The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-09-29
MANY WILL LOSE JOBS
Companies to Discharge
Men Who Do Not Report
for Duty To-day.
UNIONS CONTINUE CLAIMS
Operators Fear Young Electric
Cranemen May Be Influenced
to Cripple Works.

PITTsBUBa, Sept. 2S.-Smoke clouds
rose from myriads of chimneys in the
Pittsburg district this afternoon. They
gave augury Of what the steel manu-
facturers predict for tomorrow
general resumption Of work.
The strikers and their leaders made
their predictions from the hillsides,
where the sun shone brightly, where
the strikers gathered in a score Of
meetings and when William z. Foster,
sitting in his little dark room in the
back of a Pittsburg office building.
got reports that led him to predict
that the men he is leading would hold
their own and that the steel strike
would enter Its second week with the
strikers forces substantially unim-
paired. He asserted that between
3ee5, 3e5 900 aHa 3442,e 334422 600 laep,!p the indus
try are out. -, .j.
Tomorrow morning at 6, when the
shifts change, he predicts that the
$500 men Of the Jones & Laughlin
plant in Pittsburg will quit work,
adding their number to the 5000 in
the eastern works Of the Bethlehem
Steel Corporation. These men, he In
sists, will be net gains. He still main
tains that no men on strike have re
turned to work.
"Indispensable" Men Called Ont.
One explanation of the apparent
contradictions between the statements
Of the operators and the leaders was
made by steel man to-day. 1t is that
. the strike leaders well know the vul-
nerable points of the steel plants.
They concentrate their efforts on get
ting out the men whose tasks are IN
dispensable to the processes in which
each plant may be engaged. Thus
they paralyze many departments with
few absentees, forcing idleness on
thousands who are perfectly willing
| to work.
This is the condition of affairs which
the Jones and Laughlin officials in
| Pittsburg fear. They believe that
most of their men want to stay on
their jobs. But in their plants are
perhaps 200 or 800 operators OF the
huge electric cranes which handle all
the material in a steel plant nowadays.
! These operators are for the most
part youngsters of hot blood. They
are Americans or the second genera
ton of Poles and Hungarians who
have gone to the American schools.
Many of them served in the army.
Most OF them are unmarried and all
Of them are devil may care youths
with ready ears for anything TO break
the monotony Of sober existence.
The majority are members of the
Electrical Workers Union. c. j.
Boyle, general organizer Of the electri-
cal workers. was here to-day with
score of well trained assistants. The
Jones and Laughlin officials admit that
If the crane boys go out they will have
to shut down large sections OF their
plant, whether or not the other EN-
ployees answer the strike call.
Much at stake I'm One Plant.
Tho Jones q LaughlIn plant has be-
come a sort OF moral issue in the strike
Its officials have done everything
throughout the week to keep II going IN
order TO furnish a good example TO the
big plants of the Carnegie Steel Com
pany up the river. which slowly built up
their working forces throughout last
week. To-day at all the strikers meet
ings the backs OF the men were stiffened
by the assurance that Jones Laughlir
would be closed as tight as a drum to-
morrow.
An officer OF the Carnegie company
who has hitherto sized up the situation
with accuracy and fairness said tonight
that his company was much encouraged
over the results OF the day.
This was the strikers day." he said.
"They had their opportunity TO get at
the men in their homes and at meetings
throughout the valley. Yet reports from
our superintendents tonight show that
more men have checked into our gates
for the Sunday night shift than at any
other time since Monday. begin TO be-
lieve we have the strike broken.
The intimidation that we know kept
many from work Is passing and the men
are gaining confidence with every hour.
We look for q repetition OF the gains
tomorrow, when We expect 10 DO able
to make what TO us at least viii be a
good report. made better by relieved con-
ditions.
No Reports of Disorder.
There has been no disorder reported
from the vicinity OF any one OF our
plants despite the Sunday holiday. This
we take as an encouraging feature when
II Is considered that so many meetings
were being held. At the plants In the
Mahoning Valley, where conditions were
so dlsorderly early last week, the re-
turn Of men tonight and the working OF
the mills were most cheering.
4 -
not only held our own. but rnads good
gains and have held all that We gained
Except for BrSddook and Rankin.
!