The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1910-05-30
STEEL'S LATEST FIGHT ON
LABOR-WAGES ADVANCE
FOR A FEW ONLY-MOVE-
MENTS FOR SHORTER DAY.
By Peter Power.

Is the United States Steel cor
poration preparing to carry its
war of trade union determination
into the mining fields? That is a
question that is uppermost in the
minds of leading officials of the
United Mine Workers. At the re-
cent Indianapolis convention of
the miners President T. L. Lewis
and others declared that the steel
trust has been quietly gobbling
up thousands of acres of coal
lands, and it was predicted that
sooner or later struggle would
be precipitated.
For more than year the
steel trust has been endeavoring
to destroy the seamen's union on
the great lakes, and during nearly
the same period the octopus has
waged bitter war against the
iron, steel and tinplate workers
association at the trust plants in
Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana.
Now the steel trust is showing
its teeth in the Illinois mining dis
trict. The combine controls the
Bunsen mine at Danville, to
which, the militia was ordered the
other day to break a strike. The
Bunsen Coal Co. refuses to join
the Illinois Coal Operators asso-
citation, with which the miners
have an agreement, and insists
upon making a separate agree
ment with the miners, knowing
that such action would cause a
strike in all the mines in the
operators association.
President Walker of the llli-
nois miners charges that the Unit
ed States Steel corporation is not
only engaged in stirring up strife
among the mine workers through
paid spies, but it scheming to de-
stroy the Illinois operators asso-
citation. "Once the operators as
ISOLATION is destroyed" says
Walker, 1.-The United States Steel
corporations mines will be in a
position to dominate the coal
field and fight the union with the
same ferocity that it has fought
organized labor in other fields"
There is bitter complaint
among some of the steel trust
employees. The loudly heralded
general advance in wages is said
to have been conceded only to the
lowest paid laborers, who were
ceasing work. in droves because 1t
was impossible for them to live
under the present high prices for
the necessaries of life. Mechanics
declare that their wages have not
advanced materially, and that
even where wages were somewhat
increased the men are compelled
to turn out more work than for
merly.
Nor is Sunday work abolished,
as was promised would be done
by the trusts publicity agents.
Thousands of mechanics and la
borers are compelled to toll IL
hours a day, seven days a week.
Hence the agitation to organize
continues to spread through the
trust mills, and some secret union
izing is going on despite the small
army of spies who are employed
to prevent the men from. getting
together.
The various branches of the
photographers organizations are
combining. Several years ago
they were worsted in a contest for
a shorter workday. The plan now
is to amalgamate the separate
crafts and make a united effort to
improve the conditions of all the
workers in the trade.
The journeymen bakers the
country over are making an effort
to increase the value of their la
Dor power by reducing their hours
of toll. They are also meeting
with success in improving sani-
tary conditions by abolishing cell
lar bakeshops. driving out cock
reaches and other vermin and
cleaning up generally. Strikes
are necessary in some cases to
enforce the new conditions.
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