The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-07-08

Dy IluSu <hiANhs
PITTSBURG, July S.-Nint
years ago this coming fall j.
Morgan faced Theo. Shaffer, ther
president of the Amalgamate
Association of Iron, Steel and Til
Workers, in the Morgan office
IN New York. They we're settling
the great steel strike of 1901
Morgan, white with rage, turned
to Shaffer and said:
I'LL SMASH YOUR UNION
FOR THIS. 1T WILL TAKE ME-.
JUST FOUR YEARS. AT THE
END OF THAT TIME YOU'LL
NOT HAVE A UNION MAN AT
WORK IN THE MILLS OF MY
COMBINE"
That was in October Of 1901.
Thursday, July 1, Morgan made
good his word. But 1t had taken
him nearly nine years, instead of
four.
There isn't union man at work
today in the mills of the steel
trust, which employs 10000 to
100000 skilled workers in max
Ing iron and steel and tin, and
turning out bridges and the skele-
tons Of steel buildings, and every-
thing from a big armor plate to
the wire screens you use in your
windows in fly time. On that
morning of July 1, 5000 sheet and
tin mill workers struck against
the order of the American Sheet
4 Ttinplate Co., barnch of the
xrr uf Tn To- cfr he ri
Amalgamated association is max
ing Its last stand againts utter ex-
termination in the trust mills.
! This handful of 5000 Amalga.
maed men is all that are left OF
the CO., men that entered the
first strike against Morgan's iror
hand. II they lose there will BE-
no more union mills In the trust
For the latter-day policy of the
steel trust Is not to bring strike.
breakers into mill and try to OPP
crate 1t In the face of the strikers
pickets, but to let il stand idle
and push some non-union plant be
! yond it's capacity until the strik
ers are tired out and give up tn.
struggle.
President e. M. Pargny Of tn,
American Sheet Steel Co, boasts
that his company "has no unioI
mills" but he Is not trying Il
start any of the IA that were tfet
up last week when the Amaiga
mated men walked out. Thes,
mills are standing idle; while tn,
plants from which the union wa
driven years ago are being pushed
d0uble-turn to bring the averag,
output up as high as possible.
n b An easy way to .'break'' ,
strike. But before the day O
trugos the manufacturer with one
~ even two or three mills
couZdust do IL. He hadn't mill
emoneh.
FOR nearly nine years the Anal
gamated association has hung Of
In this losing battle, giving conces
sion after concession. rather thal
fight power that even the Unit
ed States government has some
times seemed to fear. But tn
end came a month ago, when tn
trust refused to sign another an
nual scale with the Amalgamai
ed, announced its own scale with
reduction Of about 8 per cent 4
wages, and posted a notice declar
ing that the 10 plants in whic
the unieH still retained a foothol
would run, after July /, us 'ope
shops. In which union and non
union men alike could get employ
ment.
The Amalgamated men had ha
taste of the open shop" In tn
trust, open SHOP" MILLS AL
WAYS BAR KNOWN UNIOl
MEN AFTER SIX MONTHS OF
A YEAR. National President
J. MoArdle, as he sat in his oil
flee in the House building, In thi
city, nearly sebbed as he said, tn
day the 5000 devoted men cam
out.
''They are loyal to man, as
knew they weuld be. And ever
striker this year is q hero. II
knows what he Is fighting. We di
everything to avoid this. but tn
trust has thrown down tn
gauHtlet. We would be COW
ards II we didn't fight"
These e6eB men started thei
fight we'll. Out Of five sheet stee
plants and 10 tinplate plant
where the .ePen shop" order wa
posted. IL have been idle sine
July !, In one plant, the shee
mill &C Cambridge. o., q part Q
the men reported for work and ar
operating about q third OF tn
mill,
The battle is not being tough
cut in Pittsbprg. Every frus
mill In this city vas non-unionize
years ago: These towns are tn
New Castle. Pa, 2eoo men
sharon, Pa, 12ee men; Wheeling
400 men; Martins Ferry an
bridgeport, 81, 260Q men; El
Hopd. Anderson and Gas CITY
Ind, 1909 lnep; PiQua and Struth
ers, O.. 400 men.
Any Of the old veteran
around the offices of tho Anal
rsmaf4d association ~ this ct
SAD f6If y6ll how the trouble