St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-07-10
QUESTION OF ENDURANCE.
That Is What the Matter Now
$3.50 Hinges On ss-

That Is What the Matter Now
+. $3.50 Hinges On.
HOMESTEAD, Pa, July 9.-nIt is now
question of endurance" said one of
the leaders when asked for an epitome
or the situation ''Shouid it come
to the worst and thai a
step be necessary. we will walk
out and leave the town, but We believe
we VIII win." he said. Barring the
prospect Of state Intervention, but two
courses seem open to the firm of Car
negle, PhIpps u Co. One is that they.
leave the works idle and starve out the
.Men by slow process: the other is to
make all effort to force their way
into their works with the aid of an
armed force strong enough for the pur-
poses. and also to guard the hOn-unionr
men whom the firm shall employ" The
strikers uniformly express the belief
|. that the firm cannot and will not adopt
7 the first course. Hugh O'Donnell ana
other leading workmen say that,
IN their opinion. a severe conflict
Is to come, and that the. firm
are maSSing PinkertOn forces prepara-
tory to second raid. O'Donnell@ said
this afternoon that their news was to
the effect that towns surrounding
homestead and the city of Pittsburg
mad large numbers of strangers in them
and believed the Pinkert0ns were get
ting ready for another move. The
opinion was expressed that this move
would be delayed until the firm secured
a sufficient number of non-union men to
come here to Work to justify the start
ing of affairs. A strong guard would
then be thrown in here if possible. Any
Shch attempt, the men say. will be as
flercely resisted as the previous one.
The Amalgamated association has
the sympathy and the assistance
OF the Federation of Labor, the Knights
OF Labor and other organizations, and
through men in these orders in all parts
OF the country, and through the rail-
road men they secure much advance in
formation of any movements on the part
OF the firm. The fight will be kept I'D,
even though the firm should gain an
entrance. The men say that they
are prepared for long resistance
year, If NECESSARY. There are some cit
lZens of Homestead well informed about
the mill men, who place the time neces-
sary to compel the men to give in as
low as TOUR months. though admitting
II they will sacrifice great deal they
can hold out much longer.
Under the rules or the order the men
al oos ASiy dpOu tuSlI OWu resources IOr
two months, and then s. week is paid
out. The treasury of the order is rich,
put the employees are numerous. About
$4,000 is paid out each two weeks
by the firm when the works
are in operation. The men could
secure enough money from their
own order and from the contributions
of other organizations to keep the wolf
from the door for long time. but this
would not be the excellent wages many
OF them usually receive, and the prob
able loss of many comforts and even of
: homes acquired by long toll is hard to
contemplate.
The endurance of the firm is also a
matter of doubt. 1t is immensely rich,
very determined and doubtless well
considered its present course, but every
day means big losses and the slipping
away OF trade to other concerns. The
Homestead plant is one of the largest
producers of steel beams in the country
land few years ago was the sole maker
of this stuff. These beams are now ex-
.tensiyely used in the contraction of
large buildings, modern architecture
building steel shell around which
1.-THE walls are erected. Several new
firms are now making these beams,
and considerable part of the COM
ipany's trade may be diverted to other
sworks. never to be regained. Under the
'clause common to nearly every contract
amade IN the coal, coke, iron, steel and
'Other industries, that the contracting
Hparties shall not be liable for any de-
,lays i'll fulfillment of contracts due to
strikes, the company escapeS liability
ffor delays in furnishing material.
oOrders are not generally received a
.greatway ahead. az &
t,nl. nc "a do. Ill
I, finished products nowin the works, out
sit is highly probable that notwithstand-
ing the nominal control asserted to be
vested i'll the company by virtue of the
presence of the compaDy's watchmen,
it is highly probable that any at
tempt 10 remove this material
would meet with vigorous OPP
position from the locked-out
men. How long the strike can last is
therefore questionable, and in Home
stead another sharp fight is anticipated
by many persons who believe the COM
pany will vigorously fgh. to put its
respect would doubtless lead to several
subsequent riots. but the firm would have
the upper hand. Meanwhile the
strikers will continue orderly and hope
to force the company to agree to some
mode of settlement when the company
is prepared.
1t will probably send men on here,
and, on opposition being made to
them, troops will. be asked. The
town today has been quiet. and
is in control of the leaders,
and they realize mistake was
made by unauthorized persons attempt
every one here. They will continue to
exercise the right to escort out of town
all persons they suspect of being here
to spy or their movements OF who can
not satisfactorily explain their BUSH
ness. So far as newspaper men are
concerned, arrangements have been
perfected by which badges with the ap-
prevail of the advisory committee of the
strikers will he issued to all persons
who can establish their identity. The
advisory committee has practically been
anOnentity for several days. but reOr-
ganlzatiOn was effected this afternoon,
and it has kept the men under better
discipline than yesterday.
The saloons were open today. but
there was little drinking, except by a
few foreigners. The men are consider
ably agitated over the publication of
reports stating that they were making
preparation for warfare. They deny
absolutely that they have any intention
to use dynamite to blow up property on
the appearance of a hostile force,
and resent it as an imputa-
ton that they are anarchists. The re-
port that two cannons are on the way to
them they also deny absolutely, as they
did a statement that they were fortify-
ing the mill and property there to re-
sist attacks. The mill works afford
in their natural state many good
opportunities for resistance. but
so far as casual observance
from the outside goes, nothing has been
done to increase these opportunities.
Admission to the mill itself is refused
by the Waterman. George w. Darver,
one of the committee which visited
Harrisburgh; Clifford, O'Donnell and
other strikers, are authorities for
tho cfafoynopf that Qualification,