The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-09-26
BOTH CLAIM
TO HAVE OWN
Results in the Flour Mill Strike
Not Yet Sharply
Defined.
Employers Are Bringing In Men
and the Machinery
Is Running.
Efforts Made Both to Hire and to
Discourage University
Students.

Discourage University
Students.
Both the east and west sides of the big
Washburn 'tA'' mill We're running to-day
as was the Washburn "B.'' While the
mills We're without nailers yesterday,
there were some on hand to-day and the
work was going forward at noon. It is
claimed that 5000 barrels will be turned
out of the '.A'' mill ready for shipment
tonight The "B" output will probably
be about 1000 barrels. While no at
tempt is being made to run the Wash
burn ''E" mill all the flour on hand has
been packed and shipped and the .C''
mill will be opened and running Monday
morning.
The Crown and Pillsbury "B" mills
began grinding last night and are get
ting their flour into shipping shape. The
Consolidated is running two of it's mills
with non-union crews and the company's
managers say they are turning out about
two-thirds of the ordinary output. The
fact that the millwrights have not gone
on strike, but stand ready to repair any
damages which green hands might cause
to the mill machinery, encourages the
millers to use more new men than they
might otherwise care to.
Inc mills Will close down Tonight Until
Monday morning.
Discounted by Finley.
President John Finlay of the union does
not think the operation of the mills under
present conditions should be taken too
seriously. Among other things he says:
Il have positive information that there
are but two millers working in the Wash
burn Crosby mills, aside from the foremen
and bosses, who are never members of
the union, and but two mill hands in the
Consolidated companys mills, one stone
dresser and the other a one-armed man
whom we have not wished to call off. All
the men there are, besides these, are
some office men and a few laborers. There
is no wheat being ground now in any OF
the mills. Millers who were at work in
the Washburn A last night, and who
| came off this morning, say that no feed
was put in last night.
"All that is being done now is to keep
the machinery running so that it will
| seem as tho there Is something being
| done.
| Strikers Stand Pat.
1 The strikers had another largely attend
led and enthusiastic meeting at Union
Temple this morning, and while they all
4 agree that the strike was to be regretted,
/ there was none to counsel an abandon
ment OF the program laid out by the
\ leaders. Even the nailers and packers
and the mill employees were. a unit in de-
\ claring that the strike must now go on.
i Several instances where the mill man
ayers tried to get old men to return by
t offering promotion and similar induce
1 ments were cited. ''I'd like to go back,
land they certainly made me a fine offer;
but as long as we are in this thing, we
might as well stick, and they haven't got
money enough to get me back" said one
| employee who has been in the mills for
ten years.
His sentiment seemed to be that of the
whole gathering.
I Men Coming In.
The importation Of mill employees was
actively begun this morning when one Of
! the Washburn- Crosby statesmen came in
from Wisconsin with fifteen workmen.
( The presence Of these and other new
Corners, with that OF the university stu
dents and local applicants, enabled the
/ millerS to open and run more mills than
at any time since the strike was declared
AS soon as the regular men went on
| strike, kilograms were sent to all the
statesmen on the road to pick UP workmen
i wherever possible and bring them in. The
result to-day was that workmen began
coming from several directions and the Of
/ fees of the large milling concerns were
buster than employment agencies.
/ All during the morning the carriages
/ used by the millers to take men over to
the mills were making regular trips to
and from the mills in spite of the alert
ness of the pickets at the trainsheds and
even In and about the Chamber Of Com
merce and at the mills the number Of men,
at work in the mills steadily increased.
! In the early hours of the day the
tsrikers on picket duty at the mills con-
| tented themselves with calling after the
| carriage drivers who were helping to take
the new men in. About II o'clock one.
Etoppsd A1to , the h,
policemen were sworn in soon after.
Laborng With Students.
z At the university this morning, both
the strikers and the mill owners had dele
gates to further their interests. Shortly
1 after 10 o'clock five delegates from the
flour Aloaders union appeared upon the
campus and proceeded at once to the
1 Y M. C. A. building where they requested
4 Perry Hanson, the local secretary in
charge of the employment bureau, to re-
frain from hiring any more students to
i work III the mills
4 Mr.. Hanson declined to comply with the
i request and will continue to keep up the
work of enlisting students. One OF the
employers agents who was at the univer-
i sity this morning stated that one-fourth Of
the men now employed in the mills were
] university students. A score or more OF
students were enlisted by the mill men.
i Almost all of the students are working on
4 the night Shift-from to IL o'clock and
are paid at the rate Of 20 cents an hour.
i The strikers have <issuerd an Appeal to
j Students," signed by President Finlay, Of
j the international union, in which they ask
4 the students to remain away from the
mills The circulars were scattered
broadcast over the campus.
i Why Arbitration Was Refused.
"The employing millers' refusal to ar
i bitrate should not be construed to indi-
I torial or oppressive attitude toward the
men,
], Consent to arbitration implies will
!. Ielingness to compromise Arbitration al
4 most invariably results in compromise,
Employees in Minneapolis -four mills have
s already conceded a better schedule Of
i wages and hours than the mill employees at
other competing point.
Further concessions here mean that
the handicap placed upon the industry In
Minneapolis, as com pared with competing
points will be increased to a point which
the present narrow margin of profit in tho
| business will not bear.
'tIt is we'll to bear in mind that there
Il are more than enough flour mills in the
United States to supply the requirements
4 of our entire population, without depend
:, ing on the Minneapolis mills for a single
barrel.
mo community will suffer for the
. want Of flour because OF the shutting down
of the Minneapolis mills. The mill own
ers, the former employees and the men and