St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-03
A BIG COKE STRIKE IS ON.
TEN THOUSAND MEN GIVE UP 7HEih
POSITIONS.
A GREAT Loss OF PROPERTY.
ing Up in the Ovens-Strikers
Use Clubs and Stones to Drive
lway the Men Who Attempt
o Save the Companies Pro
0rty-Defiance Of All Laws

~
JNIONTOwN, Pa. April 2.-The stoE ~
.,as broken. and the scenes of 1891 are
gion tonight. The big coke strike, with
all its attendant destruction of prop
erty, is now on in full force. This
morning the call of the ScOttdaie con-
ventiOn was obeyed by more than half
the works in the coke fields, and it took
fully 5000 men from work.
The situation is now one of great
more destructive outbreaks are expected
at any time. The Scottdale convention,
according 70 official reports, did not
declare for making the fight general
| until after noon. Yet the announce
ment of the order has swept over this
region like fire. and there are few if any
works, however isolated or remote, at
| which the news is not now known.
The sum and substance of the opin-
ions of both operators and employees
tonight is that there will be no ovens
burning by tomorrow night in all the
| coke-maklng region; and, as it has been
said, "wednesday will see the air so
clear in this country as it was before
ever any coke was burned here"
THE RANKS OF THE STRIKERS
have been so reinforced this afternoon
that tonight the lowest estimate gives
them l0.0O6 men. From the outset the
strike has been turbulent. with a tend
ency to open defiance of law. There
was riOting i'll several quarters last
night. 1t has grown steadily worse,
and today there were more serious out
breaks in this end of the field. The
men on the river works went out. leav-
ing 1900 tons of coke burning up in
the ovens. The company, to save
the property, attempted to put
some men to work drawing the
coke when the strikers made vigorous
attack upon them with stones and clubs,
driving them from the grounds. In the
melee several men were badly injured.
The Oliver people have telegraphed the
| deputies, and the works will be guarded
after tonight. The coke Will he drawn
under protection of the sheriff. The
greatest outbreak was at the famous
Hill Farm mines, near here. This
morning about 400 foreigners from Nor
relI and Wheeler. of the Cambria Iron
company's,
ARMED THEMSELVES WITH GUNS,
revolvers and clubs, and started out to
drive the men from the neighboring
! plants. They visited the Humphrey
works. and. finding the men at work.
drove them away under the muzzles of
pistols. One workman chose to stand
| at his post. He was given one minute
| to leave by Hungarian who covered
him with a revolver. After driving
the workmen away they continued
their march to Anchor, where
the workmen offered no opposition, and
immediately left the works. The en-
gagement was at the Hill Farm. The
men were quietly at work when the
| mob of infuriated Huns bounced down
| upon them, ordering them to leave at
once. Some alterations followed. When
the Huns forced their demands by
an attack, in which half-dozen
workmen were seriously Injured. About
twenty shots were fired. A negro was
nearly Drained by stone and very
badly hurt. After all the men had been
driven away the rioters began firing the
shanties, but desisted at the frantic
entreaties of the women and children.
Supt Long, of the Hill Farm, had some
| of the Huns arrested for attempting to
burn the property.
Al IL o'clock tonight it was reported
by the labor leaders here that the move
ment now embraces the entire coke re-
gion, and not plant will be allowed to
operate without struggle.
The strikers openly threaten to burn
| the plants rather than see them oper-
ated at present prices for labor. and if
they attempt this loss of life will
certainly follow. By tomorrow the
strikers will muster $4,000 to $4,000
men, and in their present state of
restitution they are reckless. The
civil authorities admit tonight
! that they will not be able TO cope with
| the trouble. There was big meeting
| held here tonight, which has just closed.
| The widest of the wild foreign element
| is in virtual control. They openly de-
clared it the purpose of the strikers, as
| the sense of the meeting to drive out
every man who may want to work.
The strikers have been greatly diSap-
pointed because Of the failure of the
! national organization to send them aid
and encouragement today. There has
not been a national representative in
the region for several days, and it is
| said that organization has withdrawn
g.! IFS support