Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-08
THE CARNEGIE SIDE
Of the Present Homestead
Dispute Given in an OFF,
cial Statement.
BASIS OF DIFFERENCES.
Wanted a Lower Minimum Rate for
the Sliding Scale and to
CHANGE DATE OF ITS EXPIRATION.
A Reduction in Some Departments Also
Desired by the Firm.
HAD NO CONFIDENCE IN THE SHERIFF

DeelIcU W tHo pu LII
HAD NO CONFIDENCE IN THE SHERIFF.
In an interview last evening with the
correspondent Of the Philadelphia Press, Mr..
H. G. Friek, Chairman of the Carnegie Steel
Company, Limited, said;
1.-THE question ct issue Is q very grave one.
It is whether the Carnegie Company or the
Amalgamated Association shall have abso-
lutte control of our plant and business at
Homestead. We have decided, after nu-
merous fruitless conferences with the Anal
gamated officials in the attempt to amicably
adjust the existing difficulties, to operate
the plant ourselves. 1 can say with
the greatest emphasis that under no cir
cumstances will we have any further dealings
with the Amalgamated Association as an
organization. This is final. The Edgar
Thomson works and our establishment at
Duquesne are both operated by workmen
who are not members of the Amalgamated
Association with the greatest satisfaction to
ourselves and to the unquestioned advan.
tage of our employees At both Of these
plants the work in every department goes
on uninterrupted; the men are not hsrrass ed
by the interference of trade union officials,
and the best evidence that their wages are
satisfactory is shown in the fact that we
have never had strike there since they
began working under our system Of man
agement"
The Basis Of the Dinersucss.
"What was the basis of the differences ex-
listing at present between the Carnegie Com
pany aud their men, Mr. Frok?"
'There were three points upon which we
differed. The skilled workmen in the Anal
gamated Association work under what is
known as sliding scale. As the price Of
steel advances the earnings Of the men ad-
vance; as the prices fall their earnings de-
crease in proportion. While there Is no
limit to an advance of earnings on the scale,
there is q point at which the decline stops
1t is known as the minimum. and the figure
heretofore has been S25 per ton for
AKA Bessemer billeta We believe that if
earnings based on the selling price of steel
can advance without limit, the workmen
should be willing to follow the selling price
down to q reasonable minimum, and SO
this figure was finally fixed by the Carnegie
Company at the rate of $2s instead of s25.
The reason for asking this upon our part
was that the Carnegie Company has spent
large sums of %, money in the
introduction of new machinery in
its Homestead plant, by means of
which the workmen were enabled to increase
the daily output, thereby increasing the
amount of their own. earnings We had
originally asked q reduction to SO, but
subsequently, agreed to compromise the rate
at S2a The Amalgamated Association was
unwilling to consider reduction below $24
on steel billets, notwithstanding the fact
their members, even at S23, to earn more
than is paid in other Amalgamated mills.
This was the first point at issue.
Want to Change the Date.
'sUnder the present Amalgamated system,
the date of the expiration of the sliding
scale is June 80, annually. We asked that
as at Edgar Thomson) for the reason that
the change would permit us to make our
estimate upon the wages that we must pay
during the year, beginning on January 1, SO
that we would be enabled to make contracts
for the year accordingly. This point the
Association refused to aecede
and demanded the old date. The third
proposition was the reduction in tonnage
rates in those departments in the mills
where the improvements have spoken of
have been made and which enable the work.
ingmen to increase the output and con-
their earnings Where no such
had been made, there was no
request upon our part for q reduction in
tonnage rates. In other words, we asked
no reduction in any department at which
by reason of our expensive improvements
since the scale of 1889 went into effect We
are prepared to, show that in nearly every
department., under our proposed reduction
in the tonnage rates, the skilled workmen
would make more money than they did
when the scale of 1889 went into effect.
"As rule the men who were making the
largest wages in the Homestead mill were
The ones who most bitterly denounced the
revision Of the scale, for out of
the 300 men employed In every depart
ment only 1926 were directly affected by this
reduction.
Unable 10 Erect an Agreement.
''Finding that it was impossible to arrivs |
1t any agreement with the Amalgamated |
officials, we decided to close our works at |
Homestead. Immediately the town was
aiken possession Of by the wofkmen. An |
Committee Of 30 took upon itself |
he direction Of the affairs Of the |
,lace; the streets were pstrolled by |
men appointed by this committee, and every |
tranger entering the town became an object
It surveillance; was closely questioned, and
f there was the slightest reason to suspect
lin he was ordered to leave the place
under threat Of bodily harm.
Guards were stationed at every approach to
homestead by this self-organized. local
government Our employees were prohib-
ted from going to the mills, and we as
'wners of the property we're compelled to
tand by powerless to conduct the affairs Of
ur business or direct its management
,his condition OF affairs lasted until Tues
ay. when appealed to the Sheriff
# Allegheny county, stating the
acts as I have outlined them. The
,heriff visited Homestead, and talked with
he Advisory Committee. Its members
sked that they be permitted to appoint men
rom their own number to act Is deputy
heriffs; in other words, the men who were
interfering with the exercise of our corpor.
te rights, preventing us from conducting
ur business affairs, requested that they be
lothed with the authority Of deputy
heriffs to take charge of our plant The
heriff declined their proposition, and the