Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-08-16
PITTSBURGH LABOR
FIGHT.
Employers Causing the Arrest
of Men fOr Conspiracy

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 9.-In labor |
circles in and around this city matters
are rapidly approaching a crisis. The
failure of the Eastern freight handlers
to successfully carry on their strike has
had a weakening effect upon the
strikers here, and it is confidently as
serted that the coal and iron lockout in
western Pennsylvania will end with
the present month. The Pan Handle
miners strike is now conceded failure,
and while an advance of half a cent
per bushel will be given by the
operators in September, it will only be
the usual advance given each year at
the opening OF the winter season, and
will have nothing whatever to do with
the demands of the men who, for three
months, have been idle all along the
Pan Handle road
In the iron strike there is weaken
ing, noticeable from the fact that the
number of mills running with non-union
men is to be increased in few days
bv several more Yesterday Graf,
Bennett & Co. opened the ball in their
grand aggregation OF four mills. At
their kittanning Mill the following
notice, which was posted, tells its own
story, and shows that the Grm means
business in the strongest sense of the
| term
Should the puddlers heretofore employed by
the Kittanning Iron Company, limited or ten
or fifteen of them, desire to go to work they
can TO so upon the following conditions First,
price 10 be 500 per ton of ,, 30 pounds !;
second, the company will not sign the scale !;
third. pay d4Y to he ihe 5lh qf each month ;
| fourth, all grievances to be adj usted with the
party aggrieved, as no committee will be recos-
nized by the company.
Last night great excitement prevail
ed at Etna over the report that Spang,
| Chalfant & Co.'s mill was to start up
with non-union men, and later in the
evening nine furnaces were lighted.
AS it takes three or four days to get
pudding furnaces in order, and early
resumption is looked for
A new feature of the strike is the at
titude taken by certain firms in arrest
ing the more prominent strikers on
charges Of conspiracy. Ehis is not
only the case with iron, but with coal
panies as we'll Yesterday the
National Tube Works at McKeesport
entered suit for conspiracy against a
number of their former workmen, who
ware arrested and brought down to
jail but released on bail for a hearing.
To-day the Midway Coal Company
enters suit against twenty-five of their
miners on a similar charge, and the
men were placed under arrest this
afternoon. Three of the Mckeesport
strikers were in jail all night, but were
released on bail this morning. One
significant fact is that the iron men ar
rested thus far are, with but one or
two exceptions, property holders, and,
though they were able to give bail at
McKeesport, were brought down to
Pittsburgh and compelled to give ii
here. The McKeesport mill is running
steadily, though with but few hands,
yet enough, the managers claim, to
show the strikers that the works can
be operated without their aid.
The following mills in this district
are now run 10 full or in part by non
union men: Kirkpatrick & Co., Apollo
Steel Mill, Superior Rail Mill, AL
leghenY, and National Tube Work Ks.
Thus for no overt act has been COM
mitted, the strikers confning them
selves to personal persuasion and ridi-
cule at times, though shOuld the pres
ent system of arrest on charge OF
conspiracy be maintained there is but
little doubt that the ironworkers will
retaliate in some vigorous manner. 1t
was reported on the street to-day that
there was possibility of the Amalga-
mated Association entering suit for
conspiracy against the Western Iron
Association, but this could be traced
TO no reliable source
The coal miners strike took on a
new aspect to-day. The New York
and Cleveland Gas Coal Company
posted notices at their works notifying
their miners, to the number of 00O
or more, that q reduction of half a cent
would be made. This firm all along
haye been paying the miners their
price, four cents, but since the failure
of the Pan Handle strike they refuse
to maintain the strike figures What
action the miners will take is not yet
known.
The strike of the pottery makers at
East Liverpool, Ohio, still continues,
and donations fIom all parts OF the
country are received to assist them in
maintaining the strike.
This afternoon body of $50 iron
workers, headed by a martial band,
paraded the south side and a portion
of the old city. They reported that
they intended visiting McKeesport to
induce or compel the non-union men at
work there TO come out, but up to a
late hour tonight no news of any DEM
onstration at that place had been re-
ceived
September Fairs.