St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-10-09
THE ISSUE Is JOINED.
War Begins Between the Chicago Pack
erS and Their Thousands of
Employees,
The Fight Practically Being on the De-
mand for Ten Hours as Days
Labor.
Both the Pork and the Beef Men At
fected-Twenty Thousand
Out of Work.
Yesterdays DoinGs in the Convention
OF the knights of Labor at
Richmond.
The ISSUE rs JOINED.
The Packing House Strike.


the employees of the Chicago packing house
against the prOprietOrs to return to the ten
hour working day. began this morning. The
packing house owners put up posted
notices, notifying their men that beginning
next Monday the men would be expected to
work ten hours instead of eight hours a
day. This morning committee of 1900
men employed by the Chicago Packing and
Provision company waited on the foreman
of the works and demanded that the notices
be taken down. The demand was refused.
and the regiment of workmen at once left
the building, and were soon joined by 500
men employed in the Silberhorn works
Thus reinforced, the large force went
in a body to the Armour works to
induce the men there TO stop work.
This afternoon a large body of additional
workmen went on strike and a riot Oc-
CURED at the works of John Morrell, when
number OF persons were hurt. Affairs
became more quiet after the arrival of the
police. 1t was found that some of the
Morrell employees were injured by the at
tack made upon them. but none seriously.
Three hundred Pinkerton men are guarding
the houses tonight. The representative OF
the Silberhorn packing firm were sending
STATED the change to the same hours here.
Armour & Co. posted notice to night noti
flying their men to
COME AND GET THEIR PAY
tomorrow. It is deemed positive that the
houses all contemplate keeping closed down
for short time at least. S. w. Meek, at
torney for the executive board of the
Knights of Labor, tonight. in behalf Of the
workingmen involved, issued the following
statement to the press:
The posting of the announcement OF q re-
turn to the ten hour system on Thursday by
the packers, without explanation caused the
men employed by the Chicago Pac king &
Provision company and Siiberhorn Il Co., to
leave their work. not for violence and mob
rule. but thoroughly organized for deter
mined resistance in fair and honorable way,
and they ask that the people be not preju-
dice against them by haSty and erroneous re-
ports of violence written to serve the inter-
eSts of the packers. The workingmen have
taken their stand only after every offer of a
fair and honest settlement of their differen-
ces has been refused by their employers.
Contracts embodying the agreements already
had between the packers and their en-
ployes have been rejected by the packers,
ard it is simply a question of the packers
keeping their agreements. They are on
trial and not the wOrkingmen.
The action of the cutters in returning
TO their work and carefully clearing up and
completing their work in hand by the diIec-
tions of their leaders shows both the spirit of
fairness with which they regard the interests
of their employers and the absence of all de-
sire on their part to cause loss or waste of
the necessarieS of life. 1t shows moreover
the perfect organization, never before at
tanned by the workingmen, portion OF them
returning to their work for a deinite time by
pose of saving their employers from loss of
perishable property. The workirgmen IN
volved ask of the public only fair and hon.
est judgment on their actions and to remem-
Der that their interests are the interests of
the whole people of America.
Shortly before o'clock, evidently by pre-
concerted action, all the men employed by
the following stock yards packing firms re-
fused to work and joined the strikers: Ar
mour & Co., John Morrell, j Ohm L. Hickey
81 Co., John Cudahy, International Pro-
vision company and the Angle Packing
company. There are between six thousand
and seven thousand of them, making about
eight thousand in all. who struck during
the day. Some of Morrell's men, after 60
ing out decided to return to work. The
strikers at once invaded the place to compel
them to quit and employed violence.
At o'clock tonight 153 Pinkerton de-
tectives sat down to supper at the Transit
house with Winchester repeating rifles be-
tween their knees. Capt. Folly, in charge.
said that by tomorrow he would have 500
men in and about the yards as an emergency
committee. The PinkertOns arrived at the
yards at o'clock via the Lake Shore road,
and were
GREETED BY DERISIVE WELLS
from the crowd of 1900 which filled the
street The men went to the town hall
and were all sworn in as specials. Then
they were taken back into the cars. The
crowd made it so unpleasant. however,
that Capt. Foley formed his COM
mand into four companies and
headed for the Transit house.
The feature of the strike to-day was the
beef men coming out at Armour's. This
was surprise to the packers, who APP
parentlY intended to confine the fight to the
hog interest. The firm is left with 4. 800
head OF cattle in their yard to feed.
Armour's cooperS came out also. They
had asked for 25 cents advance and it had
not been granted. 1t is estimated that
there are now 10000 men out of work,
about one-quarter of whom are strikers,
the others being obliged to quit on their
account for want of work. The strikers
are the skilled workmen, the remainder be-
ing laborers. A mass meeting of strikers
has been called for tomorrow afternoon, at
which it is feared trouble may develop.
Fully $4,000 persons are expected to be
DrpSpnt