Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1891-04-26
THE BIG STRIKE
WHICH is COMING UPON THE COUNTRY
MAY 1.
One Hundred and Ninety Thousand Coal Miners
to Take Part-West Virginia "NOt In It,
What is SAID Of the Struggle.
EfNts to Prevent II.

contests between ldOOr duu CdplIdl yct WIZ
messed in this country. The point at issue
IS the eight-hour day, and good judges as
sumo that nearly one million men will be
directly or Indirectly enlisted in aid of the
strikers, while the greatest industrial en-
terprises and projects in America will be
upon the other side. Among the
classes of workmen more prominently
involved will be 10000 coal miners,
in the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois and, perhaps, West
Virginia; $1,000 men engaged in the
building trades in New York City, 10000
in st. Louis, and many other thousands in
other cities; to say nothing of other trades
directly and indirectly affected The strike
will be backed by the gigantic American
Federation OF Labor, numbering 100000
men, and every man of this million has
been assessed since the opening Of the year
for the benefit of the miners alone, whose
strike will practically cover the coal fields
of the country. Opposed TO this army Of
nearly two hundred thousand miners,
backed up by million men belonging TO
the same general organization, are arrayed
the great coal corporations of the country.
with many millions of capital, and it will
thus be seen that the fight TO be on will be
no common one. Neither side has made
any hint of conferences, concessions, or
agreements, and it looks as though il would
be a fight to the finish, with great result
ant disaster to many besides those
directly interested, especially in loss
of business to railroads, industrial
establishments, and those engaged in
building trades, over wide area.
The great majority of West Virginia
miners, happily, do not seem TO be directly
engaged in this gigantic fight, and the
same thing is true of many of those upon
the Ohio side of the river, in this vicinity;
but some of them will be in it, and all will
be deeply interested in the progress of the
battle and the final result A prominent
local miner said yesterday that il would
not do for the West Virginia miners to
strike for eight hours, for that
would be to shorten their wages,
since they work by the ton, but
he limited that there might be a
strike, at least in some sections, to enforce
the scale adopted at the meeting held at
Charleston on the l4th and 18th inst, when
the scale of price was adopted This scale
was: For Wheeling district and along the
line of the B. & o., 30 cents per ton net for
run of mines, for the Flat Top district,
1917 cents per tom for Coal Valley gas
coal, 30 cents per ton; for the Kanawha
Valley district, 60 cents per ton. AT this
meeting the eight-hour day was discussed.
but no action was taken regarding it, and
it is not likely that the coming big strike
will be greatly felt in this State, so far as
the question named is concerned. In
another quarter, however, it was said the
miners employed by the Boggs Run Min
oh
would strike May lst, and also that the
men employed in the Kasley 81 Brooks
mine would likely strike. Whether this was
on account of the eight-hour day or failure
10 grant the Charleston scale, above quoted,
could not be learned II was also stated
last night that the Rock Hill miners at
Flushing, numbering $50 men, would also
strike. AS far as could be learned none of
the miners in the vicinity of Bellaire will
strike and those at the Wheeling Greek
mines will probably not 90 out, but on the
other hand, il was stated that the miners
along the Wheeling Il Lake Erie railroad
would probably strike, in sympathy with
their brethren in Western Pennsylvania.
None of the small peddling banks in this
CITY or vicinity will be at all effected. Lo-
cal Union No not being in active sym
patty, as far as can be learned, with the
proposed big strike.
Pittsburg. however, will suffer terribly
by this strike. In that city 10000 men en-
ployed in the building trades will go out,
and the strike of the miners will cause an
enforced idleness on the part of thousands
engaged in the mills and factories, while it
is assumed that the railroads will be seri-
ously affected. The Pennsylvania rail
road has already begun a sweeping dis
missal of employees and men have been laid
90. nc Tarcau (fifu
The btuminous coal trade in Western
PENNSYLVANIA has suffered terrible blow
from the coke strike, and will suffer
greater one on May l. As far as is known
the eight-hour strike of May | Will be
Joined in by the $1,000 bituminous miners
of the Clearfield, Huntington and Broad
Top region and the 10000 men in what is
known as the Pittsburg district of railroad
miners The latter are distributed along
the Baltimore & Ohio, Pennsylvania and
Panhandle lines within a radius OF 30
miles of Pittsburg.
The Pittsburg Commercial Gazette says:
There will be no strike in the great
coal fields of the South, but all the outght
of that section is demanded by the South,
so that the North and West will not be
able to draw from that source. The de-
mand follows so closely on the supply that
the effect of the shortage will be felt in
ten DAYS after the strike is begun. Those
affected first by the scarcity of coal will
be the railroad companies, as they keep
little ahead, usually having 10 place TO
store coal Next the smaller factories Will
be compelled TO close down. Then the
large factories will be driven to close, for
they, like the railroads, do not carry heavy
stocks of coal 1t is so bulky and they use
such enormous quantities of 1t that their
space is too valuable TO use for its storage.
With the closing of these factories thou
sands of people will be thrown out of en-
ployment. Lastly, the people will feel 1t
in the price and scarcity Of coal.
with this storm lowering over the
country there is considerable anxiety in
all departments of business, but the I'M
easiness is especially noticeable in Pitts
burgh, which is the center of the storm.
Not alone will all the disastrous effects OF
the great fight be held here as in the other
large cities, but we will have the addition
al weight of the lockout of all the building
trades. The worst sufferers will be the
iron and steel manufacturers, who are
trying 10 close not too prosperous season
in the best possible shape. Al other man
ufacturing concerns will suffer quite as
much according to the relative investments
and output OF marketable material.
with the general injury TO business the
manufacturers of structural iron and nails
will also receive strong setback.
THE window-glass business will be par
alvzed if the strikes last only a month or
longer With the shutting down of work
in the building trades in connection with
the general dullness Of business there will
be little, or it may be absolutely no de-
mand for windowglass. Only last week
the price of it was advanced, and as one re-
suit all the manufactures are working now
to lay in heavy stock, which will be a
dead weight when the builders strike kills
the demand.
"Then there will be a general dumping
of stock on an already demoralized market,
and the result viii be that the window
glass industry will present worse APP
pearance in Pittsburg than for number
of wears. Should the trouble continue for
anv length of time, and this state of affairs
prevail, it is quite likely that the workers,
instead of receiving their expected ad-
vance, may be forced to &C ept reduction
in wages. They will be slow to do this,
and thus another army of strikers may be
added to the number already in the field.
with Pittsburg the battle-ground for