The Saint Paul globe., 1904-08-23
LEADER OF STRIKERS
PROMISES VICTORY
StrssaIers of South ST. Paul
Strike Listen to Packing
Council President

A poorly attended .Jneeting of the
striking. South st. Paul butchers was
held in Federation hall last evening,
at which Nicholas Gier, president of the
Chicago packing council, delivered an
address in which he predicted that in.
side of one week the packers of the
country will concede that the great
strike has been lost and gladly take
back the strikers. Gier said:
"The packing houses in Chicago are
tied up so tightly that the proprietors
find it impossible to use the by-prod-
ucts, added to which the mayor OF CHI
cago has recognized the absolute neces-
sity of protecting the health and morals
of the non-union men and women oy
ordering that tIieysne longer be housed
in the plants. He has recognized that
there is more shameless immortality,
more disregard of all the moral laws.
of all the sanitary regulations and OF
all rules of decency in the various
plants and in the yards than can be
found in the worst districts on the
flevee.
Says Union Has Proof
when those men and women walk
from the plants and are made thor
oughly aware of the conditions under
which they have worked, and by COM
parison, with the outside world reallze
that they have been made slaves for the
benefit of the ambition Of the packers
to disrupt the union of the meat cut
ters and Butchers do not believe tnat
they will again go to work. The IN
ternationaI union is in possession Oh
such overwhelming proof of the filthy
Of 6a
crimes being committed there, that the
mayor has been forced to act in behalf
of decency and for the benefit OF hu-
manity.
s'W1hile am sorry that the conditions
at South st. Paul are SO unfayorable
l believe that if the men who have re-
mained true to the interests of the
union use their best efforts to induce
the men who have deserted to return
to the fold, that they will be successful
in the end and the Swift plant will
again be tied up as tight as it was dur
ing the first nine days of the strike.
Urge these men to 1eave their places
and cause them to believe what l do
that the strike will be settled in an
other week.
Steep Would Renew Strike
George Steep, business agent of the
local union, SAID ILdI LIlS SlTlhc
South ST. Paul, failed because the union
did not have the funds with which
to carry on the fight. If he could as
sure the men now at. work from So to IS
a week he believed he could induce 200
to leave, and that they would stay out
The striking of this number of men,
he said, would make it impossible for
the firm to make use of the by-products
from which the money is made Sleeps
motion that the executive board ap-
point committee to solicit funds for
the benefit of the. strikers from all
promising sources was adopted, as was
another motion to appoint a committee
of four, two from the butchers and
two from the st. Paul meat cutters, to
visit the non-union men at their homes
and make an effort to induce them to
leave theif positions with Swift & Co.
President George Willis said that he
felt sure that a number of the former
members of the union who had deserted
and returned to. work. were sorry that
they had done so, realizing now that
their wages will be reduced if the strike
isslest.
"The meanest men in town, con-
ceive,' he said, ARE those who drew
their benefits from the union on Mon
day and went to work Tuesday