The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-07-12
BIG Tie UP.
Strike Involving $4,000 Men
Is Inaugurated.
Packing House Employees at Nine
Big Centers Quit.
MEAT CUTTERS LEAD
At Kansas City 1900 Went But
Before Hour Set.
At Chicago 700 Anticipated
Time Set by Leaders
BUSINESS is BLOCKED.
No Stock Is Being Purchased at
the Yards.
First Effect Will Be to Send Up
Meat Prices.
BUSINESS is BLOCKED.
No Stock Is Being Purchased at
the Yards.
First Effect Will Be to Send Up
Meat Prices.

Kansas City, No, July 12.-Eight
thousand meat cutters, butchers and
others affiliated with the Amalga-
mated Meat Cutters and Butcher
Workmen's union, constituting the
entire forces in those departments in
the six packing plants here, struck
today. AS a result all the plants are
shut down, and 12.S0O employees in
the various departments are affected
Those out or affected by the strike of
the meat cutters and butchers are dis
tributed as follows: Armour, $500;
Swift. 2.S0O; Cudahy. 2.5OO; Schwarzs-
child & Sulzberger, 1000; Fowler, l.
200. Ruddy Bros. 500.
Many of the men went out during
the morning, the others following at
noon, the hour set by President DON
nelly. The men. following the presi-
dents order, secured their tools and
in most instances quietly left for their
homes. At one or two places they re-
mained about the plants, but no signs
of trouble were apparent.
The packers in this city were in un-
usually good condition, having but a
small quantity of stock on hand to
work up, and all this was cleaned up
by noon, the men working until this
work had been accomplished 1t is
DCiAcfCO the pIdIIS VIII remain prac-
tically idle for few days, the man
ayers making no especial effort to
NIL the places of the strikers
None of the packing houses bought
about 1000 hogs on hand at the yards
and these probably Win be returned
TO the country
At Chicago.
Chicago. July 12-Without waiting till
the hour set for a general strike of the
"a 1na r1ris7 7nfr NJ
packing centers of the country, beef
cutters at the stock yards here quit
work considerably ahead of the time
expected The men who thus antici-
pated the strike order were 700 in num-
Der.
Before there was any actual cessa-
tion of work Chief Of Police O'Neill
made a tour of the stock yards with a
view to deciding the best manner of
disposing of the police for protection
against possible violence. Half of the
total number of policemen at the stock
yards station and the two adjoining
stations were ordered held in reserve
TO be available to meet any outbreak.
Other stations We're similarly ordered
to be prepared for extra duty.
There was no disorder in the depar-
ture of the first squad of strikers.
While taking measures to be ready. re-
mem Der1ng riots curing the last great
tie up at the yards, the police profess
ed not to expect trouble for ten days
indications being, it was said, that new
packing houses for. that length of time.
a rise in the price of meat, it was
said. would be the first effect of the
cessation of work in the packing
houses
Stagnation marked the cattle market
as the packers had warned commission
men that there would be no buying to-
day. Representatives of the packers
said the packing firms had done ev-
erything that could be done to avert a
strike by offering to arbitrate before n
disinterested body the questions over
which the differences with the labor
unions arose.
The 200 cutters who quit in advance.
included employees of all the packing
firms affected by the strike order. The
cutters for one firm, Armour & Co., did
no work whatever today
Promptly on time the general walk
out began Schwarzchild & SuIzberger.
the National Packing company and a
number of minor plants We're at once
affected.
One hundred girls, employed in the
label department of Nelson. Morris &
Co. struck with the men.
Edward Morris. vice president of
Nelson. Morris & Co, said that the
company's plant did not have more
than three or four days supply of
dressed meats on hand.
Arthur Meeker. manager for Ar
mour & Co. said he did not care to
make any statement with reference to
the strike
The Swift plant has about three
days supply
The ranks of the strikers were soon
swelled to a total of 1000 by en-
ployes from the Armour plant who
walked out as soon as their work for
the day was closed up. They were of
the following numerical strength:
Hog killers, 400; hog cutters 45O;
beef killers, $50. Other gangs
handling carcaSSes and cuts were ex-
pected to quit soon as their work
for the day is finished.
At Omaha.
Omaha, Neb. July 12.-At noon today
1000 employees of the four packing
houses at South Omaha laid down their
tools and went out on strike The pack
ing plants affected are those of Armour
Swift. Cudahy and the Omaha Packing
company. The strike is the result of
an order received from Second Vice
President Vail of the Amalgamated
Meat Cutters and Butchers union and
affects practically every man employed
in the packing houses skilled and un-
skilled The demands of the strikers are
higher wages for the skilled and closed
shop for the unskilled-
The packers say they will make no
effort to operate their plants for the
present To this end they gave notice