Huntsville gazette., 1892-11-26
THE MEN SURRENDER.

On-Looking Starvation in the Face
The Men, Without Employment. With
out Means. With NO Prospect of secur-
Ing Work. Contemplate the Struggle
for Life.
HOMESTEAD, Pa. Nov. 22-The great
Homestead strike. or lockout, was
brought to an end yesterday morning
| at meeting presided over by Richard
Hotchkiss, the new chairman of the
strikers advisory board Secretary
Kilgallen, Vice-President Carney and
treasurer Madden, national officers Of
the Amalgamated association, were
present The lockout had reached its
one hundred and forty-fourth day. Its
history is known the world over.
| The vote that opened the Homestead
steel works to Amalgamated men stood
101 to 81. The meeting was red-hot
one all the way through and at one
time it looked as if Burgess Hollings-
head would have to assert his official
| authority to prevent serious conflict.
Charges and countercharges were the
order of the day
Newspaper representatives were ex-
cluded, but the information is reliable
that those wishing to declare the mill
open barely succeeded in carrying their
point
| Now that the agony is over the men
are not backward about expressing
their opinions of the men who have
posed as leaders, confidently prom
ising victory when they knew for
certainty that the battle was hope
lessly lost. 1t is expected that the
amalgamated men will join in the rush
for positions. According to Superin-
tendent Wood of the Homestead works
not more than 500 or 900 OF the total
number of old employees will be able to
secure employment.
| Before the break of last Thursday
there were left in Homestead about
2,s0O of the original $500 men who
were locked out on the 25th day of
June. OF these $500 men 1900 men
were mechanics and laborers, and 600
| Amalgamated association men. Up to
date 1.100 men have applied for work,
and it is estimated that not more than
$50 have been supplied with employ
ment.
clusively by Amalgamated association
members, much to the chagrin and dis
appointment of the sympathetic me-
chanics who were turned aside. They
! turned to their homes in silence, hope
| dead within them. The meeting was
not a large one, and considerable sur
prise attended the announcement of
the resignation of Chairman Crawford.
! When his resignation had been ac-
cepted. striker arose and moved that
the lockout be declared at an end, and
that the men be allowed to seek en-
ployment in the Homestead mill. Dis
cussion of this question continued un-
til 6 o'clock. when the meeting adj
| journed without result Yesterday
morning the same question was taken
up, but those for and against it were
| afraid to force the question to a vote,
| SO evenly were they divided.
| Only about 500 men attended yester-
days meeting. Those opposed to
bringing the fight to an end struggled
hard to prevent ballot, pleading,
arguing and predicting the disintegra-
| ton of the Anal lgamated association in
the event of such action. Those patri-
otic steel workers who repeatedly have
stated that they would prefer naked
| ness and starvation rather than ac-
| knowledge defeat were in the minority
and they knew it. They pleaded with
| their brethren to stand firm to show
the world that they had not forgotten
the men who were lying in prison cells
awaiting trial.
| 1t was of no avail. The question was
| put and the vote was standing one.
When Vice-President Carney an
| nounced the result there was no joy
| Gus outburst There was no demon
| stration as that following the vote OF
| the mechanics declaring themselves
| indie pendent of the Anna lgamated asso-
citation. For few minutes the men
| sat and stared at each other. Then
| followed angry denunciations.
The men slowly left the hall in twos
| and threes. They seemed 10th to leave
the building, the very rafters of which
have quivered with the declarations
| made a thousand times that victory
was theirs if they would only be pa
| tient.
| Yesterday afternoon and evening the
men stood in small groups about the
| streets, discussing the plight they
found themselves in. With winter
| upon them, they see nothing in store
now but a struggle for existence, which
may assume the proportions of fam
| ine. The oft-repeated declarations Of
the Carnegie officials that the non-
| union men will not be displaced to give
| employment to strikers renders abso-
lutely no hope in Homestead for 1000
| of the defeated steel workers.
Assistant Superintendent Wood said
| last night: 81 do not think that more
| than 500 or 900 men can secure employ
| ment. unless business brightens up so
| as to enable US to run our
| plant to its utmost capacity.
| Some yard Improvements are also
| contemplated that viii give tenn
| porary employment to some of the
men. The company held out no IN
| ducement whatever for the men to re-
| turn The men realized that the strike
| was lost;had no money;winter was upon
L lwr