The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-05-17
NJ CLEARING Up Of
SHELTER TROUBLE
Strikers Firm in Demands, and
Company Is Intrenched
i'm Position.
BIG FORCE OF OFFICERS
PRESENT TO KEEP PEACE
Company Believes After Men
Consider Matter They Will
Accept Terms.


Wednesday to relieve the deadlock be-
tween the employees of the United
States smclter at Bingham Junction,
who are out 100 strong for higher
wages, and TIE company. The men ap-
parently are firm in their demand for a
fat increase of 90 cents a day per
man; the company is firmly intrenchcd
! behind its stand taken Tuesday that
the advance asked by the men is unjust
and the concern cannot afford to grant
| the increase in wages.
| Wednesday passed with little sign of
| either side receding from the position
assumed Tuesday. True, there was a
! hint of ,wavering on the part of the
! strikers in their naming an arbitration
committee from their number TO see
what can be accomplished in the way of
arriving at an understanding. No re-
| Wednesday night. The strikers held
several meetings Wednesday, Of which
little of the workings became known.
Incipient Organization.
The men out, Wednesday, appeared
to be prepared 10 maintain their posi-
ton, being organized TO n certain ex-
| tent. There is little or no bitterness
between the strikers and the company,
the strike being considered as a bust
ness proposition, The men say they
want more money; the company saws
it cannot afford to pay it, The strike
is one of the most pcaceable in the his
tory of labor agltations in this section,
the only trouble that was reported
Wednesday being between men who
were drinking. No arrests occurred
Several of the regular force of deputy
from Salt Lake City Tuesday after
noon, returned last night, there being
no need of their services Four or five
regular deputies from here. with spe-
cial force of deputies, sworn in at Bng-
ham Junction, were on guard at the
smelter Wednesday, day and night.
There are indications Of an organi- !
cation among the strikers from the re-
ports from Bingham Junction of the APP
pointing of committees by the strikers |
to see daily that no families of men out |
arc in distress; to watch all trains, pre-.
sumably for strike breakers, and guard /
all roads leading to Bingham June I
tion. The reports were given little ere
dence among some of the deputy sher-
ifs at Bingham Junction Wednesday.
State Law Posted
ing for Sheriff Emery who was East, |
Wednesday posted and distributed
State law bearing on the interfering by |
strikers or others with the rights of |
persons engaged in labor, as follows, |
the purpose of posting and distributing |
Of the notice being TO inform the ig- |
noraDt on the law in such cases and TO
restrain any hotheads there might be |
among the strikers:
the rights Of any individual IT shall be |
unlawful for any person. persons, asso-
citation OF persons, combinations. OF per
the rights of any individual engaged In |
labor, to exercise his full privileges un-
der the constitution of this State or OF !
be employed. by whom he shall be en-
ployed and at what compensation he
shall be employed
Sec, 2, ANY one violating the provi-
sions of this act shall be guilty OF mis-
demeanor,
In Good Condition
The furnaces of the smelter were
not allowed to freeze. being drained
of their charges. and there is no dis
order about the plant. everything being
neat and tidy so far as litter and the
like are concerned. Consequently, when
settlement is arrived at, it will not
take long to have the plant going
full blast, it is thought At gen
eral meeting held by the men Tuesday
night a committee was appointed to
meet the smelter officers and proffer
the services of an engineer and
small fire under the boilers, attend to
the dynamos and keep the pump ready
for fire emergencies. The company
responded that il had no objection to
such action on the part Of the men
There are few men about the plant,
small number Of Greeks attending
TO the cleaning up Of waste matter that
may accumulate on the grounds Sew
eral guards remain about the plant TO
protect IT from being damaged. it be
ing considered nnwise and unsafe to
leave property cf the proportions of
the United States smelter unpro.
tected at such a time The Sheriff IS
office is armed with several Krag
Jorgensen rifles for use in case Of
rlotlng or any other grave disorder.
IT was said Wednesday that repre
sentatives Of, the company had gone
among the men with an explanation
of the cause for the closing down of
the copper furnaces, which was thought
TO have had something to do with the
walk of the lead men Tuesday
afternoon, for which the company said
it was unprepared, not expecting such
a move on the part Of the EMPLOYEES
The agents found that several of the
strikers were willing to return to work,
said.
Was There Misunderstanding
Metallurgical Director Prosser, when
seen Wednesday afternoon late, was
inclined to the theory that there might
have been a misunderstanding on fhe
part of the men of the company S real
attitude. He can hardly believe that
the walk-out was due TO genuine
dissatisfaction over the wages a re-
port emanated from Bingham Junction
Wednesday that the company s atti-
tude at the last conference before the
shutdown and strike was dissatisfyinp
but the meeting was as devoid of Bit
terpess or strife as a conference of its
kind could well be, it is told That
there is an organization among the
strikers is theory the company is not
inclined to accept. Mr.. Prosser is of
opinion that the main body of the men
out are satisfied with the wages, and
would return to work if il were
not for few leaders, probably
fifteen or twenty, he says. If tho | ,