The Globe-republican., 1892-03-17
THE GREAT MINERS STRIKE.
1t Will Close the Work OF the
Trades.

1t Will Close the Work OF the
Trades.
LONDON, March 15.-The great coal miners
strike was Inaugurated at the appointed time.
The day was declared holiday for the
purpose of clearing the markets of the sur
face coal and for restricting the output in
order to prevent the masters from using low
prices as an excuse for lowering wages. The
men employed in the mines in Lancashire,
Cheshire and Yorkshire stopped work and
the ponies were removed from the pit.
1t was hoped that some sort of a compro-
mise would be arrived at, but no agreement
could be reached and the strange spectacle
presents itself of employees quitting work in
the masters interests, for it cannot be denied
that:of any advantage derived from higher
prices the mine owners, as compared with
the miners, will reap the greater portion.
Twenty thousand. miners in Nottingham
have quit work. The coal output in the Bris-
tol district is nearly exhausted. The miners
have ceased work, and as result the price of
coal has gone up four shillings. Many man
ufacturers refuse to pay the price demanded
and closed their factories.
The strike is the greatest one Of coal miners
in the history of this country. Nearly 3OO,-
QUO men will have their time on their hands.
They are all members of the Miners Fed
Grafton of Great Britain. As a matter of
fact the strike is not strike, but a closure,
the members quitting work for two weeks.
Their main object in doing this is to bring
about a coal famine SO that the employers
will have no excure for reducing wages.
There will be an almCst entire cessation of
labor in most of the great industrial centers,
including Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham,
Leeds, London and Liverpool. All the roll
ing mills and cutlery establishments in Shelf
field will shut down, and so will vast engineer
ing establishments, iron foundries, soap
manufactures and cotton and wooden mills
by the score.
The total number of people that will tenn
porarily be thrown out of employment in the
strike, if the closure continues, cannot be es-
timated, but it will certainly run into the
millions. Many of the mine owners have
given notice that they will not start up
again except at a reduction of 81 to 10 per
cent. The miners have a reser-e fund of
several million dollars.
Spectators are taking advantage of exist
ing conditions, and already the price of
bread has advanced IN many parts of the
country, even where the bakers have stocks
of coal on hand. Agents of many Big
manufactures have been purchasing sup
plies in Belgium, France and Germany, but
the LongshOreman's union is in accord with
the miners, and threats have been made that
they will not only refuse to unload any i'm
ported coal, but will boycott the lines by
which it may be brought in.
Public sentiment is largely with the miners,
although there is an undercurrent of feeling
that it Is dangerous for any organization of
labor to take a step fraught with suffering
and possibly destitution to hundreds of thou
sands of their fellow beings in other trades.
The Miners Federation has issued an ad-
dress to all its members, urging them to
maintain order and keep the the peace, in
order that there may not be the slightest
ground for invoking the interference of the
authorities.