The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-07-21
BROUGHT TROUBLE
Hugh O'Donnell Reviews the Causes
That Led to the Homestead
AZ Battle.
Tho New Managers Known I'm
friendliness to Organised Labor
Largely Responsible. #
Together With His Arbitrary and Inoon-
siderate Treatment OF tho Men-1m-
portation Of Pinkertons.

A review at this time of the steps take,
10 effect q rsadjustment of he scale o
wages between the workmen and the firm o
Carnegie, Phipps & Co. and the incident
which have led up to the present lookout
md the calling out of the entire guard O.
the state of Pennsylvania is a task I have
been requested to perform.
Tho following ID a brief narration of the
facts that led up to the trouble:
Superintendent Potter, of the steel works,
a. early in the year as January, invited the
joint committee OF the Homestead AmslRa-
mated lodges into tho company's office and
to it stated the desire of the firm for the
lodges to formulate a scale for the coming
three years and present the same to the
company's officials within the next ten days.
MIR. Potter at that time said that it was the
wish of the firm to deal with tho Amalga-
mated association. During the last three
years the relationship existing between the
Organization and the firm had been Of the
pleasantest, and uniformly better results
were obtained by the association seeing that
its members did their work carefully and
oompetently, ever keeping in view the in
terests OF their employers.
At this meeting Mr.. Potter further said
he did not believe in strikes or the congre-
cation of mobs, the display of deputies and
the usual disturbance attendant upon
strikes. The superintendent assured US
that arbitration was something new and
modern. and the Carnegies, being a pro-
gressive firm. would be the first to adopt il
in settling tho wage question with their
employees.
The joint committee placed the PROPOSE
ton before the respective lodges and ex-
planned the attitude of the firm as expressed
by Superintendent Potter. The PROPOSE.
tion was we'll received and favorable action
taken. A new scale was formulated, which
differed very little from tho one under
which the men had been working. This
scale applied to but three departments
namely, the 119-inch mill. the armor plate
mill and the No. 9 open hearth department.
The other departments, comprising the
blooming, converting, old-beam and g.
inch mills, owing to the fact that they were
to be reconst, ucted and operated with
modern automatic machinery, were to con-
tlnue working under the scale in force until
such reconstruction and necessary repairs
should have been completed. In the mean
Superintendent Potter had made vari-
GUS propositions to the different Glasses of
in the reconstructed departments
with a view to having them become COM
pany or salaried men, but without success.
as the men were loyal to the association
of which they we're members.
The organization having duly formulated
Il scale the joint committee held many con-
f%erences with the firm during the months
Of February, March, April and up to the
of the national convention of the
association in Pittsburg, but
arriving at any definite conclu-
sions. 1t was believed by :he joint COM
mittee and the lodges generally that Mr..
and the firm we're perfectly sincere
in making the opposition in January, and