The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1900-04-06

him with little ceremony, and it was
only Philips timely arrival and his
saving of minutes until the police ar
rived that prevented lynching in
Milton that night. AS it was Mr.. Win
ter received a scare from which it
took a long time to recover. He dread
ed to go out alone at night. He kept
on guard special watchman and lived
in more or less terror even then. 1t
was satisfactorily proved in a few
days that the man who had gone to
see Mr.. Winter had never reached the
office door; but, coming around the
corner of the building where the new
work was being done, he had fallen off
the stonework, striking on a rock in
such a way as to produce fatal
wound. This tempered the feeling of
the workmen toward Mr. Winter, but
a widespread unrest and discomfort
had seized on every man employed in
the mills, and as the winter drew on
affairs reached a crisis.
The difference between the mills and
the men over the scale of wages could
not I've settled. The men began to talk
about a strika. Philip heard Of it and
at once, with his usual frankness and
boldness, spoke with downright plain
ness to the men against it. That was
at the little hail week after the at
tempt on Mr.. Winters life. Philips
part in that nights event had added to
his reputation and his popularity with
the men. They admired his courage
and his grit. Most Of them were
ashamed of the whole affair, especially
after they had sobered down and it
had been proved that Mr.. Winter had
not touched the man. So Philip was
welcomed with applause as he came
out on the little platform and looked
| over the crowded room, seeing many
faces there that had glared at him in
| the mob week before. And yet his
heart told him he loved these men, and
his reason told him that it was the
sinner and the uncOnverted that God
loved. 1t was terrible responsibility
to have such men count him popular,
| and he prayed that wisdom might be
given him in the approaching crisis, es-
pecially as he seemed to have some
| real influence.
He had not spoken ten words when
some one by the door cried: "Come out
| side! Big crowd out here want to get
| in" 1t was moonlight and not very
cold, so every one moved out of the
hall, and Philip mounted the steps Of
storehouse near by and spoke to
crowd that filled up the street in front
and for a long distance right and left.
| Iv;o Int +
fortified with telling figures, and at the
| close he stood and answered a perfect
| torrent of questions. His main counsel
| was against a strike in the present sit
uation. He had made himself familiar
with the facts on both sides. Strikes,
| he argued, except in very rare cases,
were demoraliZing-an unhealthy, dis
astrous method of getting justice done.
"Why, just look at that strike in
Preston, England, among the cotton
| spinners. There were only 660 opera
tives, but that strike, before it ended,
| threw out of employment over 1880
weavers and other workmen who had
| nothing whatever to do with the quar-
| rel of the 660 men. In the recent strike
| in the cotton trade in Lancashire at
| the end of the first II weeks the opera
tives had lost in wages alone s., 500, 900.
| Four strikes that occurred in England
between 1870 and 1880 involved loss
in wages of more than $25,OOO,OOO. In
$4,000 strikes investigated lately by
the national bureau Of labor it is esti-
mated that the employees lost about
| SOL, 100000, while the employers lost
only $50, 100000. Out of 353 strikes in
England between 1870 and 1880 191
were lost by the strikers, II were
| gained and 81 compromised, but in the
strikes that were successful it took sew
eral years to regain in wages the
amount lost by the enforced idleness
Of the men,"
There were enough hard thinking,
sensible men in the audience that night
to see the force of his argument. The
majority, however, were in favor of q
general strike to gain their point in
regard to the scale Of wages. When
Philip went home, he carried with him
the conviction that a general strike in
the mills was pending. In spite of the
fact that it was the worst possible sea-
son of the year for such action and in
spite of the fact that the difference de-
manded by the men was a trife COM
pared with their loss of wages the very
first day of idleness, there was deter
mination among the leaders that the
1900 men in the mills should all &c
out in the course Of few days If the
demands of the men in the Ocean mill
were not granted.
What was the surprise of every one
in Milton, therefore, the very next day
when it was announced that every mill
in the great system had shut down
and not a man of the $4,000 laborers
who marched to the buildings in the
early gray Of the winter morning found
entrance! Statements were posted uI
on the doors that the mills We're shut
down until further notice. The mill
owners had stolen a march on the en-
ployees, and the big strike was on; but
it had been started by capital, not by
labor, and labor went to it's tenement
or congregated in the saloon, sullen
and gloomy, and as days went by and
the mills showed no signs of opening
the great army of the unemployed
walked the streets of Milton in grow
ing discomfort and fast accumulating
debt and poverty.
Meanwhile the trial of the man ar
rested for shooting Philip came on, and
Philip and his wife both appeared as
witnesses in the case. The man was
convicted and sentenced to Is years
Imprisonment. 1t has nothing specia
to do with the history of Philip Strong
but may be of interest to the reader tt
know that in two years. time he was