The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-07-03
AN OPPORTUNITY ron MIR. MORGAN

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MIR. MORGAN
The time is close at hand apparently
when Mr.. ]. Pierpont Morgan will have
an opportunity to show whether his abil-
ity is as great in handling great labor
strike as it is in making combinations of
railways and industrial plants. The strike
that has been declared by the employees
of the American Sheet Steel Company and
the American Steel Hoop Company prom
ises to become a general strike of all of
the employees of the. billion dollar steel
company, known as the United States
Steel Corporation. We took occa-
sion to say. when the billion
dollar steel company was being
formed that the greater the COM
binations of industrial plants were the
greater would be the labor strikes.
On Saturday the representatives, of the
American Sheet Steel Company and the
American Steel Hoop Company refused to
sign the workers new scale, and conse-
quently there was a strike of the en-
ployes of these two concerns which are a
part Of the billion dollar steel company.
When the strike OF the employees of the
American Sheet Steel Company at Nc
Keesport occurred a few months ago, be-
cause there was opposition on the part
of the company to their employees joining
the union of the Amalgamated Association
Of Steel and Tin Workers, the employees
won an easy victory-so easy, in fact
that the association now believes that it
Will be able to carry its point.
The chief of the Amalgamated Associ-
alton has caused it to be announced that
il the terms of the association are not
compiled with he will call out the en-
ployes of the entire billion dollar steel
trust. II that should be done the coun-
try would witness the biggest labor strike
in it's history. There are 5000 men out
now, and if the employees Of the entire
United States Steel Corporation should
strike there would be several hundred
thousand men idle
The question which the officers of the
billion dollar trust have to decide is one
that involves a vast amount of money
and perhaps the future of the great steel
trust II the terms OF the strikers are
granted it is almost certain that there
viii be other demands-demands which
may be so far reaching as to make it
doubtful If the corporation could pay any
thing to its stockholders. If it should
refuse to grant the strikers demands the
strike might, and probably wculd, be a
Icing one. and millions of dollars worth
of business would be lost. The company
now has more orders than it can fll-as
soon as its>patrons would like. If there
should be a great strike, lasting a month
or more, much of this business would go
to independent companies. Besides, in the
end the company might have to grant
most of the demands of the strikers.
1t can be readily seen, therefore, that
upon the decision of the issues which
have been raised by the striking en-
ployes of the two subsidiary companies of
the United States Steel Corporation vast
interests are depending. If Mr.. Morgan
has genius other than that for making
combinations of capital now is the time
to show it. Unless the strike is handled
with wisdom the mighty combination of
steel plants which he formed and which
is the wonder OF the industrial world,
may crumble to pieces.