The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1919-08-26
Of STRIKE
IN SOUTHERN CAMPS

The ~fairest, and at the same time
most comprehensive, account OF the
Divide and Tonopah strike which has
thus far appeared, is from the pen OF
William P. Dewolf, and was printed
last Saturday in the Tonopah Miner.
1t is as follows:
Mining operations at Divide had
reached their most interesting stage
when the miners strike. inaugurated
August II. interviewed to close down
the mines and place the blight OF IN
ertia upon a district that has bonanza
ore yield potentialities said to be
without counterpart since the days OF
the Comstock. Cessation of mining
work is general at Divide and Tono-
pah, with both sides to the wage con-
troversy standing pat on settlement
propositions submitted and awaiting
developments.
When the strike went into erect,
three shipping mines - the Tonopah
Divide, Divide Extension, and Has
brouck-had been developed and we're
sending an average of 600 o N of ore
a week to Tonopah mills, having a
general average total value of $685.
900. In addition. the Butte Divide
property was preparing to ship; the
Dividend management was developing
a shoot of $40 ore; the Rosetta had
reached the stage of development
where early shipments appeared to be
assured; and the Brougher, Divide
Consolidated, Toggery, Victory. Bel
cher, Belcher Extension, and several
other properties were prosecuting and
prospecting ore bodies of promising
possibilities.
Then. too, the ore-making breccia
had just been entered in the Apex,
Hercules, Giant, Mammoth, Gold Reef,
Hennessy, Keystone, Divide Junior.
Myra. Annex, and other shafts, and
the camp was in general making good
its early promise. Approximately two
hundred mining properties were I'M
dergoing development. At least two
thirds of the number were equipped
with mining machinery. In the ag-
gregate this machinery has a value
of approximately $4,000 The mine
pay rolls at Divide carried the names
80 nLo,t nnA fD.xaarI xynryarC urtfh
the daily wage paid totaling about
$4,000.
The strike which has snatched this
wage from the hands of the miners
may be said to have come in the ma
ture of a surprise both to the mine
operators and to mine workers. A
week ago the camp was humming with
mining activity and. save for an un-
DERIVING feeling of dissatisfaction over
the high cost Of living. there was lit
tie to indicate that a strike might be
impending. Then, on the morning of
August II, about two hundred men
met and voted to make a demand on
the mine operators for an e~ight-dol-
lar-six-hour day. and to strike unless
their demand was granted. At a sec
ond session, held hat evening. it was
voted to moderate the demand to a
dollar a day wage increase for all
classes of mine labor.
The following evening there was a
largely attended meeting of miners
to which admission was by hospital
card only, thus combining the voting
privilege to working miners. The
sense of this meeting. as expressed by
a standing vote. was to demand a dol
lar a day wage increase all around
and to continue work pending the re-
suit of conferences with the mine OPP
orators. A committee was appointed
for that purpose. Another committee
was appointed to confer with the
miners who had met the previous day,
with a view to cooperation and pre-
sentation of a joint wage increase
demand.
What trend the arguments at that
conference assumed is not publicly
known. but the fact remains that it
resulted in a decision to call out all
the miners at Divide and Tonopah
pending granting of their demands.
AS a result the mines in both dis
tricts became imperative on August
10. and are yet imperative. Watch
men have been put in charge of the
various mining properties and the two
camps face the prospect of what may
be a protracted strike.
Immediately following the walkout
the mine operators of Divide and
Tonopah held a meeting. conferred
with the strikers, and in lieu of an
increase in wages submitted a propo-
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