Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1904-08-26
COST or STRIKE GROWS.
Union Men and Packers Have Lost Vast
Sums.

4 SH"Ss
| The Labor struggle involving Chi
; Cages greatest industry-that center
ing in the meat packing plants at the
| stock yards-haS cost both the union
| men and the packers Il vast sum. n
statistical comparison shows the effects
| of the strike. The strikers have lost,
each week. S315.00O in wages, making
| a total of S1.S9N,000 thus sacrificed.
What the losses Of the packers have
=. been is problematcal. That they have
| been immense is admitted, but no esti-
| mates have been furnished by those in
position to tell.
The effect on the Chicago live stock
market has been great During the
first weeks of tho struggle the receipts
We're so small that the city became one
! OF the smaller centers instead of the
| chief market Of the world. The big
| packers who had bought the most and
| the best consignments. We're practical
| lyNout of the market. AS the struggle
dragged along. however, they began to
gather working forces large enough to
run their plants on considerable
scale. A marked Improvement was
| noted early in August.
The packers in the last two weeks
have gained in the number of men en-
ployed. in the numbtr of animals
slaughtered. and in the shipments to
outside cities. From the first the en-
| ployers found the least difficulty in Sc
curing men to run their hog slaughter
ing departments Less skill was re-
Quired to kill and cut up hogs than
cattle and sheep, and the packers CEN
tered their energies on efforts to bring
the department up to normal. Two
weeks ago they were fairly successful
and now they declare they have no
more to ask.
The most skilled butchers were re-
quired in the cattle Strengthening de-
partment Another fact led the en-
ployers to go slow with this part of
their plants Each of the big Chicago
houses has branches in western cities
These distant plants, not so seriously
affected by the strike, We're able to
handle cattle enough to keep the COM
panies running without the necessity
of putting excessive pressure on the
Chicago establishments.
Fort Worth. Texas. was especially
relied Oh by two of the companies.
The plants in that city kill practically
no animals but cattle They were and
are now run overtime and they make
up any deficiency arising from the
short output of the Chicago plants.
The volume of output, the packers
say, is not wholly dependent on the
number of men on the pay rolls Last
year there were many workers in the
employ Of the companies who put i'll
little more than half time each week.
Now all the employees work full time.
The owners of the plants say that
the actual number. of hours work a
week of the present force is not much
less than the number of hours of work
a week of the former larger crews.
Consumers of meat have felt the eff
fects of the strike in the advanced
prices charged. The dealers have rails
ed their figures in accordance with the
crCMulity of their patrons, the packers
declare. The marketmen, however. say
they have been forced to pay more for
their goods.
The big packing companies, their
managers maintain, have not material
ly raised prices since the beginning of
the strike. An advance was made
when the struggle was a few days old.
This. it is asserted has not been con-
tinued. The sympa thetic strike of the
Transfers cut the big companies Off
from the Chicago trade and threw it
to the Independent concerns. The pack
ers quote figures to prove that these
smaller companies have taken advan-
tagc of their increased trade and have
charged greatly augmented prices.
While there has been much COM
plant from the live stock producers,
the statistics Indicate that they have
suffered little in the stock yards mar
ket Prices have remained fairly
steady. although there were some days
early in the struggle when large re-
ceiDts caused disastrous slumps The
| loss of the farmer has been chiefly at
| home He has been obliged to hold
| back and feed cattle. hogs and sheep
| already fattened for the market