Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-09-18
Scores of Big Coal Breakers
Are Idle Today.
THE MEN WILL NOT WORK
Delaware, Lackawana and Western
Makes Futile Attempts to Get Men
to Run Its coIIieries-The Strike in
Other Places. 81

MAS great strike of anthracite miners
is now officially under way. This NOR
ming when the scores of breaker whis.
ties sounded for the day in the Lack
awana and Wyoming valleys not
enough men and boys rallied at any
point to warrant beginning work. Fred
Pitcher, member of the national exec
utive board in charge of the dis
trict covering the two valleys, is en-
thusiastic over the strike news which
rapidly came in from every direction.
The Delaware, Lackawana and West
ern made futile attempts to get three
OF its collieries going but without eff
feet. Several washeries are operating
today, but the force of workmen is
small. Pump runners want to be call
ed out and have asked the executive
board to take this action. In all
not less than 10000 mine employees of
all grades are idle.
In the HazIeton District.
Hazleton, Pa, Sept. 1.-THE launch
ing of the strike was attended by vary
ing success. With the exception of
Cox's colliery at Beaver Meadow the
entire territory known as the South
Side" which includes about twelve
mining towns, is completely tied up.
The territory is strongly organized.
The north side, which takes in ten
towns, is not well organized. Nearly
every colliery started up but only one
is operating full complement of men.
Several collieries after the start of
work had to suspend because of the
lack of men. It is conservatively es-
timated that nearly 5000 men of the
$4,000 in the district started to work
today.
President Mitchell of the United
Mine workers., who has established
headquarters here and personally di-
rects the strike, estimates hat oter
100000 men struck and that $4,000
more will join them tomorrow.
Complete Tie Up at Shamokin.
Shamokin, Pa, Sept. 1.-THE col
lieries operated by the Mineral, Union,
Philadelphia and Reading Coal and
Iron companies and by individual op-
orators in the suburbs of this place,
employing between $4,000 and 10000
hands, are completely tied up this
morning. In Mount Carmel and Lo-
Gust Gap districts it is impossible to
| give the exact number of men on a
strike owing to the collieries being
widely separated. At United Mine
Workers headquarters, the leaders
claim rs per cent of the men in the
above district did not report for work.
| The operators had no figures to give
| out. General fist fights occurred be-
| tween the strikers and men going to
report for duty. President John Fa-
| hey, of the ninth district, United Mine
| Workers, said that before the end Of
| the week all operations in Schuykill,
Columbia, Northumberland and Dau-
phin counties would be idle President
Samuel Gompers, of the Federation of
Labor, said before leaving for Halle
| ton today that there was no doubt as
| to the final outcome being victory
| for the men.
The Strike Near Harrisburg.
Harrisburg, Sept. 17.-The miners
| at Lyckens and Wisconisco, went on
strike this morning. About fifty
out of a thousand employees of the
coal company went to work; but not
enough to start breaker. The men
at Tower City and Williamstown are
working, and no trouble is antici-
pated.
Mines Near PottsviIle Running.
Pottsville, Pa. Sept. 17.-Reports
from Shenandoah, Ashland, Girard-
vile, Mahoney City, Tamaqua, Tre-
mont and Minersville, indicate that all
the collieries in this vicinity are at
work with full complement of men,
with the exception of Morea, Buck
Mountain and Mahoney City, which
are reported short-handed The Lee
high coal companies collieries are at
work as we'll.