Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1885 — THE LABOR PROBLEM. [ARTICLE]

THE LABOR PROBLEM.

The Great Lock-Oat in the Iron MilkOne Hundred of Them Shut Down. The Glass Manufacturers to Suspend Operations—An Army of SJxty*flTe Thousand Idlers. (Pittsburgh special to Chicago Times.] There are no new developments in the iron strike. Both sides remain firm and appear confident of ultimate success. One hundred iron mills have been closed in the district controlled by the Amalgamated Association. By this shut-down about 58,000 men are thrown out of employment and $116,000 a day taken out of circulation. In Pittsburgh and vicinity but eleven of thirtyfour mills are running; 4,330 men are at work in the iron mills, and 13,350 are idle. By this $26,700 per day will be taken out of circulation in this county. In the counties of Western Pennsylvania outside of Allegheny County, affected by the strike, there are 1,950 men idle, distributed by mills as follows: Armstrong County—The Apollo ironworks, 300; the Kittanning iron-works. 350; the Leechburg sheet-iron works, 200 — a total of .850. Beaver County—The Beaver Falls Bolling Mill Company, 200; Meyers &' Co.’s iron-works. 100—a total of 300.

Lawrence County—The iEtna iron-works, 200; the Shenango iron- works, 350 —a total of 550. Mercer County —P. L. Kimberly & Co.’s works, 600; Sharon Iron Company, 300; Stewart iron-workß, 200; Wheeler ironworks, 150 —a total of 1,350. By States the men affected are; In Western Pennsylvania, 19.630; in Ohio, 12,000; in Indiana, 6,000; in Illinois 14,000; in Michigan, 1,000; in Wisconsin, 3,000, and in West Virginia, 2,500 —a total of 58,130. In addition to this, thirty-four nail factories are idle; 3,819 machines have ceased to run; 3,802 men are thrown out employment in the nail factories alone, and sll,406 is daily taken out of circulation. Two factories have signed the scale, and are running. They are the Greencastle Iron and Nail Company, of Greencastle, Ind., running forty-five machines and employing fifty-four men, and the Falcon iron and nail works, at Niles, Ohio, running fortyfour machines and employing fifty-two men. The Bellaire nail-works, Bellaire, Ohio, with one-hundred and twenty-four machines and one-hundred and fifty men, has also signed the scale, but will not run, the firm refusing to sign the Amalgamated Association scale. Below is a table giving the names of the factories, the machines Tun, and the men employed: Machines. Men. Pittsburgh American Iron Works.... 63 76 Chess, Cook & Co 96 116 Spang, Chalfant & Co 19. 29 Shoenberger & Co 92 lit Zug <fc Co 69 71 Moorehead, Brother & Co 60 61 WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA. P. L. Kimberly <fc Co., Sharon 40 48 iEtna Iron Works (Lim.), Newcastle. 65 66 Sharon Iron Co., Sharon. 64 77 Shenango Iron Works,Newcastle.... 65 66 WEST VIRGINIA. Belmont, Wheeling 151 181 Benwood, Benwood 124 150 La Belle. Wheeling 122 146 Biverside, Wheeling 144 170 Standard, Clifton 126 151 Top Mills, Wheeling 130 169 KENTUCKY. Morton Iron Works, Ashland 126 151 TENNESSEE. Knoxville Iron Co., Knoxville 41 60 South Tredegar Iron Co., Chattanoqga 74 89 OHIO. Bellefontaine Nail Works, Bellaire. ..174 150 Falcon Iron and Nail Works, Niles... 44 52 Jefferson Iron Works, Steubenville.. 136 163 Junction Iron Co., Mingo 126 141 Kelly Nail and Iron Co., Ironton ... .100 120 Laughlin Nail Co., Martin's Ferry.. .114 135 Mahoning Iron Works, Youngstown. 50 60 Spaulding Iron Co., Brilliant 76 91 INDIANA. Cobb's Iron and Nail Co , Aurora.... 60 60 Greencastle Iron and Nail Co., Greencastle 45 ' 64 Terre Haute Iron and Nail Works... 144 170 ILLINOIS. Belleville Nail Co., Belleville 80 96 Calumet Iron and Steel 00., Cummings 153. 158 Centralia Iron and Nail Works, Centralia 50 60 Western Nail Co., Belleville .... 150 188 WISCONSIN. North Chicago Kolling-Mill Co., Bay View 100 120 This table gives only the number of men employed in the nail factories proper, and this total, added to the total above published, swells the number of workmen out of employment through the present iron and nail strike to nearly sixty-five thousand. The two strikes then take out of jirculation daily nearly $125,0U0.