Evening star., 1901-09-06
DEFIANCE TO UNION
Steel Trust Orders All Mills to Be
Fired Up.
STRIKE STILL LOSING GROUND
Amagamated Officials Discussing
Offer From New York.
HARD TERMS PROPOSED
Special From a Staff Correspondent.

Special From Staff Correspondent.
PITTSBURG, Pa, September 6.-The
strikers lost another mill today. Whhe
the peace negotiations are pending, or sup
posed to be pending, the steel trust is going
ahead with it's plans of disunionizing mills.
If settlement is postponed much longer
there will be little left to settle, for the
steel trust will have more of the mills
from the Amalgamated Association. When
the time came for starting work in Nc
Keesport this morning the strikers pick
cts were posted about the Demmler mill
to try dissuade the old employees from
tering. A heavy fog made denser by the
black smoke of the numerous mills of the
vicinity oyerhung the valley. Through
the murk and mist a steamboat came eau
tiously feeling it's way for the bank The
strike pickets were on the other side of
the mill and the boat touched shore with
out being discovered. On board were
twenty-five more men for the Demmler
mill. They were landed and escorted safely
into the works.
There are fifteen tin mills in the plant,
and of these six are running this morning.
The management expects to have the 9TH
ers going by tomorrow. Some non-unon
men in the mills. but many of the old
employees are back also.
Non-Union Men in MILL
The presence of the non-union men in
sures that the mill hereafter is to be nom
union.
At the tube works In McKeesport over
loco men were at work this morning. A
large number of men who applied at the
gates We're sent back temporarily. the
mills were not fired up nor ready for them
The steel trust has been using the big
Star mills in Pittsburg as a school Of in
structiOn for nOn-union recruits. Today it
was announced that 100 workmen will be
taken from the mill and sent to other
points to open the tin mills of the trust.
Some of them were in the party that made
the boat landing at McKeesport.
While these aggressive moves are being
made by the trust the Amalgamated off,
cials are still comforting among themselves
Several members of the executive COM
mittee arrived this morning and imma-
dlate1y went into session with President
Shaffer at Amalgamated headquarters.
"hen the executive committee of the
Amelgamated Association met to consider
the terms offered by the steel trust, they
were confronted by serious proposition
which those terms contained namely the
loss to the Amalgamated Association Of the
mills that have been opened since the
Strike commenced, and the fact that the
members of the association working in
those mills who have been faithful to the
association, obeying the strike order, would
have to be thrown overheard II the terms
We're accepted
Serious Proposition.
The proposition is the most serious one
the strike leaders have yet faced OF course
the Amalsamated employees could go back
to work in the mills, but they would have
TO return in their Individual capacity and
would not in the future have the support
OF the Amalgamated In making annual
wage arrangements with the steel trust
The Amaigamated officials hesitate to sac
rifice these colleagues. and the question
now being considered is whether the good
of the order justifies the sacrifice of a few
or whether the whole body should sink or
swim together, 1t is an exceedingly en-
barrassing situation. The leaders think
that the terms offered them are harsh and
cruel. They say that not only would the
compromise cripple the power Of the asso-
citation, which started in for an expansion
of power, but would work hardship upon
an innocent section of the associations
membership, who cast their individual lot
with the order to support it in the fight
With this situation before them the ex-
ecutive committee is now holding a ses-
slon Wnich promises to be memorable in
the history of the order.
Orders to Start Mills.
Acting upon Instructions from New York
the local officials of the steel trust this
afternoon issued orders for every idle mill
In this section to fire up tonight and he
ready TO start with non-union men and
such number of strikers as may be willing
TO return. The officials of the trust claim
that many of their old men have agreed
10 go back 10 work If the latest peace ne
g0tiatiOns should fail.
The intimation from New York that all
negotiations were ended so far as the steel
trust was concerned was a surprise to .h
AmalSamated officials. They We're under
the impression that they were to be given
until o'clock this evening to announce
their final decision and had arranged for
another conference to commence at 2
O'clock. 1t is claimed that the Amalgamat-
ed has not up to this hour definitely de-
clined the ultimatum of the steel trust.
The Amalgamated executive board took
recess at noon until o'clock, President
ShaTer declining to state whether the con-
ference had resulted in a definite decision.
The American Tin Plate Company posted
notice in McKeesport at noon announcing
the opening of the mill and giving the old
employees until morning to go back to work
n. o. NJ.