The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-08-10
FEDERATION OF LABOR
WILL AID The STRIKERS
President GOmperS Will Throw the Influence of His
Organization TO the Steel Workers.
Trust Strikes Severe Blow at the Opposition by Removal
Of One of Its Big Mills From McKeespOrt.

I d. WeI
gravely important developments in the
strike situation today. The United
| States Steel corporation moved de
clslvely in its strike campaign Will
peremptory order directing that the
great DeWees-WoOd plant at NcKees-
! pOIL De dlSmantl0d and removed II
! me ktsktmiHetas valley. President
GonPers OF the American Fedora tor
/ "a LABOR, after two days confer
/ ence with President Sha fer and 49,
/ associates, issued a formal statement
/ tonight, specifically pledging the fed
/ eidtloh 10 the moral and financial sun
/ port OF the Amalgamated His written
/ ISNIe" OF the train Of events leading
/ ~ 20 the industrial quarrel sustains
/ IHe course Of the AmaIgamated asso-
egIon ana declares that nothing re-
mains Tor labor but to battle for the
cause of Unionism
me onclaI announcement of the or
| ueT 10 dlsmantIe the Devices Weed
pant came this afternoon toward +I,s
cIOSe OF an otherwise Uneventfui day
dIu us importance was such that II
CANNED serious cOnSiderat ton on eftbar
side of the great industrial confiiot
now being waged here. Persffer r
smith, district manager for the Amer
lcah sheet Steel company, made the
formal announcement in the following
statement.
have orders from President Nc
Murty OF the American Sheet Steel
company TO at once tear down the
Devices Wood plant at McKeesport
and remove the same to Kiskininetas
valley. This I shall proceed to do i'm
mediately."
The publication of the order was 2
great surprise and McKeesport re
celVed Ii at first with doubt. Actual
preparations were made later in tbe
Gay for the dismantling Of the plant
and there is little doubt but that II
viii be torn down.
How Order Affects Strikers.
The strikers heard the order in
spirit OF defiance. They simply said
that II showed the steel Corporation
was convinced that it could not re-
open the plant in the face of the on
position OF the Amalgamated assocfa-
uoh- Strike leaders here said that the
order was bluff that had been worked
unsuccessfulIy before ana declined to
take II seriously. A representative of
the press showed District Manage
SMITHS statement to President Shat
Ier' but, after reading it he declined
70 TAX about II. 4 have nothing to
say about this order to dismantIe the
devices Wood plant" was ali that he
would say.
The steel officials declined TO give
any reason for the order, but il is
openly stated here that the pronounced
sympathy Of citizens and city officials
at AIcKeespOrt with the strikers is re-
sponsible for it. 1t is also said that
the plant Of the National Tube com
pany at McKeesport will be abandoned
and the old Carnegie plan for a tube
plant at COnnaUt, O., revived The
National Tube company has in con-
temptation improvements at McKees-
port of an extensive nature, but it is
now SAID that owing to their disap-
pOintment at the fact that their men
have been drawn into the AmaIgamat-
ed dispute and the policy Of the peo-
pie at McKeesport, they are seriously
considering plan to remove. No Of
nclal statement on the subject could
be OBTAINED from any of the local Of
fciaIs
The Devices Wood plant was found
cd about forty years ago and is one of
the best known plants in Pennsyl-
Vanla. Its yards and mills cover be- |
tween twelve and fourteen acres: it |
has employed 1,200 men at its busiest /
times. and its cost is placed at s.. 600 |
600 by officials of the steel corpora |
ton.
President Gompers' Stand.
President Gompers of the American
Fedora ton Of Labor was at strike /
headquarters again this afternoon /
Morrison and was clos |
eted with the advisory board of the /
association for more ,
than three hours. Before he left-tbe |
meeting he gave his promise to sup !
port the strike, but il was not until /
O'Clock that he gave out the follow /
ing statement:
Since the arrival of Secretary Nor 1
risOn Of the American Federation of !
Labor and myself, we have been in al
most continual conference with the ad- /
visOry board Of the Amalgamated As
ISOLATION of Iron, Steel & Tin workers.
We made a thorough investigation of /
the present strike. of its members for
merry in the employ Of the United
States Steel corporation and its con
stituent branches; the causes which led
to the strike; the present situation of
the country, and we unhesitatingly de-
clare our judgment that the position I
IF the Amalgamated association is alb
5Olutely justified and essential to its
continuance and effectiveness as
lnion Of the workers in the trade, rs
we'll as the protection of rights and
interests Of its members.
1T is true that the Amaigamated as
ISOLATION, in the first conference, asked
hat the United States Steel corpora
ion sign the union scale of wages for
III the mills operated, owned and con-
rolled by that company but IL is also
rue that the request was Withdrawn
nd one substituted so that the union
Gale should apply to those mills only
n which the members of the Amalga-
mated association are employed: in /
ther words, which are well known to
e union mills
Steel Trusts Refusal.
This. the United States Steel cor
oration refused to concede, insisting
hat the scale should apply only to
hose mills which were union last year,
ven refusing to allow two mills to Re
Included which. by a species Of hector
lg and systematic opposition of the ..
0mpany had become non-union during !
he year. !
Even the first demand for the scale
D be applied generally throughout the I
Jurisdiction of the company was COM
lendable, for the obvious reason that =
n employer should be willing to pay a :
inform wage to men who perform like ?
'ork; but realizing that there was =
demand for those whom it did not d
Ally represent, the Amalgamated as :
1ciation modified its demand to the
ztent already stated. 6
1T appears that the company took Y
le position II did with an avowaI that I
would not allow the extension Of the 4
MON Ia nCn-En5ouists Such q uoE-i- :.