The Oskaloosa herald., 1900-02-22


uation. He had made himself familiar
| with the facts on both sides. Strikes
he argued, except in very rare cases
/ were acknowledgment unhealthy, dis
astrous method of getting justice done
"Why. just look at that strike il
Preston, England, among the cotton
| spinners. There were only 660 opera
! tives, but that strike, before 1t ended
threw out of employment over 1906
| weavers and other workmen who had
| nothing whatever to do with the quar-
| rel of the ego men. In the recent strike
| in the cotton trade in Lancashire al
| the end of the first II weeks the opera
tives had lost in wages alone $4,5OO,000
| Four strikes that occurred in England
| between 1870 and 1880 involved a loss
In wages of more than So, 100000. In
! $4,000 strikes investigated lately by
| the national bureau of labor it is esti
mated that the employees lost about
S5l,S00,000, while the employers lost
only $50, 100000. Out of 353 strikes in
England between 1870 and 1880 19l
were lost by the strikers, II were
gained and 81 compromised, but in the
strikes that were successful 1t 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 a
general strike TO gain their point in
regard to the scale of wages. When
Philip went home, he carried with him
the conviction that 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 trifie COM
pared with their loss of wages the very
first day of idleness, there was deter
mination among the leaders that the
$4,000 men in the mills should all go
out in the course of a 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 up
on the doors that the mills were 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 accommodating
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
1t has nothing special
to do with the history of Philip Strong,
but may be of interest to the reader to
know that in two years time he was
pardoned out and returned to Milton TO
open his old saloon, where he actually
told more than once the story of his at |
tempt on the preachers life.
There came also during those stormy |
times in Milton the trial of several of |
the men who were arrested for the as |
sault on Mr.. Winter. Philip was also |
as a witness in these cases. |
AS always, he frankly testified to what |
he knew and saw. Several Of the ac- |
cused were convicted and sentenced to |
short terms. But the mill owner. prob |
ably fearing revenge on the part of the |
men, did not push the matter, and
most of the cases went by default for
lack of prosecution.
Mr.. Winters manner toward Philip |
a change after that memo
rable evening when the minister stood
by him at the peril of his own life.
There was a feeling of genuine re-
spect, mingled with fear, in his de-
pertinent toward Philip. To say that
lliCy "tlC val llit "Ohib
ing too much. Men as widely different
as the minister and the wealthy mill
man do not come together on that
sacred ground of friendship, even when
one is indebted to the other for his
life. a man may save another from
hanging and still be unable to save
him from selfishness. And Mr.. Winter
went his way and Philip went his on
a different basis, so far as common
greeting went, but no nearer in the
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 be settled. The men began to talk
about a strike. Philip heard Of IL and
real thing, which makes heart to heart
communion impossible. For the time
being Mr.. Winters hostility was sub
merged under his Indebtedness to Phil
ip. He returned TO his own place in
the church and contributed to the
financial support.
CHAPTER X.
One day at the close OF n month