Abilene weekly reflector., 1901-08-22


view to sketching q basis OF settle
ment which he plans to place befor
the officials of the steel corporation
He Is believed to be the mysterion
man who conferred with Presiden
Shaffer for more than two hours a
the strike headquarters yesterday, al
though the latter said later that HI
had not seen Mr.. Caldwell for months
Both sides vigorously denied that thel
had either made overtures or re
ceived proposals, but it is known posi-
lively that the plan is under consider
alton. Mr.. Caldwell is acting inde
pendently and does not represent
either the manufacturers or the men
| No expression from him was obtain
able and no line on the terms thai
have been considered can be had. il
Is believed here that under certain
circumstances the contending sides
could be brought together and a set
tlement effected, but whether sucf
will come to pass remains to be seen
President Shaffer in significant
statement made at noon yesterday
said that personally he was for peacs
and that he was fighting only because
he was on the defensive and forced to
fight. Meantime the contest between
the two great interests is being waged
with vigor and slightly varying for
tune. The steel corporation seemed
to be somewhat stronger at the Lower
Union mill of the Carnegie company
in this city, although the strikers are
still working hard to cripple or close
It. The corporation also added to the
force at Wellsville and announced that
at last it had the plant running to its
full capacity. It had been anticipated
that the day would show some move
on the part Of the American Tin
Plate company toward opening one
or more of its plants with non-union
men, but nothing was done and there
were no attempts at extensions in
other directions. Three hundred men
employed at the seamless tube plant
at McKeesport, an auxiliary Of the
National Tube company, threw down
their tools and joined the strikers,
It is said they quit because they
would not handle non-union-made ma
terial.
During the day the strikers kept a
close watch on the plants that are
being operated with non-union mel
and also kept alert pickets around
the Carnegie plants and the works
that are completely closed down.
There were few developments and ex-
cept In the instances enumerated
there have been no changes in the
general situation. Good order was
general throughout all the strike dis
tricts.
The four lodges Of the Amalga.
mated association employees of the
Illinois Steel company, at Joliet, by n
unanimous vote decided last night to
obey the strike order Of President
Shafrer This action will close the
entire plant there, throwing out OF
employment nearly 5000 men.
Pittsburg, Pa, Aug. 17.-The center
of interest in the steel strike yester-
day shifted to the west, where Joliet
finally swung into line with the strik.
ers and Milwaukee appointed to-day
as the time for final vote on the
question. The news that came out of
the west cheered the strikers through
out the districts in this vicinity as
no other development since the labor
war was declared. In their enthusi-
asm they count on favorable action
ut Milwaukee to-day and, carrying
their hopes still farther, say they will
yet win Chicago over These sue
cesses, they declare with apparent
confidence, will make them masters
of the situation and win the strike.
The steel operators, on the other
hand, say the strikers are nearly at
the food tide Of their success and
that when the ebb comes 1t can never
be stopped. They do not seem to be
disturbed by recent events and, with
confidence equal to that of the strik.
ers, talk of the certainty Of ultimate
success. They assert that popular
sentiment has never been behind the
strikers and that the interest which
was once aroused by the contest Is
quickly waning. They claim they are
more than holding their own in the
non-union plants that were unaf-
fected, or have been started since the
strike began, and are perfecting plans
for reopening several plants now idle,
They also claim that many of their
men, particularly at McKeesport,
Wheeling and Bellaire, were forced
out by intimidation and will come
back as soon as the excitement dies
out and their safety is assured. Talk
of peace has been dropped for the
time being and it is agreed thnt in its
present aspects the situation indi-
Gates a prolonged and stubborn con-
test.
Two hundred men employed in the
National Galvanizing works of the
National Tube works at McKeesport
struck yesterday. They were the last
remaining workmen in the affected
trades in that city and the tie-up is
now as complete as possible there
Many Of the tube workers, although