The Detroit times., 1909-07-08
THREAT TO CRUSH
I UNION FULFILLED
j. p. Morgan Made Vow Against
Amalgamated Associatlon-Hand-
full Of Men Push Fight.
BY HUGH ALLEN.

faced Theodore Shaffer then presldeh.
OF the Amalgamated Association on
Iron, Steel aud Tin Workers, in me
Morgan Offices I'm New York They
were settling the great steel strike OF
1901. Morgan, white with rage. turn
ed TO Shaffer and said
''I'll smash your union for this y
will take me just four years. Al the
end OF that time youll not have "A
union man at work in the mills OF my
combine"
That was in October. 1901. Thurs
! day. July /, Morgan made good ms
word. But II had taken him near!
nine years. instead OF four
There isn't union man al Work
today In the mills of the steel trust,
which employs 10000 10 10000 skil'.
ed workers in makiag iron aud steel
and tin. and turning out bridges ANU
the skeletons OF steel buildings. AMI
everything from a big armor plate 10
the wire screens you see IN your Win
dows I'm fly time, On that morning
OF July /. 5000 sheet and tin mill
workers struck against the order OF
the American Sheet and Tinplate Co.
a branch of the trust In this strike
the old Amalgamated association IS
making its last stand against utter
determination in the trust mills.
Handful of 5000 Men.
This handful OF 5000 Amacamated
men Is ali that are lot of the 0QOo
men that entered the hrst strike
against Morgans iron hand II they
lose there will he no more union
mills in the trust.
For the latter-day policy Of the steel
trust is not 10 bring strikehreakers
into a mill and try TO operate II III
the face of the strikers pickets but 10
let II stand idle, and push some non.
union plant beyond its capacity untll
the strikers are tired out and give up
the struggle
President f. NJ. Pargny OF the
American Sheet Steel Co, boasts that
his company has no union mills
but he Is not trying TO start any o.
the IA that were tied up last week
when the Amalgamated men walked
out. These mills are standing idle'
While the plants from which the union
was driven years ago are being push
ed doubleturn 10 bring the average
output up as high as possible.
II is an easy way to break a strike.
But before the day o. trusts the manu-
facturer with one, or even two or
three mills. couldn't 90 IT, He hadn't
mills enough.
For nearly nine years the Amalga-
mated association has hung on In THIS
losing battle, Cling concession af'er
concession, rather than fight power
that even the United States govern
ment has sometimes seemed to fear
But the end came a month ago. when
the trust refused to sign another an
nual scale with the Amalgamated, an
nounccd its own scale with reduc-
ton of about per cent in wages, and
posted a notice declaring that the 10
plants In which the union still retain
cd a fcothold would run. after jug
as "open shops" in which union
men and non-union men alike could
get employment.
r The Amalgamated men had had
taste OF the open shop in the trust.
"Open shop" mills always bar known
union men after six months or year.
National President p. J. McArdle
\ said :,
"They are loyal to a man. as
knew they would be. And every strik'
or this year Is hero. He knows
what he is fighting. We did every
thing 10 avoid this. but the trust has
khrown down the gauntlet. We would
he towards IL we didn't fight.
u These 5000 men started their fight
well. out OF FIVE sheet steel plants
end ten tinplate plants where the
"open shop" order was posted IA
.haye been idle since July l. In one
"plant. the sheet mill at Cambridge
O.. a part Of the men reported TOT
work and are operating about third
of the mill
The battle is not being fought ont
7,r pittsburg Every trust mill In this
CITY was non-unionized years ago.
These towns are the battle-ground;
New Castle Pa. $500 men sharon,
pa 200 men: Wheeling. 400 men;
Martins Ferry and Bridgeport. o.. p
ZOO men: Elwood, Anderson and Gas
city. Ind. 1900 men; Piqua and
Struthers. o.. 400 men.
ANY Of the old veterans around
the Offices Of the Amalgamated asso-
citation In this city can tell you now
the trouble started Morgan formed
his steel trust in 1900. Back In 1892
vthe Homestead strike had resulted III
Hdriying the union from the mills OF
the Carnegie steel Co.-but that IS
= another story. In 1894 the manutac'
turers OF the Kiskimtnetas valley mao
driven the union ont OF their mills
T,bat too. is a chapter by Itself When
the tine came TO sign the 1901 wage
scale fer the union mills OF the Am
orican Sheet Steel Co. the American
'rinnIate Co. the National Tube Co.
the American steel & Wire Co, the
American Bridge Co. and the Amer
team steel HooIEo.. the Amalgamated
found itself face 20 face with Morgan
He had organized all these companies
into the trust.
The Amalgamated president was
Theodore Shaffer. retired Methodist
nreacher. He gave the trust this ulti'
matum:
1--WE will sign no wage scale for a
mart OF the mills of the trust. You
must sign the scale for all mills. and
must withdraw your order In the
non.uniou mills which forbids men
ioinlng the union The men in those
: mills must be free ~ Join the union
or not, as they wish.
The nrst gun OF that strike was fired
! AT Wellsville. o., where - men were
discharged for joining the union. Then
y Morgan refused 10 sign any scale AT
= all. and Shaffer. on July /. 1901. not
only called out the men in the union
I mills. but appealed to all nonpnion
\ workmen 10 join him. He got 10000
men in the non-union mills TO strike
Over 10000 men were idle during that
y strike But Morgan licked Shaffer;