The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-09-26
MILLERS REFUSE
TO ARBITRATE
Continued From First Page.
very disastrous event to our city al
large
MIlIers Send UItImatum.

large
MIIIers Send UItImatum.
The millers have sent the following
reply as their ultimatum:
Mon. j. G. Haynes, Mayor of Mime
apolis-Dear Sir: We beg to acknowledge
receipt of your letter asking for our ap-
prevail of your appointing a committee of
nVe representative citizens to arbitrate
the labor question OF our former employees.
In reply would say that a request was
made early in the week by committee
of employees to arbitrate this question.
We declined to entertain this proposition.
The question was fully canvassed at that
Tune and our reply was distinct enough to
be thoroughly understood.
We have no hesitation In saving
further that we prefer to shut down our
mills II We cannot find men willing to
work at the present scale of hours ana
wages. Minneapolis -four manufacturing
Is already carrying as great a handicap
as 1t can possibly stand.
we have in the past made concessions
ana SacrlhceS to our men; raised their
wages; shortened their hours and at times
run the mills at a loss to ourselves.
You probably understand that the
scale of wages and hours of men work.
Ing In the Minneapolis flour mills is al
the scale to men similarly placed at other
points In this country with which we
must compete.
I'VE should be pleased to have q
at any hour you name. If In your opinion
1t is necessary. but our decision is final.
Respectfully yours,
''WaShburn-CroSbyc company, j. S. Bell,
-..'Washburn- Crosby Company, ]. S. Bell.
President.
pany LTD. H. L. Little. Manager
THE Northwestern Consolidated Mill
ing Company. A. c. Loring, President"
Mayor Haynes said last night that If
the mtllers' decision is final. as they
say, he will not avail himself of the
privilege Of private conference grant
ed him.
MilIers Empty az" Students.
That the millers are finding it diff
cult to get men is shown by the cir
cumstance that they are trying to Sc
cure university students to take the
strikers places on the night shift, from
p. m. to midnight. The wages offered,
too, are in advance of what the leaders
ask ed, being 1925 for the seven hours
work. Just what success will attend
this novel resort Is to be seen.
Peter Hanson, the secretary of the
branch Of the Y. M. c. A. at the uni
versity, is said to have Endorsed the
idea as a fine chance for the young
men who need money for their support
while attending the university. He is
quoted as saying that by tonight from
Is to 100 students will accept the mil
lers' offer
.5[ If they do, some developments can
be expected that will enliven the strike
which, up to date, has been utterly de-
void of any sensational features.
1t is plain that the miilers cannot get
naiIers and packers from other milling
centers, as was done in 1894, during the
Washburn Crosby strike. Not one has
appeared at least in answer to adver-
tisenents thus far. Five men obtained
at st. Paul were persuaded to return to
that city, and the three employees who
refused to go out when the strike was
called, have since quit work. Even the
ten girls at the Washburn- Crosby mill,
who had been breakfast food packers,
have refused to pack -four at increased
pay and yesterday stopped work.
That the sympathy of labor organiza-
tons in other -avocations Is strong is
shown, by the circumstance that three
restaurants Thursday night refused to
supply meals to the men at work at the
mills, and five hack drivers refused to
deliver the food. A driver even de-
clined to deliver a bundle of overalls.
War to the Knife.
That with the millers it will be war
to the knife, and that they mean to
get an entirely new set of mill opera
tives, if they have to educate appren-
tees, is evident. Notices are posted
for the strikers to call and get what
ever money is due them; more than
that they are hunted up on the streets
and at their homes and paid off. 1t is
even doubtful that the strikers would
be taken back to work If they aban-
doned their position.
In reply to the assertion that the
strikers are not in good shape to I'M
dergo a long siege President Finley
said yesterday:
'It is true that the international
union has no strike fund, but we have
branches in seventy-two milling CEN
tiers outside of Minneapolis who will
willingly contribute to our support, If
we ask it. At least, we are as well
prepared as the millers. They have
not been grinding more flour during
the summer than has been sufficient to
meet the demand. When we gave no
tice of our demand for eight hours for
the leaders, they began the storage for
the local demand. and that is as far
as they are ahead of the game.
1.-The international union is only a
year old, it Is true, but there have
been separate unions of the packers,
nailers and roustabouts for over a
uOZGU years. he
has only combined these unions for
mutual protection, and made the cause
of one the cause of all, so this cannot
be called sympathetic strike on the
part Of the nailers and millers. I have
heard it said that they were mighty
sore because they had to go out on
account of the leaders. AS a matter of
fact the millers have been the most
enthusiastic and aggressive of the lot"
Only One Mill Ground Flour.
Although the machinery was kept
running all day yesterday in the east
part of the Washburn A, the Wash
burn B, the Humboldt and the Pail
sade mills, the only -four ground was
In the Washburn B. Flour shipments
yesterday were only 20,434 barrels as
against 43,108 the previous twenty
four hours. and still greater falling
off can be expected today. The eff
feet of the strike too can be seen in
the railroad yards, as the incoming
wheat Is now diverted to the elevators.
AS a result, switching crews and un-
loading gangs have been changed
about, and there is a general hustle
to prevent a blockade on the elevator
tracks.