The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-24
STEEL STRIKERS PUZZLED.
Inactivity of the Trust Worries
the Labor Leaders.

i Report That No Effort VIII BE
Made TO Start the Idle Works Tn
til the Middle of the Coming
Month-Rumors of n Conference
PITTsBURG. Pa. July 2t-It was stat
ed today upon the authority of a stock
holder and an official of the United States
Steel Corporation that no attempt viii be
made TO start the local plants OF the
American Steel Hoop Company and the
American Sheet Steel Company until
about the middle Of next month. This an
! nouaceTaent was surprise, as it was gen
orally believed by the strikers that prep
arations were being to resume operations
! in all the mills at once
The present steel strike is the most
mysterious of any big Iockouts that this
city has ever witnessed IN all previous
| troubles Of this kind there have been dali
" reports from both sides and, by max
ing allowances for the coIoring used by
each. it has been possible TO form an idea
Of the actual state Of affairs. IN the pres
eut strike. the manufacturers side Of the
statements issued from the headquarters
of the United States Steel Corporation IN
New York. and the practical men in the
plants in this part OF the country have
been silent. From the start it has been
possible to follow nearly all the moves OF
contradictory rumors about the intention
of the manufacturers is the best eviG-nce
Iof the scarcity o. reliable information
about the plans Of the trust
The secrecy is beginning to annoy the
labor leaders Only two statements have
been given here by persons authorized to
speak for the combine In the first Per
sifor F Smith, manager of the mills in
the Pittsburs district Of the American
Sheet Steel Company, said he intended to
operate the WeIlsviile plant with non
l7lnion men. The second official tip was
given today by man who had nearly
81. .O50.009 worth OF stock in the Carnegie
Company before the consolidate ton. and
who is ii a position to know the state OF
affairs in all the trusts plants in this dis
trict- He would not allow his name to be
used. but gave his word for it that TO at
tempt would be made to start the Painter
mill on the South Side. the Lindsey-AIc-
CUtcheon plant in Allegheny and the
Clark mill in LawrencevfIe. for at least
/ three weeks He said that in all these
plants repairs that viii take three weeks
TO complete are now being made. The
success Of the trust in preventing a con-
troversy with the men is due to the fact
that general warning was sent from
New York tF-at If any Official was quoted
in the newspapers on matters pertaining
TO the strike his resignation " ouId be de-
manded
1t was reported today that Mr. ShaGer
and John Williams Of the AmaIgamated
Association Of iron, Steel. and TIN work
e-s- and several others whose names
could not be learned were IN conference
until after midnight
In the early part. Of the evening MeSsrs
ShdfTcr and Williams called at the Hotel
Lincoln. They asked whether anybody
had enquired there for them. and when
told in the negative they went away. The
presumption is that some important move
in the strike IS on the tapis- Very L.
preston ana John Warner. who repre-
sented the steel interests at the. confer
ence at the Hotel LiEcoIn ten days ago.
have been ii Pittsburg during the past
few days.
Mr. Shafer reached his Office at 9
o'clock, and to the reporters who were
waiting for Information about the aIleg-
cd midnight conference he denied that
such a meeting was held
When asked If he had visited the Ho-
tel Lincoln during the night he declined
10 answer and was unusually reticeat re.
fusing 10 say anything further than to
deny the conference story in general
way.
For the last six months the Amalga-
mated Association has had organizers AT
work in the Carnegie plant at Homestead
Amalgamated officers assert they have
obligated several hundred men to form Il
lodge whenever called upon. This call.
they say viii not be made at present, but
whenever it IS considered to be for the
success of the strike the lodge viii be
formed and the strike extended TO Home
stead. 1t is not believed that a strike
would interfere with the running Of the
big works. Since the bloody strike OF
1892. Homestead business men have been
opposed TO the AmalEamated Association
and the men employed now are salts
fed with their wages