Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-07-13

weakening on either side, the only raw
OF nope In the butchers strike situation
to-day was the possibility that arbitra-
1 tlon may intervene to prevent a labor
| war fraught with suffering and priya-
Ion 70 the strikers and heavy loss to
the packers.
nor is the effect of the strike CON
nned to the employees and packers. nor
70 the nine cities where the fight will
pe centered. The consuming public
| VIII Dear large share OF the burden
" nlgher prices for meats. Reports al
ready have come from various cities
that prices of the product have heen
| raised. This advance was said to be
but forerunner Of others If the CON
htct continued long.
In addition to the 10000 employees al
| ready on strike, upwards of 10000.
more are involved indirectly and most
| Of them probably will be made idle be-
fore tonight.
In addition to the tying up of the
siaugntering departments OF all the.
plants, the strike affects branch indus
trles IN which such articles as butter
inc, soaps, buttons and combs are man
ufactured. 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, approximate
lY find employment in the big packing
houses in Chicago, and this number al
ready has been reduced one-half. The
effect of the strike upon the mechanical
/ and other departments, it is declared,
will increase this army of unemployed
In Chicago before the end of the week
to nearly $4,000.
Arbitration is looked upon as the
only means to avert a prolonged strike
The strikers declare that they will be
willing to consider any reasonable
proposition submitted from the other
| side.
i The detail of police at the stock
yards has been increasing in number,
and all night the officers patrolled the
strike district and the streets adjacent
to the yards
There was considerable speculation
as to whether the packing house team
sters would go out on sympathetic
/ strike. George Golden, business agent
Of the union, set all doubts at rest at a
meeting OF the teamsters' joint council
/ by announcing that the teamsters
would remain at work as long as there
was work for them to do.
With seeming certainty OF a meat
famine should the strike last more
than week, both the packers and the
/ strike leaders took q serious view OF
the situation to-day. Each side
thoughtfully considered the arbitra-
| tion channel of escape from the en-
tanglement. Indeed predictions were
ventured tha$ an armistice might. be
arranged within "a hours.
i President Donnelly of the Butcher
/ Workers union expressed regret
that the packers offer to arbitrate
had not been made earlier, when the
strike might have been avoided.
s.The delay of the packers to agree
to arbitration he said, "is response
BILE for the strike. They did not make
known their position until after the
unions had declared the strike and
| then it was too late for me to do any
thing to stop the trouble. 1t will be
an expensive war, but apparently it
will have to be fought ont. We are
strong stronger than the packers,
for we have the whole country to-
j draw upon for sustenance and have
no dividends to pay. If the packing
plants are idle month it will eat up
all their dividends for two years"
In spite of expressed hope of en-
early adjustment OF the difficulties,
the packers have prepared for a
siege Every Office empioye in the
stock yards was ordered to report an
hour earlier than usual, and hurrying
through such Office duties as were abb.
| solutely essential, soon found them
selves at work in the strikers places.
Tt was claimed by the superintendents
of the various plants that there would
be no trouble in supplying all vacan-
cies within a day or two with capable
men.
Information credited to union sourc-
es was to the erect that colored work
men were being brought to Chicago
by the larger packers. Nelson Norris
4 & Co, 1t was said, had smuggled $50
colored non-union workers into the
yards in covered wagons.
Four independent small packing
houses inside the stockyards were re
ported running. These were Booer s.
Co, Roberts & Oakes, Boyd & Lund-
ham, and Thomas Phorildsen & Go.
CONFERENCE AT NEW YORK.
New York. July 13.-The leaders and
officers OF tho Amalgamated Meat Gut
| ters' and Butchers Union of America,
/
on strike, went into conference at the
local union headquarters to-day. 1t is
reported that plan for the arbitration
of the wage difference which caused
| the strike is under discussion. Requests
| for police protection from many OF the
meat packers were received about the
hour for work to begin at the establish
ments. No trouble had threatened, but
the requests were precautionary
measure. At one packing house re
serves were sent upon the report that a
crowd of men was gathering.
| When the hour for opening the big
meas packing plants in this city had
arrived che strike of butchers and meat
handlers, inaugurated In the west yes
terday, was on In this city, and before
many hours it was estimated that near
| II 5000 men had quit work. The strike
first went into effect at the branches
OF the big western packing houses lo
GATED on Twelfth avenue from 129thj