The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-05-03
GIGANTIC STRIKE
One Thousand Men In
Bayonne and Vicinity
Quit Work.
VIOLENCE IMPENDING
Oxford Copper, Standard Oil
Barrel, King Plaster and
Pacific Coast Borax
Works Affected.
COMPANY I CALLED OUT
CrandalI and Sixty Sheriffs
Deputies Keep Order
Cause of the
Trouble.

One of the biggest strikes bordering on
q riot that has occurred in this state De-
gan Tuesday night among the employees
of the Orford Copper Co., situated on
the Kill Won Kull, in Bayonne. Out Oh
sympathy to the employees OF the orIoro
Company, the employees of the parrei
works of the Standard Oil Company the
Kings, Plaster Mills on Staten Island ana
the Pacific Coast Borax Company nave
also gone out. One thousand men IN an
are out and disastrous results are anucl-
pated
There have been threats among the men
that lead the police and deputy sherlns
10 believe that there will be serious
trouble tonight Men have been heard 10
exclaim in their excitement that the
buildings will be fired tonight unless their
demands are agreed to.
Dozens of small fights have occurred
In one scrap a man was shot in the leg
by a policeman and several of the rioters
were injured about the body by flying
missiles. The aspect is serious to an
alarming degree. The deputies under
Frederick Crondell are on the alert about
the grounds, and Governor VOORHEES,, at
the request of Colonel R. NJ. Thompson,
the president of the copper works, has
ordered Company I of the Fourth Regi-
ment. under Captain Gatchel, to be ready
in case its services are needed.
The company can muster sixty men In
less than an hour.
The city of Bayonne is kept in state
of internal. excitement Residents fear
that the threats of the work1nen will be
+1,o ~ will
terrible.
As "The News" goes to press the dep
uties have the crowd well in hand. No
serious trouble has occurred since last
night.
The men are to be paid this afternoon
in patches of five. Deputies will be sta
toned about to see that there is no dis
turbance and the men after receiving
their pay will be discharged and sent out
through a different passage to prevent
their mixing up with the crowd in wait
ing, The men know that they are to be
discharged and ugly words are to be
heard all over.
The women are as bad as the men. They
keep going in among the laborers urging
Them on, and the police have great diff
Guilty in keeping them back at times.
The men went out Tuesday night, after
being refused demands which the COM
pany regarded as unjust. They demanded
extra pay for the three hours and half
extra work on a night shift.
The company agreed to make the night
work a ten-hour shift, paying the men
a full days wages for the same, and in
case extra material was turned out they
would be given the extra pay.
A kick followed. The men went out to
a saloon several blocks away and held
a meeting. The result was that they
decided to stay out until their demands
were acceded to.
The strikers are mainly Poles and Hun
garians and of a very excitable tenn
permanent. They become wild when un-
der the influence of liquor and went back
to the shops that night. They were
barred out by the police and deputies.
The men were ordered to start the fires
yesterday morning on the old scale OF
wages. They refused. The mills then
shut down.
Today at noon the police withdrew from
the scene, but they will be kept in readi-
ness in case of a hurried call. Sergeants
Reilly and Yore and Roundsman Whaler
are in charge of the police.
The various shops have been crippled
badly by the strike and the loss to the
firm is estimated at over 100000. The
heads of the firm state that it will be i'm
possible to start the mills with new mer
in less than six weeks
Colonel Thompson is expected early
Ills evening to take charge of the Or
ford Company's offices. J. J. Thompson
is the superintendent and R. R. Affett the
assistant superintendent. These men,
when seen by reporter of .9The News, "
stated, this afternoon, that the firm had
always treated its men fairly and hao
given them good wages.
The other firms will suffer very much
from the action of their employees in go
ing out, out of sympathy of the Oxford
Company's men.
The sixty deputies from Sheriff Ruem+
piers office are picked men and are ex-
pected to stand together whatever hap
pens. Frederick Crandall, who is at the
head of the men, has been employed in
the Sheriff's office for almost four years
having been under Sheriff Heller The
members of Company are being collected
at the company's rooms this afternoon
They viii be well armed 1t is thought
their services will be needed tonight
when the crisis is expected
The sections where the mills are locat-
ed is thickly settled There is some oper
ground there, but if a fire were Started
It would sweep over the entire locality
destroying thousands of dollars worth OF
property and doubtless cause a big loss OF
life.