Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1904-08-01
OVER 600 EMPLOYEES AT WORK IN
VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS.
MANY OLD MEN GO BACK
Picket Lines Still Maintained, but
Workers Come and 60 Without Be
ing Molested-Workers Remain in
Plant 70 Some Extent to Avoid
Trouble.

st. Paul, July 29.-To all intents and
purposes the packing house strike at
South ST. Paul is dead. down, and out,
with little prospect that it can pos
sibly be revived.
The only hope left to the strikers at
that point is che possibility that the al
lied trades may take an interest in
their case and go out on a sympathetic
strike. Careful investigation. how
ever. fails to bring out any sympathy
among the members of the allied trades
employed about the Swift plant, and
as many of them are not organized or
affiliated with any labor organization
there seems to be little hope that they
will side with the strikers.
The Strikers hope to cause some en-
Ibarressment by inducing the retail meat
dealers of the twin cities and the sur
rounding territory and all organized Ia
Dor to boycott all meat not bearing the
union label. Their success along this
line will depend largely upon the sup
ply OF meat bearing the label and the
price at which it is offered.
AS far as the packers are concerned
the matter of the strike is of little in
lterest. The plant is in operation in all
departments and Manager Bangs safes
that il will make no difference what is
4 1. -. Mo &c o
To keep running and will employ more
men every day. OF course there is ad-
ditiCnal trouble and expense connected
with running under present conditions,
as most of the men are eating and
sleeping inside the plant. The plant
is running. however. and is manufac-
turing and shipping.
Yesterday, for the first time since
the beginning OF the strike Superhr
, tendent Burns took party of newspa-
per men through the plant that they
might see that every department was at
work and count the number Of men in
the various departments. "A little in
vestigation." said Mr.. Burns, will
show that the wild rumors about an
awful shortage of help and the terrible
waste caused by the ineXperience or
the new men are absolutely untrue"
There were at work in the plant yes
terday 756 men employed in the vari-
Gus branches of the work OF manufac-
turing and making ready for shipment,
and lG4 Office men, all of whom were
engaged in their regular office duties.
The count in the various depart
ments was as follows:
Hog killing. rs; cattle killing, "a;
sheep killing. y; curing cellar, 12S;
Icasings. 70: hide cellar. 16; lard depart
ment. So: sausage department, 60;
smoke house. A; fertilizer, 2S; en-
! gineers and fremen, "a; mechanics,
76; cocpers, s; teamsters, 5; box fac
tory. 80; ice gang. %; leaders, S6;
watchmen and police. GO; miscellane-
Gus. IS: Office men, 164; total, 800.
The killing done yesterday in the
various departments was as follows:
! Hogs. 1900; cattle. 225; calves, 60;
sheep. 175.
Seventy-two cars CT stock were re-
ceived yesterday and the company
states that il will soon be able to care
for all large shipments. The ship
ments yesterday amounted to % cars.
At the time the strike was called the
plant was employing about 22O more
men than It has at present. New men
are constantly applying for work and
about 100 more will be taken on which
will make up the normal crew for this
season of the year. Fifty were taken on
yesterday.
The principal shortage at present is
l i'm the hog department where the ordi-
nary output per day is 5000 animals;
there is also some shortage in the other
killing gangs with the exception of the