Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-06-25


neutrality-suspicious.. Your wage
are S1.37l per day. If you work un
: til the close of the season, and dc
satisfactory work, you will receive
123 cents per day more. If you dc
/. not agree to the above, report to the
7 office at once.
: OsCoDA SALT & LUMBER Co
These circulars started the strike.
! The men stated also, that the Com
. pany kept back tho pay coming to
them from the 1st to the 10Th that
. the first settlement made by the COM
pany since the mill started last April,
was on the middle of this month ;
+ that the above circular put it into the
power Of the firm to retain the 12l
cents per day if they saw fit, as they
were the judges of what constituted
satisfactory work" They further
? stated that n man with a family could
? not wait month for his pay, when
he was receiving only s1.374 per day.
In that case he had to 90 to the Os-
coda Salt q Lumber Co., and get a
due bill or "white horse" They were
therefore forced to deal at the said
company's store, and the many we
heard express opinions on the subject
declared that the prices of provisions
and goods at the company's store were
much higher than they could purchase
with money at private business stores.
Thus, they say, their wages were still
further reduced, and they could not
decently live and support their fami-
lies. This is their version of the dis
agreement.
These strikers demand that their
wages be paid in cash at the end Of
every week that all their wages be
so paid, and no ~ cents per day be
deducted, and that the wages be ad- |
vanced to what they were last season.
In answer to n question they stated
their wages last year was from S1.75
to $500 per day. We have been
been shown another of those Oscoda
Salt & Lumber CO. circulars, by
gentleman in this city, Il stranger,
which is similar to the two we receiv-
ed, except that the amount is S1.674
in place of s1.37!.
The above state Of affairs did not
exist at all the saw mills in Oscoda
and Au Sable. At Grams mill, the
men have no dissatisfaction, and did
not quit work of their own accord,
but at the demands of the strikers.
j. c. Gram pays his men every week,
and pays them good wages, consider
ing the stagnation in the lumber trade.
We were informed, on good authority,
that the sum total of his pay roll per
day is only 70 cents less than last
season. Penoycr's mill pay the en-
ployes every two weeks, aud we heard !
no dissatisfaction, and were informed }
that the men were ready to go to ;
work again. !,
The feeling against the Oscoda Salt l
4 Lumber Co. was one Of intense
bitterness, and one or two other firms
we're not spoken of very agreeably. d
On the streets were hundreds of !
men, sauntering about, conversing in =
mall groups, and we did not see one =
nan who was under the influence Of \
liquor or disorderly. Yet it was easy
o collect crowd. If two or three v
somewhat earnestly, they =
we're soon the center of a crowd. I.
The strikers had everything their
'wn way, up to the arrival of troops, . :
md so after the first days strike, :
here was not much danger of rioting. v
Underneath the surface, there seemed -
o us to be deep feeling that some !
hing wrong might occur, and only Il
lceded inhammatory speeches to set {
rouble and confusion ahoat. Such
persons were fortunately absent, and \
hose persons who did speak advised U
moderation. There seemed to be a u
trong feeling among the men to pre- : =
'ent any violence, and we were GER II
ainly impressed with the fact that {
he very large majority of the men Z"
would do their best to prevent the II
Mills from being burned or property .
estroyed. As they expressed them ii
elves, if the mills were burned it il
'ould injure them-the workmen-it A
'ould be their loss, and they would n
ct be apt to injure themselves. They II u
id not appear to have any regular 5
rganization, but were organizing and Il
aking steps to help those of their d
umber who were needy and in want n
f food. .
The business men of Oscoda, as far h
5 We could learn, were in sympathy L
18th the strikers. N
The following is from the Oscoda n,
aper: Ii
In the afternoon they marched to Pack, ty
Woods & Cos mill and drove the lumber M
Tiers of the tram. Mr.. Pack tried to re- III
ST the strikers, but was of no use, he was a,
by numbers The strikers e.
len collected in front of the mill Office III
nd Mr.. Pack ordered his men to wet down
le street where thew stood. No sooner