Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1892-07-20
THE FIRST SHOT.
Difference OF Opiuion AZ to which s,
it Came From = Testimony of cs
Witnesses OF the Fight mt Hon..
stead. '"e-

PITTSBURGH, July is. - Chairman
oa'es announced In the opening of the
investigation Thursday morning that
.he committee so far had searched only
for facts, and was not ready To mali. >
report. He declared IL lilsclv 81
would be no minority report
General Superintendent Potter ,.
the first witness. lie described tho a.
tails Of stcel-malsing and the work no..
formed by the different classes of ,vorl,.
men. He said that the Homestead mile
were the finest in the world and ,vorls.
men made 30 per cent better yvncas
there than in any other plant lie
said the average reduction proposed
10y the company. which precip,-
tated the strike. was IL per cent
About 500 men were affected. This ~.
duction was made because laborcrs
were getting more wages than In any
other mill and the introduction of inn.
proved machinery increasing tho
amount of product increased the wages
The first disturbance that occurred WAS
before the mill shut down; when he and
Mr. Prick We're hung in ehigy. When
one OF the clerks of the company wen,
10 tear them down he was drcnchea
with water from n hose. The morning
of July some of his foreman and men
were stopped 10y others, who tried to
keep them out of the mill. On July . no
left the mill and returned on the boats
Tide and Little Bill. On July q, when
the Pinkcrtons were taken to the works.
he was accompanied by Deputy Sheriff
Gray. AS they drew near Homestead
they saw the banks crowded with pco
pie, shouting and firing shots. lie eau
TONED Deputy Sheriff Gray not 10 let
the men commit any overt act. The
crowd ran along the bank, following
them mp. He thought that they would
| go no further than the fence of the
Cnrnagic works They landed the boats
| within the works. The strikers
broke through the fence and commenced
hring on them. Deputy Gray paciiied
the PinlScrtons until the firing became
heavy from the shore, when they re-
| turned the shots lie ordered them 10
| quit Three or four of the Pinlcrtons
were wounded. The detectives then
began getting out all OF their arms
Capt. +. Kennedy, OF the steamer
Little Bill, was "a watchman on one of
the Pinkcrton bargcs. He detailed
the arrival of the Pinkcrton
guards and their trip nm
the Monongahcla river Near Home
! stead, they met the strikers riyer
patrol. who fired n slsy-roclSet to give
warning. Up Mt the wharf. he said
men and women mingled, broke down
the fence and fired on the bargcs. In
answer 10 Boatncr, Capt. Kennedy said
about 80 OF the Pinkcrtons were good
shots, and usually picked oil the strike
| crS.
H. c. FriclS, president of the Carnegie
Steel CO., who was then questioned bv
Chairman Oates, said that some of the
worlSmen had testified that the poorest
paid men, and those who had the hnrl-
est work, suffered most under the re-
dnction. He selected the wages during
the month of May, just before the
trouble, admitting though that wages
We're little large. Out of the 500 men
employed ON the l1o-inch plate mill only
81 were reduced In 1882, 300 men were
employed in the same department, and
| ny the change in the scale then. 196
were affected and 100 were not More
men were affected by the sliding scale
than any other.
Mr.. frick was asked why he proposed
reduction of wages. He stated that
the first reason was reduced prices re-
ccived for the product, and, second,
the increased tonnage by introduction
of improved machinery, which increased
the pay of the men, they being paid ac-
cording To tonnage.
Whit proportion of steel billets do
you produce?" asked Mr.. Oates.
About IL per cent. of the total out
put in the United States We do not
control the market 10y any means"
'Will you state the approximate cost
of producing steel billcts?"
Il declined to answer that cues
ton the other night do so now"
What is the cost of the entire plant
at Homestcad?"
600"
As to mortgages held on property of
employees at Homestead, Mr. Fricl< said
the papers were issued only to aid the
workmen in building homes. The in
tcrest charged is 6 per cent The men
are allowed the same rate on moneys
deposited with the firm. These sums
amount TO s14O,O0o
| The mortgages amount 10 $40. 600.
The witness refused 20 answer definite
~ what basis was taken in averaging
the sliding scale, but said it was about
S24.
You are inclined, then, to give us no
idea of your profits?"
III think ] have gone far enough in
costs"
Charles Mansfield testified. He was
at Homestead when the boat and
barges landed. He was "A reporter on "a
Homestead paper. He went TO the river
bank when the alarm whistle Of the
strikers blew lie saw the Piniscrtons
land, and they fired the first shots at
that time
a. J. Taylor then went on the stand.
lie saw the fight on JuIy6. lie thought
the first firing came from the boat.
At o'clock Chairman Oats adjourned
the committee as far rs Pittsburgh IL
concerned. Concluding sessions will be
held in Washington. where testimony
concerning the Pinlertons and their or
ganizatiOn will be taken.
Actnn's Eruption Increasing.
RoNT. July 10. The eruption Of Mt
Aetna IS rapidly increasing in violence