Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-11-12
HUNDREDS Of FOREIGNERS
AROUND THE MINGO STEEL
PLANT.
COMPETITION NOT POSSIBLE
WITH THESE MEN BY DECENT
AMERICANS.
A Careful Review of the Situation up
the River by Correspondent,
After u Personal Investigation of
the Facts and Conditfons-The Men
Have Been Idle for Six Months,
but Still Stand for Their Rights.
Special to the Register.

Special to the Register.
MINGO JUNCTION. Ohio, November
11.-That trusts and the Republican
party are cheek by jowl was never
better demonstrated than in the lock-
out of the tonnage men at the National
Steel Company's plant at this place.
In the first place the men laid a griev-
ance before the trust managers asking
for change of working hours, viz:
eight hour shifts, if they had to work
Sundays; or if Sunday work was not
insisted on then they would continue
the twelve-hour shifts, even though
the strain was hard on the human syS-
TEN. The only answer was the clos
ing down of the. plant and complete
ignoring of the men. Since that time
came the slump in the iron trade and
to-day there can be seen miles OF pig
iron in the yards around the mill. Dur
ing all these six months the men have
been going their various ways without
display of bad feeling, even though
there was some move made to bring
other men here and at another time
some of the tonnage men were made
offers individually to work at monthly
salaries far below what they had been
making. To-day the men are meet
ing the company on an even basis and
are ready to discuss a settlement If it
be fair, but they cannot consent to
such a large reduction as has been pro-
posed.
The trust was wise enough not to
give notice of the reduction before the
election, but waited till the day after.
Mingo Junction had gone "A Republi
can on certain prosperity promises, but
when the reduction was made known
there was some political i'll feeling dis
played and the Republicans were ready
to hatch up reasons to divert the ven
geance of the betrayed even TO trying
to stir up feeling over newspaper pup
locations which told considerable plain
truth and which did not go well on top
of the reduction.
There are existing conditions among
certain classes at Mingo Junction
which the mill workers view very SEN
sibly in the present crisis. Down near
the waters of Cross creek is, one big
shack in which are housed one hum
dred and seventy-five Italians who live
on the cheapest, filtniest scale possible.
Near by are a dozen board dug outs"
with earthen floor in which more of the
same class are housed. Your cores
pendent viewed them to-day. In other
houses around table free from cover
was seen gangs of Slavs gathered about
a bowl of macaroni soup into which all
dipped and ate out of. The only other
eatable was a big loaf of bread.
Americans cannot compete with these
men at all. They hope that the same
conditions can be prevented in their
case by means Of an organization. The
works is surrounded by high board
fence topped off by barbed wire while
armed guards look after the grounds
of this big trust plant. A workingman
says he heard report before the cleo
ton that if Mckinley won the trusts
backed by the imperial army would
try to crush out labor organizations.
May this day be averted is the prayer
OF all