Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-01-30

There is no change in the strike
situation at the lower Benwood plate
mill. The helpers have held meet
ing among themselves, but nothing
has SO far has been done to effect
settlement on either side. The steel
workers hold meeting this afternoon
at the Benwood City Hall to discuss
their reduction and take some action
The new scale will not go into effect
until the expiration of thirty days,
but it will very likely be known after
tp-day's meeting whether the steel
workers will also go out on a strife.
While those who have expressed them
selves declare their intention of re-
fusing the reduction, yet some people
predict that the outcome of the
whole difficulty of the company with
both the steel workers and plate mill
employees will be compromised. In
relation to the strike at the plate mill,
the company contends that they are
not asking the men to accept a reduc-
ton, but offer them an opportunity
to make more money by working more
time. They allege that the men refuse
the chance to have their wages in
creased. The following is the state
ment OF the company, presented by one
of the managers for publications:
Heretofore five heats constituted a
days work, which was small days
work in a steel mill. Five heats is
not days work, and at the River
side the men make seven and eight
heats every day, at the La Belle and
Belmont they make ten heats, and at
the Benwood mill they only make five
heats in seven and half hours In
other skelp mills ten, eleven and
twelve heats constitute a days work.
The conditions of business is such to
demand the increase of from five to six
heats, for which the company has
agreed to pay at the tonnage basis,
taking the average of the men at FIVE
heats and giving the men for six heats
one-ffth more wages for one-fifth more
work. The men refuse to work on
that basis, and refuse to work more
than five heats on any basis. Taking
that stand, they have limited the
capacity of the mill and will not work
it to near its full capacity. There is
no such thing as reduction of wages.
1t is an advance in wages, and means
more money for more work
Opposed to this statement. the men
declare that they are striking against
a reduction of wages and that the
change will surely mean that they
would not make as much money for
six heats as they are making now on
steel The following statement is
made by committee of the men and
signed by them:
Owing to the fact that the even
ing paper has repeatedly misrepTe-
s0nted us in our dispute with the
Wheeling Iron and Steel Company, we
desire to contradict the statements
that have been made in that paper,
and state that they have been entirely
incorrect and misleading. 1t has been
stated that the difficulty was only a
matter of six heats, instead of five
heats, and that the question of wages
didn't enter into the controversy. This
is incorrect, as the company based the
tonnage of the mill at too high q
basis. The rate the company offers for
six heats would go below what the
men are being paid now for five heats
on STEEL and on iron It would be i'm
possible to make six heats, but the
company has given the impression
that the men would make more money
by increasing the iron tonnage, but we
claim it is impossible to increase tie
tonnage, as the furnaces are worked
to their full capacity on iron The
reduction proposed amounts to about
twenty per cent. on both iron and
steel -