The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-09-05
BITTER ATTACK ON
PRESIDENT SHAFFER
TIE Labor World Calls for lmpeach-
ment of the AmalgaTnated
Chief.
SIGNS OF CRISIS IN STRIFE
Multiplying Indications That an lhpoi'
ant Stage Has been Kcache"-
Conference Between SchwaD
and Burns Reported

near future. The conference DelWeeil
the Bay View committee and the Anal
gamated officials the continued efforts
Of President Burns of the WlndoW
Glass Workers association to bring
about arbitration or Cancellation,
scathng editorial in the Labor Wofiu
calling for the impeachment OF fresl-
dent Shaffer, the march of the strikers
Of McKeesport to Duquesne. ana the
decided effect of the injunction proceed
ings at Canal Dover, O., all indicate
that the crisis is approaching and that
an important change in affairs is not
far distant. The general belief is that
the main object of the Bay View COM
mittee's visit was the purpose or ar
ranging some compromise by Whlch the
Bay Viey plant may resume.
The committee left for home last
night, and it is said a meeting of the
lodge will be held upon their return to
take action on their report.
Notwithstanding the report from New
York that no conference has been held
or arranged for between c.. M. Schwab
and Simon Burns, looking to arbitra-
ton, the latter has not relaxed his eff
forts in this direction and seems deter
mined to bring about some sort OF a
compromise.
The editorial in the current issue of
the Labor World, the organ of the In
ternational Tin Workers Protective
association and the mouthpiece of the
Pittsburg district of the Mine Work
ers' union and the patternmakers' as
ISOLATION. is a long and bitter attack on
President Shaffer, and demands his i'm
parchment for calling the present strike.
The demand for impeachment is made
because it is charged, Shaffer compelled
the steel workers to violate contracts;
because he expelled the Chicago men
and revoked their charter without con-
stitutional hearing and because the
whole strike is unconstitutional and
has brought ruin and wreck to men
who have made the Amalgamated as
ISOLATION. The editorial gives two rea-
sons why President Shaffer should be
impeached
The fact that George Powell, presi-
dent Of the TIN Plate Workers Protec-
tive association of America; l.. r.
Thomas, president of the Patternmak-
ers, National league, and Patrick Do
Ian, president of the United Mine
Workers of the Pittsburg district, con-
st1tute the board of control of the pub
LEGATION and that President Shaffer
himself, up to within a year ago, was
member of the board. would seem to
lend considerable weight to the utter
ances Of the paper.
When shown the editorial President
Shaffer said:
MIR. Powell, Of the tin workers, was
at Headquarters yesterday and l have
understood that the paper mentioned
does not represent his association. The
article is beneath my notice and I shall
not advertise the paper by commenting
on it,
Labor World Editorinl.
The editorial in the World demanding
President Shaffer's impeachment is in
part as follows:
rs the Amalgamated Association of
Iron, Steel and Tin Workers to be
slaughtered and sacrificed on the altar
of the mad and selfish ambition of this
creature Shaffer. This is no time for
sentiment; it is a time for fact and
plain speaking. The fight against the
steel trust is lost. but no order comes
from Amalgamatedh headquarters, where
Shatfer covers, to spare the brave men
at the front. Leaders of organized
labor, forbid it in the name of the
cause you hold dear, but which is men
aced as long as Shafferism is allowed to
live. Forbid it in the name Of labor s
honor and honesty, which Skaters acts
have impugned."
Then follows an intimation of an ac-
cusation of stock dealing, which Mr..
Shaffer has repeatedly Denied The edi-
torial continues:
"Impeach him for plunging the ANAL
gamated association into strike that
was unWarranted. Impeach him for
calling out the men last month without
giving the sub-lodges chance to vote
on the question. 1mpeach him for max
ing demands that We're so arbitrary
and imperative that the trust could NOT
with honor submit
"Impeach him for calling strike on
demands that he afterwards receded
from.
"Impeach him for calling out the tin
plate men in July and the Nationa, and
Federal steel men this month after
their scales had been signed
Impeach him for violating the Anal
gamated association constitution IN re-
voking the charters of the South Chi
cago men without a trial
Impeach him for the blow he has
given to organized labor, not only in
teaching that union agreements are nor
contracts to be respected, hut also IN
showing that constitutional safeguards
are no guarantee to a unionist when a
Shaffer is at the head of things.
"1mpeach him for causing the mann
facturers to say that labor unions must
be Incorporated, that their pledged
word is of no value"
No Funds or Prospect of Funds
"Impeach him for going into this
strike without funds or the prospect OF
funds to support it. Strike benefits
begin next week. and he has not
enough money to last three weeks if
every striker gets his due.
"Impeach him for not accepting the
Hotel Lincoln propositions of the trust
which gave four more sheet plants
than the Amalgamated had last year.
Impeach him for his crazy advice
to the workingmen of the country to
draw money out of the savings banks.
Impeach him for getting the feder-
ton tube workers to strike and then
leaving them up in the air.
Impeach him for having no other
weapon with which to fight the trust
than the effect he expected the strike
to have on the trusts stocks in Wall
street.
Impeach him for holding out assur-
ancea that organized labor would sup
port the strike when he had been IN
formed, by labor leaders that they could
do little or nothing for the strike with
out jeopardizing their own reputation
and the good standing Of their unions
Impeach him, finally, for having in
vOlved the AmalEamated assocfa tinn