The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-07-11
MOyONGAHELA BATTLE.
The Homestead Strike And Its Re-
suits.
BLOODIEST LABOR BATTLE EVER
FOUGHT IN AMERICA.

Conditions Preceding and Accompanying
the Dispute-Slaughter of the Pinker-
tons-The Militia and the Sheriffs.
Four years ago last Monday there &C.
larred on the banks of the Monongahela
,iver at homestead, Pa, the most dra-
natic and desperate struggle between
lom bined capital and organized labor
that has ever been enacted in this coun-
Ey. Because of the present restless con-
aition Of the laboring classes and the
Iendency to resort to violenc which has
become such common element in labor
disturbances during recent years, it will
be worth while to take brief backward
glance at this "battle of the Monon-
gaheIa,' and to consider some Of the
lessons which both capital and labor
should have learned as result of that
bloody rupture, says a writer in the
Springfield Republican. In general
way probably every body knows what
happened at Homestead on the morning
Of July 6. 1899. But 1t is quite certain
shat in the haste to describe the battle
Itself, the great majority of the CORE
spondents failed to give an adequate
picture OF the moral and social. as well
Rs the industrial aspects of the disp lte,
md its consequences Nor was it pos
sihIe, for that matter, to give a perfectly
comprehensive and truthful description of
the battle itself on the day that it was
being waged. There were but few news
paper men on the ground when the hos
hlities began, and the conflict almost i'm
mediately became so complicated that it
was impossible for one man, or even
bang done.
Moreover, it must be remembered that
from daylight to late in the afternoon
the conditions which existed on tho
banks of the river at Homestead steel
works, were nothing short of open and saw
age war. During those hours newspaper
men were no better off than any other
men, and the correspondent who showed
himself from behind defenses in the mill
yard would have been as promptly shot
down as though he wore red shirt and
was known to be mill hand.
The battle of the Monongahela was
the result OF a wage dispute between
the officials of the Carnegie steel COM
pany and the officers Of the amalgamated
association of iron and steel workers
who undertook to arrange the scale of
wages by which members of that associa-
tion should be paid. The Homestead
mill at this time employed about $500
tic MI
" ere affected by the scale whose terms
caused the dispute During the week
PREVIOUS to July the company officials,
With 81. G. Friok, chairman of the cor
coration, as their executive head. and
The scale committee of the amalgated as
ISOLATION, held number of conferences.
At first there was.a disparity of three or
four dollars between the tonnage rate de-
manded by the workmen, and the rate
which the employers offered to pay. But
as result of the conferences both sides
made concessions, SO that the disparity
became reduced to about dollar. AT
that point both sides stood firm, and it
pc no compromise.
Although Mr.. Frick was known to be
q man who could not be shaken by either
persuasion or threats after he had
reached decision, the truth demands
that 1t be said that the men with whom
he had to deal were little short IF bel
ligersnt in their attitudetfrom the very
Grst. Unprejudiced parsons who were
acquainted with the facts afterward
strongly condemned the workmen, say
Ing that thare was too much Of AFRO
ganoe in their manner. The upshot was
that Mr. FIiok finally refused to consider
the matter any further and the scale was
not signed.
That the mill owners had foreseen the
probability of strike was shown by the
fact that while this dispute was going
on, carpenters were finishing board
fence about 10 feet high surrounding the
mill at Homestead. On the night OF
June 30 when the men filed out through
the main gate in this fence the strike or
lockout was in effect. The employers
called 1t "strike'' because the workmen
would not come to their terms; the
worksnen called it o "lockoutj' because
the employers would not accept their
figures Whichever it really was the mill
was idle and both sides began to pre- pare
for ths struggle With the consent Of the
strikers q number of millmen remained
in tbs works as watchmen. But when,
few days later, there began to appear
evidences that the company not only
would not yield, but had determined to
man their mill with non union work
men, these watchmen were discharged
because of their known sympathy with
the cause of the strikers. 1t will be
remembered that of the $500 employers
who had deserted the mill about $500
were i'll no way materially affected by
the scale. and quit work solely because
If their sympathygwith the amalgam ated
men.
When the company officials saw that
there would be open resistance to the
employment of non-union labor in the
mill they called on the sheriff of the
county for protection. That functionary
managed to assemble at Pittsburc a