Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 8.djvu/411

 HORSESHOERS' STRIKE OF PHILADELPHIA 395

many of the men from the local "scab" shops into their union; and, encouraged by their success when the strike was on, they refused to compromise, but insisted that their original demands be granted in toto. And the fact that the better shops were desir- ous of granting the demands of the journeymen at once caused dissent among the masters themselves. The majority of the masters, however, were averse to giving in, and the reasons ascribed for their holding out show that the masters' association has failed to carry out one of the chief objects for which it was incorporated (see above, sec. i). Two years ago the masters adopted a scale of prices for shoeing, claiming that they were forced to raise prices because of the increase in the price of iron and the greater wages they were obliged to pay their men. The scale of prices adopted was as follows: work horses, full set of shoes (rough shoeing), $2 ; coach horses, full set of shoes, with or without heel and toe calks, $2.50 ; light driving horses, shoes, $3 per set ; and special shoes, such as bar shoes, So. 75 each. These prices, however, have not been uniformly maintained. Rebates are quite general, being made in the form of cash rebates to firms or corporations having a large number of horses. Rebates of one-fifth to coachmen have also become so common that the coachman demands it as his just due. And if his employer should insist upon his horses being shod where the rebate is not given, the coachman employs every means possible to demon- strate to his employer that the workmanship in that particular shop is very inferior. He loosens shoes or actually goes to the extreme of rendering a horse lame to prove his point, until his employer, tired of being annoyed, tells him to take the horses wherever they can be shod right. This is only one of the ways in which the coachman exploits his employer. He does it every- where at the horse market, the carriage shop, the harness shop, the feed store, etc.

The better shops maintain the scale of prices, and were will- ing to concede the demands of the journeymen; and they openly accuse those who hold out of doing cheap shoeing or of giving large rebates. For, if they grant the demands of the journey- men, they will have to maintain the scheduled prices in order to