Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1901-08-15
THE GREAT STRIKE BEGINS.
How the Great Steel Trust Aims to
Strike Back.
MILLS WILL BE DlSMANTLED.
Concentration of steel Plants which will
Extinguish Towns and MercilessIy Turn
workmen Adrift-A Had Blow at the
Amalgamated Association.

| Inc great steel strike Is on. The
/ general order OF President Shaffer, of
the Amalgamated Association, became
effective and thousands OF workers left
| their places TO return ut some indefinite
| time III the future, either victorious
4 over the ironlnasters or In humble de-
/ feat. The order To strike was general
! ly obeyed wherever the workers We're
organized and enrolled in the lodges of
! the AinalgalGated Association. The
action OF the executive of the mine
workers at indianapolis in resolving TO
support the strike cheered the Amalga-
mated men, and they are confident that
the federation will aid them to the full
est extent The closing hours of la Dor
and the opening hours of the strike
lacked spectacular action. Pittsburg,
which Is the strike center, was calm
and undsturbed. There was no excite
mcnt or violence, and the pulse of the
community was normal. This action,
following the statement Of President
Gompcrs, in which he promises to aid
the strikers. is regarded rs significant,
rs it is the first movement toward unit
ing all the organizations connected
with the federation in supporting the
steel strikers.
lii an address to 5000 union men ut
New Castle Saturday, President Shat
fer made this formal tender for arbi-
ration: Nov in our willingness to
settle the matter we are ready TO ar
bitrate Let the Amalgamated Asso-
citation select one man ana let the trust
select one. the two to select a third.
We will abide by the decision of the
three This announcement was made
on behalf of the strikers that OH Fri
day an offer 10 arbitrate was formally
submitted TO the United States Steel
Corporation. According to this state
mcnt the offer was made TO J. PierpOnt
Morgan, whose reply rejecting it, was:
This is no time for arbitration"
The citizens of Dubois have offered
\ 1000. 600 to have the Mex eesport mill
moved to that place.
The news comes from PittSburg that
under cover Of the turmoil and confu-
sion of the strike the steel trust aims
to carry out Il plan of merciless concen-
tration. the success of which means
not only the Subjugation Of labor but
the extinction OF cities and towns. 1t
is obviously cheaper to operate one big
mill than two of half the capacity. So
the mills which are the foundation Of
many of the minor towns in the iron
district are To be dismantled and the
machinery moved to centers like Chi
cago, PittSburg and Cleveland. There
is no secret about this now: the work
has already begun and more towns are
marked for destruction. 1t is simply
business with the trust. If the salaries
OF superintendent and bookkeepers
can be saved, sentimental considera
tons for the welfare of towns, or for
the ruin of storekeepers and property
owners near the doomed mills cannot
weigh with the giant corporation.
An order has been issued to disman-
tie and remove the Devices Wood
works in McKeesport at once. This
will be a severe blow to the town.
The Devices Wood works is one of the
oldest and best known plants in Penn
sylvania. 1t was founded nearly 10
years ago and its shops and mills COW
cred from II to Ii acres. 1t employed
an average of 900 men, but in the bus
lest times the pay roll carried loo
names. The plant cost several million
dollars. The company recently ar
nounced its intention of expanding a
large sum of money I'm improvements,
but the order TO dismantle terminates
that plan. The sentiment of the citi-
zens and officials of McKeesport has
been against the steel corporation, and
it is believed that the latter preferred
to get out rather than attempt to re-
sumo.
National Secretary Williams, Of the
Amalgamated Association, is reported
to have said: II tell YOU. this question
will have IN no spttlnd cOma WY IF
not by peaceful strike then by legisla-
ton If that fails. the ballot will be
tried If all else fails. | believe that IL
will result in an appeal to the bayonet
| tell you there is n condition existing
to-day that places this country on the
eve Of one of the greatest revolutions
that ever occurred in the history OF
the world"
The steel men in the west-at Joliet.
H.: Milwaukee, Wis. and South Chi
cago. Wis. have refused to obey the
strike order issued by President Shat
fer.
The mills of the American Sheet
steel Co, at Vandergrift. Apollo
Leechburg. Hyde Park and Salisbury
are all running full. None of the old
men failed to report for work. The
management is confident that the
plants will continue to be operated in
full.
The employees of the Scottdale and
Old Meadow plants Of the American
Sheet steel Co. at Scottdale. went TO
work as usual. There were no signs of
dsaffection.
Street cars manned $50 Chicagoans