Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-13

Nor Is the effect of the strike confined
to the employees and packers in the nine
cities where the fight will be centered. The
| consuming public will bear large share
| of the burden in higher prices for meats.
Reports already have come from various
cities that prices of the product have been
raised. This advance. too. was said to be
both a forerunner of others II the conflict
| continued long.
Thousands Are Involved.
In addition to the $4,000 employees already
| on strike, upward of 10000 more are in
| volved indirectly, and most Of them prob
| ably will be made idle before tonight.
In addition to the slaughtering depart
ments of all the plants being tied up, the
strike affects branch industries in which
such articles as butterine, soap, buttons
and combs are manufactured. The canning
departments where beans, soups and all
kinds of meats are put up are also hit
hard, the union employees having gone out
| in body.
Forty thousand persons, approximately,
! find employment in the big packing houses
| in Chicago, and this number already mas
| been reduced one-half. The effect of the
| strike upon the mechanical and other de-
partments, it is declared, will increase this
| army of unemployed in Chicago before the
| end of the week to nearly $4,000
Arbitration Only Means.
Arbitration is looked upon as the only
means to avert a prolonged strike. The
| strikers declare that they will be willing
| to consider any reasonable proposition sub
| mitted from the other side.
The detail of police at the stock yards
| has been increased in number, and all
night long the officers patrolled in pairs the
| strike district and the streets adjacent 70
| the yards.
| There was considerable speculation as to
whether the packing house teamsters
would go out on sympatheuc s.riRe. iS
| George Golden, business agent OF the unlon
set all doubts at rest at a meeting OF the
| teamsters joint council by announcing that
| the teamsters would remain at work as
long as there was work for them TO do
A crowd of men and boys, numbering
more than 5000, for the most part striking
employees, gathered in squads today about
the entrance to the stock yards and dis
cussed the situation. Most Of them were
attired as If off for holiday.
Good Nature Prevails.
In general the greatest good nature pre-
| vailed The only activity specially noticeable
| within the great, gloomy and deserted look
| ing buildings was at the Swift and Armour
| plants In the canning department of the
| Swift esta blishment a number of men were
at work, while at Armour's gang of men
| were busy loading provisions into string
of refrigerator cars.
l WOrkmen were also pussy ledIiuS up INC
! rails of the Chicago Junction railway with
| in the wards and replacing the old rails
| with new ones. This fact was taken by
some to indicate an expectation by the rall-
| road officials that the resumption OF trafnc
| will be DELAYED for several days at least.
| With a seeming certainty of a meat FAM
| inc should tie strike last more than a
week, both the packers and the strike leao-
| ,ers took a serious view of the situation to-
day Each side thoughtfully considered
| the arbitration channel of escape from the
ENHANCEMENT. Indeed, predictions were
| yentured that an armistice might be ar
| ranged within twenty-four hours. Such
optimism however, was received with
good deal of incredulity.
Strike Might Have Been Averted.
| President Donnolly of the Butcher Work
| ermen's Union expressed regret that the
| packers offer to arbitrate had not been
| made earlier. Had it been, he said, the
strike might have been averted
| 1.-The delay Of the packers to agree to ar
| bitration" he said. is responsible for the
| strike They did not make known their po-
sition until after the unions had declared
the strike, and then it was too late for me
| to do anything to stop the trouble. 1t Will
be an expensive war, but apparently 1t Will
| have to be fought out. We are strong
| stronger, strange as 1t may seem-than the
| packers We have the whole country to
| draw upon for sustenance and have no divi-
| dends to pay. II the packing plants are
idle month 1t will eat up all their divi-
| dends for two years."
| In spite of expressed hope for an early
adjustment of the difficulties, the packers
| hurried preparations for a siege. Every Of
| fee employe in the stock yards was ordered
| to report an hour earlier than usual, and
| all were told to hurry through such office
duties were absolutely essential.
Substitutes for Packers.
The office employees soon found themselves
| in the packing houses acting as substitutes
| for the strikers 1t was claimed by the su-
| perintendents of the various plants that
there would be no trouble in supplying all
| vacancies within a day or two with capable
| men.
Information credited to union sources
was to the effect that $50 colored men, pre-
sumably from Kansas City and ST. Louis,
| were being brought to Chicago by the
| larger packers, and that an order had been
| placed for 500 more cots. Nelson, Morris &
| Co., it was said, were supplied with $50
| coiored non-union workmen during the
night. The men were reported to have been
| smuggled into the yards in covered wagons.
Four Independent small packing houses
| inside the stock yards were reported run
| ming. These were Booer & Co, Roberts &
Cakes, Boyd & Lunham and Thomas Phor-
kildsen & Co.
Non Union Girls Secured.
The firm of Libby, McNeill & Libby Sc
| cured the services of sufficient number
of non-union girls to conduct active
| operations in the companys canning de-
partment. Representatives of the firm
said that many of the girls who walked
out yesterday had returned.
BY noon every packing house in the
stock yards, it was claimed. had men at
work.
| Unemployed men in considerable num-
bers flocked to the stock yards and ap-
piled for employment. The strikers stand
ing about the entrances to the yards Of
fered no opposition. All competent ap-
pearing applicants were at once hired
and put Immediately at work
Although the authorities were confident
/ that no violence would be attempted to-
] day. 800 police were detailed to guard the