The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-04-02
A BLACK Eye FOR BELT
A Great Misfortune to the Big
Mining Camp.
THE STRIKE is DEPL0RED
The Leaders Were Hasty-Two Hundred
Men Are Thrown Out of Employ
ment-Has Far-Reach-
ing Effect.

Great Falls, April AT least 200 men
thrown out Of employment by the strike
at Belt have passed through this city
in the past few days, bound for other
fields of employment. 1t is stated that
those who desire work will be en-
ployed as far as possible at Gebo and
Diamondville, and it is likely that many
will go to those camps. Whatever may
have been the cause of the strike, one
fact is patent to every citizen of Great
Falls--the closing of the works at Belt
is great misfortune to the county and
to every man in 1t. The cessation of
large monthly pay roll means an imme-
diate decrease in the volume of bust
ness transacted in this city as well as
at Belt; to the farmers in that vicinity
1t means the sudden cease of good
market for their products and extra
cost of transportation to other markets;
to the camp itself 1t means a period of
stagnation which is like death to BUSH
ness. John P. Fitzgerald, the county
auditor, who lived for many years at
Belt and is therefore familiar with con-
ditions there, says that it will be but
a short time before the county will be
called upon to support many families
In that camp. Since the burning down
of the washing plant there have been
many who have earned merely enough
to support life. The company endeav-
ored to supply work to as many of these
as possible, but under the circum-
stances there was but a limited amount
of labor to perform and this had to be
distributed among many. With the
closing of the store will come the stop
ping of credit to these unfortunates.
and they will have to apply to the
county for assistance or starve.
In hi ett 70 1fr11>
with the details leading to the strike,
there is general feeling among bust
ness men and others that the miners
who went out would have acted wisely
had they resorted first to other means
and held strike as a last resort. 1t is
their hasty action which is censured.
and not the strike in itself, as that is
something which only one knowing ev-
cry circumstance can judge fairly. That
this feeling is shared by the people of
Belt is evinced by the following edi-
torial printed under the head of "a
Black Friday in the last issue of the
Belt Valley Times a paper which has
always endeavored, to act justly with
both the company and the men. 1t
says:
1.-THE strike of the employees of the
"A. G. M. company was most unfortu-
nate Without entering into a discus
sion of the justice or injustice of the
u6HlduQS InduG by 6lIIlGI company VI
men, it seems to US, as it does to the
majority of the people, that those who
ordered the strike were a little hasty
and hardly counted upon the evil that
would result therefrom. We believe
there was a better and easier method
and one which would have secured for
them better and quicker results.
when the machine men were or
dered to do the work or quit, why did
they not quit and report the matter to
the Western Federation of Miners and
let the executive committee of that
body investigate the trouble? It would
not have taken many days for this
committee to determine the right or
wrong of the case in dispute and they
could soon apply remedy. If the de-
mands upon the men We're unjust and
the company refused to reinstate the
men and grant their demands then it
would be time enough to strike. If, on
the other hand, the differences were
satisfactorily adjusted, then the old
hands would have been Teinstated and
the other employees would not have lost
a day
"a strike at any time is to be de-
plored but this one doubly so.
For the past year work has been
such that the great majority of the
people have had hand to mouth exist
ence. Each one put up with it without
murmur in hopes that the completion
of the washer would see a revival OF
good times. From all indications their