PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION TO CONSIDER AND DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM OF THEIR MAINTENANOE. One of the most interesting and important questions relating to the matter of the lake traffic which has come to the front during the past