Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-08-15
THE STRUGGLE AT HOMESTEAD.
Statements by Labor Leaders and Love
joy That Differ Widely.

Statements by Labor Leaders and Love
joy That Differ Widely.
PITTsBURG, Aug. 15.-Saturday a state
ment to the American public was issued,
signed by the Federation executive com
mittee, the Homestead advisory commit
tee and the Amalgamated association, the
leading siCners being Gompers, Weihe
and O'DonneN The statement says Car
negie's company is one of the most gi-
gantic monopolies of the age, and has
undertaken to reduce the wages of en-
ployes from 10 To 40 per cent. 1t refers Il
the 9th OF July and the Pinkertous, and
says the company eudeavored t. introduce
"pauperized and degraded laborers to sup
plant our fellow-American workmen.a
Wages and Condition of the Men.
1t denied that munificeut wages Were
paid and asserts that the wages of only l.
and OF 3,42l averaged $50 per day, 46 re-
ceived from - to 81, "a averaged 81 to -,
Lit from Sl.6S To =. 80, 1,625 IA cents per
hour, or lees. Only s TO 10 per cent own
their homes 10 per cent. have homes under
mortgage and the others pay rent. Not
withsta nding the militia only COO men are
in the mills and only twelve of them
are skilled.
Appeal for War Sinues.
The statement closes with an appeal for
surance is given that every dollar con.
tributed will be well spent in the cause
Of organized labor, and every wage.
/ worker and liberty-loving citizen is urged
to contribute. Contributions can be sent
to William Weih, 5l2 Smithfield street,
Pittsburg, and Thomas j. Crawford, box
1876, Homestead, should be notified.
Gompers Makes a Speech.
A meeting was held at Homestead
Saturday afternoon, at which speeches
were made by several leaders, including
Gompers. The latter said that the com
pany had an enormous monopoly of steel
bullets and wanted a scale based on that
product which they controlled. The firm
spread rosy reports about the men who
made large wages, but did not refer to the
novels occupied by the majority of the
men, such As the speaker had seen The
steel workers had made such men as Car
negie possible. Secretary Mcclure of the
Federation made a speech in which he
attacked the militia.
Lovejoy's Reply to Gompers.
Referring to Gompers' speech Secretary
Lovejoy, of the Carnegie company, said
yesterday that Gompers' statement that
the company had a monopoly on steel bill
lets was absurd. There were many com.
petitors in Pittsburg, besides the Illinois
Steel company, the Penn sylvania Steel
company and the Cambria Iron company.
The Carnegie mills made about 80 per
cent of the steel billets. No man en-
ployed at Homestead got less than 81. 40
per day. The statement that only COO
men were at work in the mill was met by
the assertion that there were l,5O0, all
skilled, and he stood ready to prove it.
Regarding the Pinkertons.
Said Loyejoy: The criticism on our
bringing Pinkertons to Homestead has no
weight in the face of the law, which per-
mits any man to properly protect his
property against trespassers, and who, in
the words of Judge Ewing, may fire
numerously and effectively against any
mob that attacks his property. No threat
has been made by any member of the
company that prosecutions would follow
a boycott. We now say, however, that
we will simply rely upon the law to pro
tect ourselves against any cons nspiracies
that NAV be Matched ~