The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1892-03-19
THE STRIKE Is ON.

THE STRIKE IS ON.
,,,,. n..r.,,ve. In Britain Lay Down Their
Tools and all. Work 10 stoppoo'
which lel up to This Action.
LONDON, March 12.-The big miners
strike to restrict the production u coal
and prevent the reduction OF wages on
account Of cheap fuel began today
Many Of the large industrial establish
ments in Leeds and Manchester and on
the Teez side and Tyne side and other
places in the vicinity of the golfers
damped their fires when the operatives
left their work this afternoon. This
means work will not be resumed Mon
day, the manufacturers refusing to pay
the extraordinary prices now demanded
for coal. The Miners Federation will
psy the men strike wages during the
period of idleness. The only exception
to this so far as at present known
ia the Durham miners who will not re-
ceive pay. It will require q very large
sum Of money to pay 400, 600 men who
Il is said quit work even though they
receive strike wages. The fill the drain
in the treasury the federation will be
subjected to q levy which will be made
upon the men as saon as they return 10
work. The weather today is stormy and
snow lies several inches deep in the vii
lagos about the collieries. THIS after
noon delegates from all the collieries in
the county of Durham met in the town
Of Durham and finally decided they
would submit to no reduction
in their wages. Durham and
northumberland miners are not
members of the miners federation
but have an organization Of their own,
the National union. This union and
the national federation of Great Britain
and Ireland are entirely different. The
action of the Durham miners promises
to cause q %protracted strike in that
vicinity, as the mine owners there de-
clare that if the miners stopped work at
their own convenience they would not
be employed again except at a reduc.
ton of 1a4 per cent. To put the mat
C0E Vi lilo eO'ChAAcu SV1Aho OA4OuyS oAo
question at issue between the
owners and the miners is
one and the same but there are several
solutions of it. The question was q re-
duction of wages. In some cases the
owners proposal of reduction was met
by a fiat refusal on the part of the men;
in others it was met by a counter pro
posal to reduce temporarily the number
of weekly working days to five; in others
again it was met by q proposal to stop
work altogether for q certain time. The
second and third proposals were based
on pflnoiple that a reduction
81 the output would, by causing Q
rise in prices obviate the necessity OF q
reduction in wages. The third pro
posal is that which the federation has
adopted.
The membership of the federation is
enormous It comprises about $50, 600
miners. of whom 200, 600 are bottom
workers, the remaining go 900 being
employed on the surface. or at the pit
bank, al it is called. This vast number
of workers are scattered e the
coal pits of Yorkshire, Lancashire.
Derbyshire, Nottingham, Stafford
shire, Somerset, Gloucestershire,
Cumberland, Leicestershire and North
Wales. The federation delegates who
met some time ago, at the Manchester
conference. represented IT'S, 600 workirg
miners. The conference to be held on
Wednesday next will take place in Lon.
don. The statements that the strike
will last a week and a fortnight, are lit
tie % than guesses. There is q spe
oial and immediate reason for selecting
London as the placeNfor the next confer.
ense, al it is expected q parliamentary
discussion OF the eight hour bill will
take place.
Parrott, leader in the federation, in
speaking of the demand for eight hours
a day, said: "The choice lies between
a parliamentary act and q recourse to
strikes. We want to avoid the harsh
and costly plan Of strikes. In agitating
for eight hours a day we r consulting
the owners interests as we'll as our
own"
Another scheme of the federation is to
rescue the women from the rough, de-
moralizing and uneconomic labor at the
pits mouth. The main question at is
sue in Durham and Northumberland
was not whether the output should be
reduced, but whether the men should
accept the owners offer OF reduced
wages. To the first offer of
q reduction of 10 per cent
the men replied with threats Of q strike.
They were almost unanimous in reject.
ing the suggestion, and their action to-
day shows that they intend to fight the
masters with the only weapon at their
hands strike. Hitherto most of the
water used by the miners and their
families in their household and other
duties has been obtained from the mine
pumps, they being furnished with an
abundant supply. It is now feared q
water famine will follow the cessation
of work. Women and children are pro
curing water from every available
source and storing it in all manner and
kinds OF reoeptaoles in their houses The
miners have plenty of coal, as the mas.
tiers have allowed them them to provide
themselves with liberal supplies.
Death of q Noted Man..
New York, March 10 Richard G..
Berford. Z of New York's Oldest oiti.
zens, died at his home, No. 1O11 Park
avenue, last evening. from paralysis.
In 1S41 he founded The Pittsbure
Chronicle. In 1842 he founded what
is said to be the first
horse exrress, carrying President
Harrison's message from Washington.
In 1843 be lad the Adams Express com.
pany's eff 70 west of the Allegheny
mountains. In 1849 he went to Califor-