Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1892-03-16

Four Hundred Thousand English Miners
Stop Work.


miners strike was inaugurated to-day
in accordance with the plan of the
Miners Federation, which in it's mani
festo issued few days ago, declared
that the "holiday" the men proposed
to take was for the purpose Of clearing
the markets of the surplus coal, and for
restricting the outputin order to prevent
the masters from using the low prices as
an excuse fow lowering wages. At
o'clock this afternoon, the men en-
| ployed in the mines in Lancashire,
Cheshire and Yorkshire stopped work,
and the ponies were removed from the
| pit. The only men now at work are
| the surface men, bumpers, ventllator
attendance, etc, whom the federation
| has not called out.
1t was hoped until to-day that some
sort of a compromise would be arrived
at, but no agreement could be reached
and the strange spectacle presents itself
of the employees quitting work in the
masters interest, for it cannot be de-
MED that if any advance is to be de-
rived from higher prices, the mine
owners as compared with the miners
Will reap the greater portion.
Belgian shippers are sending coal to
| the TYNE and the Thames, but they re-
fi1sa 10 give any information as to the
quantity they have shipped. The col
liers carrying these consignments are
expected to arrive on Monday The
coal porters will attempt to prevent the
| discharge of these cargoes, and it IS
feared that this will lead to a renewal of
the dock troubles. Twenty thousand
miners In Nottingham quit work at noon
to-day. When they came out OF the
pits they brought their tools with them.
The coal stocks in the Bristol district
are already nearly exhausted. The
miners there have also stopped work
and, as result, the price OF coal has
gone up 4 shillings a ton. Many
manufacturers refuse to pay the price
| demanded and have closed their lac
| tories. In this respect the action Of
the miners is working greatly 10 the
harm of operatives employed IN other
| industries.
One of the results of the split that has
occurred among the North Wales min
| ers is that the men working in Flint
| shire will not go on strike, but will
work not more than five days week.
The object of the miners III stopping
| work is TO bring about a coal famine SO
|
| for reducing wages as they have threat
| ened 10 do. SO fs T as the famine is cor
cerned it may be said TO have already
commenced. for coal has gone up 20 az
enormous figure, and factory afterfacto-
ry in the leading trade Centers has
| been compelled to shut down. The
| poor people who are compelled
| TO buy their coal in small
quantities are suffering terribly,
while the weather IS unusually in
clement for this time Of year. More
over, before three days have elapsed
there will be an almost entire cessation
of labor in most of the great industrial
| centers, including Bristol, Manchester.
| Birmingham. Leeds, London and Liver
+! pool. All the rolling mills and cutlery
| establishments in Sheffield will shut
! l~vr-r, On Mo,r -. 80 4 -~in
glneerlng establishments, iron found
RES. soap manufacturers and cotton and
| WOODEN mills by the score.
The total number of people that will
temporarily be thrown out Of employ
ment by the strike, if the closure CON
| bnues, cannot be estimated, but it will
certainly run into the millions. Many
! of the mine owners have given notice
!. that they will not start up again except
| at 8 reduction of 81 to 10 per cent The
miners have a reserve fund Of several
millions Of dollars, and will not suffer
even if the struggle be prolonged be-
yOnd the period now designated. Spec
| ulators are taking advantage of exist
| ing conditions, and already the price OF
| bread has boen advanced in MANY parts
! OF the country, even where the bakers
| have stocks of coal on hand.
Public sentiment is largely with the
| miners, although there is an undercur-
| rent Of feeling that it is dangerous for
| any organization of labor to take a steD
| fraught with suffering and possibly
| destitUtiOn to hundreds of thousands
Of their fellow beings IN her
| trades. Probably the sentiment in their
| favor is largely due to the fact that it
has been demonstrated that the mine
owners are already receiving what. in
any other business, would be regarded
as very fair profit, and that conse-
quently there IS no ground for their al
legation that coal IS too cheap for profit
and that wages must be reduced The
outcome will be watched with more in
terest than has ever before been at
tached to labor movement.
1T the clubs freGuented by the upper
ten there is question of inviting the
interference of the government. al
though just how this can be accom-
pllshed none Of those pressing it seems
TO know. A general election IS notvery
far off, and even the Tory government
would be slow in making q move that
would tend toward bringing against it
the combined efforts Of the trade
unionists Of the entire kingdom. The
Miners Federation has issued an ad-
dress to all it's members, urging them to
maintain order and keep the peace, in
order that there may not be the slight
est ground for invoking the interference
Of the authorities.
Wooden baracades are being built
around the mouths of the various pits
in Durham and none of the miners will
be allowed inside these enclosures
is believed that at meeting to be held
on Wednesday next by the Miners
Federation it will be decided to limit
the holiday to week and to rest ca
the output to certain limit.