The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-06-30
And President shnfer mt Once Directed
Every Member of the Union
to Lay Down Tools.
1T is NOW A FIGHT" HE SAID
"THEY THREW DOWN THE GAUNT-
LET AND WE TOOK 1T UP"
sixty-Fivc Per Cent. of the Production
of the Trust Controlled by the
AmaIgnmated Association.

PITTSBURG, Pa, June ga definite or
der for a general strike OF all union sheet
steelworkers was issued by President 7. j.
Shaffer, OF the Amalgamated Association OF
Iron. Steel and Tin Workers, to-day. There
are over twenty thousand men affected by
this order and every mill operated by the
American Sheet Steel Company, where
union men are employed, throughout the
country. will close down indefinitely, or
until such time as a settlement OF the mat
ters In dispute has been reached.
The officials OF the American Sheet Steel
with their workmen. Persifer L. Smith. the
manager Of the Dewee & Wood plant of
the company, and Elmer Kline. who also
is connected with the company. acted as
negotiators for the combine. Mr.. Smith is
said to have been one OF the most pro-
nounced nonunion mill managers In the
country, and from the time he represented
the company In the present wage negotia-
tions trouble was anticipated by the men.
At the offices Of the Amagamated AS
sociation to-day 1t was said that the sheet
steel workers had decided at the last con-
vention of the Amalgamated Association
TO ask only the readoption of the present
scale for the present year. No changes
were wanted, but there would be one de-
mand, and that was that the American
Sheet Steel Company should sign the scales.
so that 1t would cover all OF its plants In
other words, the Amalgamated Association
asked that nonunion plants now operated
by the combine" should be turned over 10
the union and be governed by the same
rules as the union mills. The officials OF the
company declined TO consider this PROPOSE
ton.
ULTIMATUM REJECTED.
This morning at the solicitation OF Man
ager Smith, for the American Sheet Steel
Company, the wage committee of the Anal
gamated Association met in conference at
the Hotel Lincoln. At this final conference
Mr.. Smith submitted an ultimatum TO the
workmen which was. in effect, that the
wage scale for the plants Of the company
would be signed without question, with the
exception of the Old Meadow mills in
Scottdale, the Dewee x Wood mill Ia Nc
keesport. the Wellsville plant and all other
plants not now considered a part of the
union workmen's province. The workers
committee refused, absolutely, to consider
the proposition and in ten minutes the con-
ference adjourned without formalities.
AS soon as the conference was over Pres
ldent shaner issued an urgent call for a
meeting of the advisory board. The board
met and approved the decision of the pres
ident to call out all the men of the union
The strike order is general and will take
men from the nonunion plants who belong
10 the organization as we'll as from union
plants
The men explain their demand for the
unionzng OF all the mills OF the combine
by stating that last year the combine had
taken advantage of its position in having
the nonunion mills by operating them first
and leaving organized mills idle until pres
sure of business forced them to start them
up. 1t was resolved by the men at that
time that such chance should never oc-
cur again for the "combine;'' that il would
be either all union mills or all nonunion
mills. To gain this point no change I'm the
scale was asked, but a demand for union
izing all the mills was made definite.
The men claim that by the work of mis-
sonaries of late they have succeeded in or
ganizing to such an extent that IL is doubt
ful If the combine will be able to turn
out the full tonnage of any one of its nom
union mills.
1t is generally agreed, however, that the
real test of strength between the com
bine' and the workers will not be made un-
I'll after the warm weather During July
and August there will be no strike benefits
paid the men out of work, as these two
months are used by sheet mills, like all
other iron plants, for repairs After Sept.
l. il the scale is not signed. the Amalga-
mated Association will be called on for the
support of the idle men.
When asked what the strike order meant
President Shaffer said: It's a fight. They
threw down the gauntlet and We took IL up.
That's what Il means"
A shutdown of the union plants of the
American Sheet Steel Company will involve
nine of the largest sheet steel plants in the
country The company operates total of
twentv-four plants. but the largest of these
are the organized establishments. The
Amalgamated Association controls Go per
cent of the production of the company
and a long shutdown of this proportion
of its plants would mean an inestimable
loss with the present crush of orders