The Bessemer indicator., 1893-04-15
A NARROW ESCAPE.
s,o STRIKE At CHICAGO.

All U.ion Men ut Work for the WsfiA's
Fair Ordered Oat.
An order was issued BY the officers OF the
building tradss directing all union men At
work on tho Worlds Fair buildings 70 strike
on the 10th.
Between 5000 and 6,00O men, representing
all OF the building trades, will be Affected.
The order to strike wac issued Saturday BY A.
P. Russell, president of the Building Trades
Council of that city Mr.. Russell and his a.
sistants were hard at work all day informi nE
the different trades unions Of the decision
reached by the board Of delegates. The
board Of delegates representing the building
tradea At the fair grounds held secret meet
ing all day Saturday. The result Of the meet
ing was the ordering of a strike. During the
meeting a manifesto was drawn up, copy OF
which was sent TO President Higinbotham late
Saturday night. The manifesto 10 resume
OF the relations which have existed between
the exposition company and organized labor
1t charges the expedition officials with bad
faith In refusing to submit to arbitration the
demands OF the Building Trades Council that
all non-u union men now at work be dismissed.
There is no question Of wages or hours OF Ia
Dor at issue.
President Higiubotham declares that the
demand will not be entertained, even II II Is
found necessary to open the fair in an un-
finished condition. lie claims that 1t was
agreed two years ago that union and nom
union men should he hired indlscriminately,
as the Building Trades Council ad mitted at
he time 1t could not furnish enough men to
build the Fair
The local directors refuse to reopen this
question, although they are willing to submit
any dispute not covered by previous agree
ment to arbitration. Mr.. Higlnb otham says
the men at the Fair grounds arc getting the
highest pay in the history of organized labor.
that the workmen are well satisfied with
present conditions, and that In his opinion
the great majority of them will refuse to obey
the order of the officers OF the labor organiza-
tions to strike.
Dispatches sent out from Chicago Monday
night state that the great stri ke which i'm
perlled tile success OF the exposition came to
an end as suddenly rs 1t began. The trades
council asked for arbitration, and the Coun-
ell of Administration demanded an immedl-
ate conference The two bodies accordingly
held joint meeting and at 10 p. m. agreed
upon basis of compromise, which WAS SUBJ
stantiAl victory for the Fair. The trades
council agreed 10 allow non-un ion men TO
work, upon the understanding that all work
men were to receive the amount Of wages re-
qulred by the rules OF each trade organiza-
ton.
II was close call for the exposition, not
only for It's opening but for its success. The
work OF the men who struck to-day Is nearly
over, and while they could not have ruined
the Fair they might, by stopping the work. so
have delayed matters that the exposition could
not have been in complete readiness by the
first Of May.
The strike was An attempt TO unionizc the
Fair, nothing more, nothing less. Two years
ago, when the labor representatives made q
demand that none but union men should be
employed at the Fair, they were asked II they
could guarantee that the unions could fur
nish enough men at all times to enable the
work to be prosecuted without delay. After
taking account of stock they were forced TO
confess that the unions were not strong
enough to furnish all the men the exposition
might require. They were then inform cd by
the national commission that the govern ment
could not and would not discriminate against
men because they were or were not members
Of any labor organization. This ended the
argument on the union question and the mnt.
ter was dismissed by common consent.