Norwich bulletin., 1916-02-18
Strikers Rampant
in AnsOnia Mills
MEN WHO REMAINED AT WORK
CARRIED OUT BODILY
ABOUT 4,5OO IN NUMBER
After Closing the Mill the Mob March
HiIariousiy Up and Down the Main
Streets-Aid Requested from New
Haven and Waterbury Police.

Ansonia Conn. Feb. 1.-THE city
of Ansonia is in the throes of it's larg-
est and most. extraordinary labor trou-
BILE tonight. The peculiarities of the
strike which closed all the mills here
of the American Brass company are
that the strikers, about 4,600 in num-
Der, are mostly of foreign birth, are
unskilled and although speaking a
dozen European languages, and many
of the men very little English, have
been secretly welded into one organi-
zation without the assistance of an
officer of u recognized labor union. The
strikers are not and probably 5nve
not been members of any union, but
| the mill officials, who were taken COM
pletely by surprise, have as yet been
unable to find the agency through
| which the great body of men was sud
denly moved into action.
Mob Made Everyone Stop Work.
The strike began late yesterday
| when eight hundred laborers employ
| ed in the brass mill struck for higher
wages. Today men began to dribble
out of the other mills of the American
! Brass company until shortly after noon
! when suddenly hundreds of men swept
| through the wire mill of the company,
| making everyone stop work, not per-
mitting men to dispose Of molten met
| al that they had in bottles, or even to
| change their working clothes. The
/ onrush of humanity swelled into the
| power plant and the engineers had to
| shut down their engines. The crowd
| then rushed through the mill yard and
! across to the fremont street entrance
! of the copper mill, driving everyone
| before it and not permitting a single
| person to remain at work.
Swept Through coe Brass Plant.
| The strikers. recruited to thousands,
| then marched up the railroad tracks
| to the plant Of the Coe Brass company,
| a subsidiary of the American Brass
| company, and securing entrance by
breaking down some doors, swept into
| all parts of the mills, ordering every
| body to leave. There were a number
| of young women who suddenly found
| themselves surrounded by the strikers
and several threatened to jump out of
windows if moleSted None of the
strikers offered violence to them but
no one was permitted to remain at his
! or her work.
Threw Wrenches at Man on a Crane.
Martin Flood was aloft on a crane
| In one of the rooms. The CrowG or
dered him down and because he did
not move fast enough wrenches were
| thrown at him. The crane had been
loading barrels on a truck and as the
crane chain was swung loose from the
truck Flood secured hold of a ladder
on the side WALL by which he made his
descent amid showers of missiles
on the ground Flood had to run tosave
himself from injury.
General Manager Moody Assaulted
General Manager John Moody, of
the plant, was in his Office and he
sought to barricade himself against
the crowd. But the office doors were
| broken in and Moody ordered out
| someone hitting him during the strug-
gle. He was only painfully bruised
The crowd completely cleared out the
Coe Brass Mills, not permitting men
who were handling metal in hot air
| furnaces to save it.
Marched HiIariousIy Through Streets
After closing the mills the crowd
marched hilariously up and down the
main streets, the several nationalities
singing and shouting in their own ton
gueS.
At a later hour a mass meeting of
the strikers decided to appoint a com
mittee to wait upon the mill manage
ment tomorrow and make demands for
higher wages.
Differ as to What They Want.
The matter of formulating demands
Immediately became source of trou-
BILE to the committee as the strikers
have no one line of trade but are help
ers to moulders. roller makers, casters
and the diversified skilled trades in
| the metal industry. Some of the strik
ers want 25 cents a day increase 9TH
ers dollar increase and still others
the eight-hour day, a minimum wage
of 50 and Saturday half holidays. The
company has already posted notice
to unskilled labor which has received
$3.50 or less, and a 10 per cent in
crease to all over $3.50 a day.
Diseord at Mass Meeting.
The mass meeting showed signs OF
discord when a proposition was made
to try and run OUT strikebreakers
who have been separately housed and
sihce it's moulders' strike early last
summer. These men have been living
in a new mill of the company and go
to work through covered way. The
mass meeting discussed making an eff
fort to try and get at these strike
breakers and induce them to leave
work. There are also in the Farrell
foundry many men who are not strike
breakers who are of the same nation
ality as many of the strikers and the
latter are most urgent in their de-
mands that efforts be made to get
these workers out.
Mayor Asks Police Aid from Other
Cities.
Mayor Schumacher tonight began
swearing in volunteer f1remen as spe-
ciaI police officers and assigned them
to duty in the several mills to protect
property. He also made requests OF
the chief of police of New Haven and
| Waterbury for a detail Of officers
asking for 25 from Waterbury and Is
or 20 from New Haven.
Mayor Asked to Close Saloons.
The mayor also was requested to
close the liquor saloons to prevent any
unruliness but the mayor wash of the
opinion that he could not do this un-
less martial law was proclaimed. II
was noticeable that tonight many
strikers who were on the street were
showing signs of indulgence in liquor
although no reports had come to the
police that citizens had been molested
or property damaged outside of the
mill yards.
Men Carried Out Bodily.
The strikers in their rushes through
the mills brooked no interference. Sew
eral times Italian Workmen protested