The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-07-12
FAMINE PERIL IN
PACKERS STRIKE
Fifty Thousand Employees of the
Beef Trust Plants Quit
Their Work.
MEAT SUPPLY OF
COUNTRY MENACED
Meager Stocks Of Dressed Meats
on Hand and Livestock Pur-
chases Stopped.


entire United States, strike Of the
$4,000 employees of the packing plants
in the nine principal packing centers
began at noon today. From the Chi
eago plants come statements Of
dressed meat stocks sufficient for less
than weeks normal orders, while
from Kansas City similar tidings
bidding the purchase Of livestock.
The Minneapolis Situation.
Local conditions point to a meat
famine in Minneapolis unless the
strike is settled within a week. At
present the big packing companies
have on hand in their local cold
or three days. The big shipments
of meat for Minneapolis are started
Mondays and Tuesdays and arrive
here Wednesdays and Thursdays.
These shipments for this week are
accordingly on their way, and their
receipt will relieve the local market
for several days more-making about
week in all, the limit Of time for
which the supply will hold out. Lit
tie or no relief can be looked for
from the little abattoirs turnout this
state and the Dakotas. Many Of
these are closed down. And at the
best, the meat supplied for the few
ingly small In quantity, but of the
poorest quality. If the strike holds
over a week, meat famine In Min
neapolis seems inevitable.
Following the orders Of their lead
ers in Chicago, employees of Swift 8
Co.'s South St. Paul plant to the NUM-
Der of 900, members of the Almaga-
mated Butchers and Meat Cutters.
Union Of America, walked out at noon
today.
The walkout was orderly in every
way. At 1880 the men in the various
departments notified the heads Of de-
partments that they would stop work
at noon, and, at that hour, gathered
up their tools and dinner pals and
quietly left the various buildings in
which they were employed. The
and preparations for a practical sus-
pension Of work were made early in
the day. Buying Of butcher stock
was decidedly limited. OF the 5000
hogs on sale, but 500 were purchased.
Cattle buyers bought nothing, and
only few head Of sheep were pur-
chased.
Swift & Co., is out of the city and.
In his absence, nothing Of a definite
nature in connection with what action
the local plant will take, can be
learned. w. e. Lewis, assistant to
the manager, said he thought an eff
but only in small way. He said
that onlyl the butchers and meet
cutters and such helpers as are con.
rected with these departments were,
as yet, affected and that he did not
believe that the mechanical depart
ments, including the engineers car
penters and their helpers, would be
involved.
Livestock Industry Suspended.
In all probability the livestock Inc
dustry Of the whole northwest will be
almost totally suspended pending q
settlement of the difficulties. In this
settlement the South ST. Paul people
will have little or no voice as the
headquarters Of the employees and
packers are in Chicago. The local
strikers will merely obey orders from
Chicago.
South St. Paul commission mer-
chants are scheduled to hold a meet
ing tomarrow and, unless there Is
some indication at that time that the
strike will be Of short duration. an
order suspending business will prob
ably be issued. In the meantime the
commission men, acting as individuals.
are notifying their shippers by wire
to withhold further shipments OF
butcher stock until notified that a set.
tlement has been reached.
The present strike has been threat-
ened since the latter part of May,
when an agreement under which the
packinghouse men were employed ex-
pired. Since that day the represents
tives Of the packers and the officials
Of the Amalgamated Union have held
many sessions looking to the framing
Of a new agreement. The union de-
manded an advance from 17R to 1919
cents per hour for laborers, and this
has been repeatedly refused by the
packers. Other minor matters were
also included in the demands, of the
men, but the advance in pay has been
the real stumbling block in the way OF
settlement. The advance, while
amounting to little in individual cases,
would mean a total increase in pay
rolls, including all the packinghouses
ing the country, Of between $4,000 and