 Smith made his fortune with the streetcar service generating record products by cutting costs, not replacing aged cars and requiring his employees to work 14-hour days, six days a week for $8 to $9 a week.When his workers threatened to join the Knights of Labor trade union he locked them out resulting in three days of violent protests.Mayor William Holmes Howland and the press supported the workers' right to organize but Smith refused to allow a union and criticized the city government for failing to maintain order.