Little Falls herald., 1903-10-23
MINNEAPOLIS STRIKE
J. w. Carroll Ably Presents
the Cause Of the
Employees.

the Cause OF the
Employees.
J. W. Carroll, q member OF the ad'
visory board of the International Un'
ion of..Flour and Cereal Mill Employees,
spoke to a good sized audience at the
court house Wednesday evening. on
the causes and present status of the
-four mill strike in Minneapolis.
Mr.. Carroll was introduced by
Mayor Vasaly.
The speaker of the evening has been
employed in the mills for eighteen
years. Fl Q gave clear history Of the
strike, showing that the promises made
to the men had been broken, that the
employers refused to arbitrate, and
that in its essence the fight was to
crush the unions. The -four mill men
have 76 unions in the country and are
! organizing more every week.
There are 1900 mill men out In the
strike. Of these less than one-hundred
have gone back to work. The union
did not try to call out the very old.
60-to 70 years or more, but left them
in the mill.
The mill owners have impor ted
about 1000 men Of every description.
most of whom have never been in a
mill before, in order to break the
strike. But as the men are incom-
petent, the amount of -four turned out
is small. of poor grade. and at high
or cost than when the union men
were working. Mr.. Carroll did not
bel ieve the mill owners alone could
stand the expense of the fight. They
were being backed by the manufacr-
urers' association.
Mr.. Carroll said newspaper reports
must be taken with much salt. The
reports in the Minneapolis daily pres
have not stated the truth.
Mr.. Carroll told how Finley, who
deserted the union men, had evident
ly gone wrong Before the union
men knew it, there was evidence to
show that the mill owners knew that
Finley was going to become traitor.
The facts presented were conclusive.
. -Four weeks of the -four mill strike al
Minneapolis have passed into his
tory, with employer and employees al
} far apart as on the first dcv, and ar
expenditure of half q million dollars
on the part Of the mill owners, tt
. say nothing of the amount lost II
trade, as it is a we'll known fact thai
all the smaller mills throughout th'
country are running night and day OF
orders they never heard Of before.
According to Mr.. Carroll, and h'
presents facts which appear to bea,
! out the ststement, the Manufact
, urers Protective Association, Parry
organization. is behind the mill own
ers, and strenuous work will be re
} gu ired to bring back the trade of tn
mills involved. Mr.. Carroll cited on
case to show where the claims Of tn
. mill owners are atfault in saying tina
, conditions in the mills are normal
As matter of fact, the Palisade mill
. oneof the Pillsbury Washburn mills
ground 10000 bushels in one week with
a force of 1873 men, as against 1900(
bushels before the strike with the reg
ular crew of "a men.
Mr.. Carroll claims that if Health
Commissioner Hall Of Minneapolis
! was as much interested in the sanitary
condition of the mill district as he il
, in "Hall's island, he would hav,
.. the bull pen renovated. he also sng
gested that If the mill owners really
1 believe that conditions are the same
! In the mill district now as before th&
.. strike, that they remove the stockade
and allow other parts Of the city te
. have police protection.
The speaker brought out the gr ca,
Importance Of the contest to organ.
lied labor everywhere, saying that
the men on strike needed and deserved
he support, financially and :morall =,
Of the union. Mr.. Carroll said the
fight was q direct attempt to de-
! stroy organized labor. The millers un.
ions had grown 30 strong it was de-
! termined to crush them.
Mr.. Carroll appealed to the local
unions to do their part in helping
fellow workers.
The address was clear and convinc
ing, land favorably impressed thu
J audience. Mr.. Carroll is certainly
! an able representative of the cause
! advocates and his visit will Dc
much good In enlightening those IN
; informed az to the facts of the situa-
tioD.
The University Of Minnesota Agri