The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-07-04
MINERS STRUGGLE FOR LIFE
Lay Down Their Picks Just 121 Year,
After Supposed American Freedom
Had Been Gained.

Lay Down Their Picks Just 121 Years
After Supposed American Freedom
| Had Been Gained.
Pittsburg, Pa, July 3-Industrial cir
cles were much excited today over the
development in the situation among sew
eral important trades on the verge of the
declaration of coal miners of the Pitts
burg district to take the lead of the gen.
eral suspension of the coal mining in
dustry came the concession of the Tin
Plate Manufacturers Association to the
Amalgamated Association of Iron and
Steel Workers. The miners officials here
say that idleness will prevail in the ma
jority of the rail and river mines in the
! Pittsburg district. The claim that the
struggle for higher wages will be of short
duration and that by reason of the great
demand for coal for the lake trade, at
this season of the year, they will be
granted an advance before the operators
lose large contracts for the future deliv-
cry Of coal.
| The miners officials claim that con-
servative estimate fixes the number of
men who will go on strike in Pennsyl-
vania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and
Illinois at 100000.
The tin plate workers are jubilant over
the concessions made by the manufactur-
ers 1t is estimated that 5000 skilled
workmen will resume Tuesday morning.
| Nearly all the tin plate manufacturers
in the Pittsburg district have orders
enough to keep their plants running for
the next six months. In few plants the
ntire output for the next year has been
lready sold.
Pittsburg, July 3.-The coal miners
of the Pittsburg district in delegate con
vention here to-day decided unanimously
to comply with the order of the national
executive board to strike and all of the
union miners in the district viii lay down
! their tools tomorrow morning and enter
upon struggle for better wages which
/ promises to be one Of the longest and
most bitterly contested fights ever known
| ii the labor world. The delegates to the
convention left for their homes full of
! the strike sentiment, each man promising
4 complete suspension of work in the
mines he Tf!esente1.
The miners officials have completed
arrangements for a series of mass meet
ings to be held throughout the entire dis
trict, and it is believed the effect of
these meetings will be to bring out every
digger in the district, those who are un-
der iron clad arrangements as well as
the others.
Pittsburg, Pa, July 3.-Skilled tin
plate workers, identified with the Anal
gamated Association of Iron and Steel
Workers, scored decisive victory to-
day. They secured an advance in wages
and a protective clause that tin plate
mills will not manufacture sheet iron
The workers are jubilant, and look upon
the future with hope, as it is claimed the
signing Of the remaining scales of the
association is but question of time.
The conference between the scale com
lmittee and a committee of manufactur
ers adjourned this morning after having
been in session two days. The workers
wanted an advance of Is per cent, which
the manufacturers were not inclined tt
give.
A readjustment was made, which
would give the workers an average ad
vance of about S% per cent. After con
siderable discussion the workers agreed
to the proposition, provided the manu-
facturers signing the scale would agree
to give them a protective clause guaran
teeing that the timed plate mills would
not manufacture sheet iron in the event
of the market for tin becoming depressed
The proposition was agreed to, and both
ladjourned apparently we'll satisfied The
settlement means much to the workers.