Figure ii. — William Harkxess, 1821-1853, son of Anthony 

 Harkness. {Photo courtesy Mrs. Richard T. Keys.) 



fate of the S B Webster and the Frost in the South, if you will call at 



the post office you may find the former letters 



I remain yours 

 William Harkness 



In his letter of May 2, 1851, William commented on his method 

 of settling labor disputes. As effective as his dismissal of the workers 

 may have appeared, it did not put an end to such problems. The 

 Cincinnati Daily Gazette of March 2, 1852, carried an item entitled 

 "Strikers Struck." The strikers, assistants to the blacksmith who 

 actually wielded the hammer, struck for an increase in wages from 

 $5.50 to ??6.oo per week. "This [demand] was not acceded to, and 

 in a short time the strikers — numbering some fifty or sixty collected 

 and proceeded in a body, first to Harkness' foundry and then to 

 Niles', threatening vengeance should any men be employed in their 

 places, and creating considerable disturbance." The police, how- 

 ever, arrived early and induced the men to disperse. 



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