The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1904-07-28
WILL FIGHT 70 FINISH
Butchers Strike Promises TO Be a
Long and Bitter Struggle.
$4,000 ARE OUT IN CHICAGO

General SlmpdtncIlC otTlhc Wd9 Na''Su
and All Trades Went Out, Except
Transfers. Who Are Negotiating
For Peace.
Chicago. July 2G.-With all peace
negotiations broken of, and with all
the allied trades unions employed at
the different plants with the exception
of the teamsterS and the stationary
engineers cut on strike in sympathy
with the butcher worlmen who quit
work two weeks ago the stock yards
strike has settled down to what prom
ises 10 be a long, bitter fight
As has been threatened for some.
time, the allied trades employed in
the packing industries at Chicago quit
work when called on to assist the
striking butchers in their efforts to
bring the packers TO terms. In sew
oral instances the men did not wait
for the official notification from their
leaders To strike but threw down their
tools and quit work OF their own Volt
ton. The statement was made by Mi
chael J. Donnelly, president of the
Butchers Union. that every union man
employed at the stock yards, with tho
exception of the transfers and sta
tiunary engineers, l,<d responded 10
orders for n general sympathetic
strike The engineers. he declared,
w0ald Join the strikers today, and I'M
less there was a speedy settlement or
the difficulty, he said, the teamsters
would undoubtedly join in the struggle
soon. According TO Mr. ponneliy, yes
terday's strike swelled the number OF
men who have quit work at the stock
yards in Chicago alone to nearly 10000
persons.
Both sides to the controversy de
clared that they were perfectly salts.
fed with the present state Of affairs,
and that they were willing to make ii
fight 10 a finish to determine who
shall dictate the terms of a settlement
According to the packers, the gen
eral strike was n failure, II being as
serted by them that not more than
half the members OF the allied trades
quit work when officially called ont
by the leaders. The further statement
was made by the packers that should
all the union men decide to join the
strikers it would make little difference
to the employers. as they had sufficient
resources 10 contest the ground for an
indefinite period.
A new phase of the strike situation
developed when notice was given by
the unions TO the independent packers
al the stock yards that their men
would not be allowed TO handle ami
mails which had been handled in any
way by nOn-uniOn men. The ultima
tum of the unions leaves the indepen-
dent packers no alternative but to re-
ceive their live stock directly from
the country OF to close business en-
tirely,
Before peace negotiations had been
broken OF. representatives of the
Transfers Union, as had been agreed
on. were in conference with the pack
ers in an effort to arrange some sort
of settlement which would prevent
spread Of the strike AT this meeting
the packers were asked to concede that
the first peace agreement, signed last
Wednesday. and which was later repu-
dated by the strikers when a second
strike was called, be considered null
and void and that the packers submit
a new proposal for peace terms. The
committee also advised the packers
that the striking butchers would stand
by last Saturdays demand, which was
that all men be reinstated within ten
days, or their cases be submitted 10
Immediate arbitration; all butchers
and casing men to be taken back with
in As hours after work was resumed
No progress toward a settlement was
made at the conference. and the team
sters' committee retired to consider a
new proposal.
Despite the sympathetic strike, all
the plants worked regular time, al
though at reduced capacity. At Ar
mour e. Co.'S plant it was said that |
1880 hogs. 700 cattle and 200 sheep were |
slaughtered during the day. At the |
other six plants a similar amount of !
work was accomplished.