Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-05-02
A BIG MINERS STRIKE.
FIVE THOUSAND MEN QUIT WORK.
Tho Bituminous Coal Miners Refuse to Labor
tor Less Than Threo and One-Haf
Cents n RuRhol.

Tho BitumInous Coal Miners Refuse to Labor
tor Less Than Three and One-Han
Cents Bushel.
The largest miners strike that has ever
occurred in Western Pennsylvania began
Tuesday morning at six o'clock when over
8, 600 bituminous coal miners laid down
their picks and left the mines. The men
demand 3t cents per bushel for mining
while the operators are willing to give
only 3 cents. Tuesday morning the men
at six pits refused to leave and join the
strike. The six mines that had not
joined in the strike were the Penn gas No.
4, Scott Haven and Waverly, on tho Bal
timore and Ohio railroad; Primrose, on the
Pan Handle, and Keeling and Castle Shan
non, on the Pittsburgh, Virginia and
Charleston road. No special fight has
been inaugurated on the Baltimore and
Ohio. 1t is thought, however. that all
miners will quit work. On the Pan Ham
die extra efforts have been made to get
the men to join in the strike.
MIR. Schaming. president of the Miners
| association. has been at Primrose trying
to induce the coal diggers to leave their
picks. Wednesday morning meetings were
held at Keeling and Castle Shannon, on
the Pittsburgh. Virginia s. Charleston
| railroad, and the miners urged to strike.
1t is thought by those at the head of the
| action that all men who are now holding
back will come out. The great size OF the
| strike gives encouragement to participants
| as they believe that operators cannot afford
to keep their mines closed. What orders
| they will fill will be with river coal. A
miner who has worked in England said
| that the pay of the coal diggers in this
| n han
| to men across the sea. Operators seem to
feel as confident of success as do the
miners. They say they can stand a strike
as long as the men. Some of the
men feel somewhat sore because they have
large contracts on their hands that they
are unable to fill. The question of paying
three and a half cents has been considered
by some, but no definite action has been
taken.
| Last night large mass meetings of the
miners were held at Mansfield and Nc
Donald stations, On the Pan Handle rail-
road, aud at Scott Haven and West
| Newton, on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad.
These gatherings were held late in the
afternoon or early in the evening. at the
meetings last night on the Baltimore &
Ohio an unusually large proportion of the
audience was composed of women and
| children, members of tho families of the
strikers. They took the Iiveliest interest
in the proceedings. 1t is asserted that
they are urging their husbands aud
fathers to prosecute tho strike to the end
as they say they cannot live on the three
cent rate.
| The strike covers III area Uf count y
fifty miles long by twenty-five miles broad
and at least 20, 600 people are involved,
counting the families of the strikers. AS
yet there have been no suggestion Of fill
ing the places of the strikers with new
men, and should this he attempted trouble
will probably cnsue. For the first day
the strike has progressed smoothly. II
there is prospect of a prOtracted lock out
the men will go into camp. If the pits
row at work refuse to como out delega
tiOns of strikers, with brass bands and
martial music, will make an attemps to
mako them strike.
Other Labor Movements.
At a large meeting of the coal miners of
Braidwood, Illinois, held yesterday it was
decided, in view of the reduced price Of
coal, to accept a proposition of the opera
tors for reduction of five cents per ton
for digging.-The printers in tho DAILY
Times Office, in Chattanooga, Tennessee,
quit w TX yesterday because tho manage
ment announced that non-uniOn printers
must be permitted to work in tho Office
A reduction of ten per cent. in the wages
of wire drawers at the Trenton (New
Jersey iron works, to take effect after
this week, has been announced.-About
100 vessels cleared yesterday from Chicago
with grain for the lower Lake ports.-The
Allan Line steamship company are bring
ing out $50 ship laborers to load their
vessels at Montreal and Quebec during the
| summer season.