Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 November 1897 — STRIKE IS ON AGAIN. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

STRIKE IS ON AGAIN.

COAL MINES OF NORTHERN IL- . H-fNOIS TIED UP. Diggers Gather Under Ratchford’s Banner and Demand the f pringfield schedule-Operators Are Angry and Say a Crisis la at Hand. Miners Vote to Quit. The miners’ mass meeting at Coal City, 111., voted unanimously to resume the strike throughout the Wilmington-Braid-wood district; The decision affects the mines at Carbon Hill, Diamond and Coal City, and postpones pending settlement in other towns except where the full scale is paid. The miners will contend for the gross-weight scale as adopted at Springfield. They will ignore the propositions offered by the operators based on a screen scale. It is the purpose to abolish the whole system as speedily as possible, even at a sacrifice in the price per ton if necessary. The miners at Braceville, who were the first to return to work at the 77%-cent rate, were all busy in the mine when Pres id-ent Ratchford and a small army of strike leaders reached the town. After some delay 150 English-speaking miners met in Malcolm’s Hall, where Mr. Ratchford addressed them. He told them they had lost 2% cents a ton by returning to werk before the Streator convention. He said the operators at Streator had,offered practically to settle at a figure equivalent to 80 cents in the Wilmington field. He

told the miners they, too, could secure the advance if they would but insist on it and suspend work until the union officials and operators could get together and settle on a uniform scale. Before Mr. Batchford had finished the mon were wildly enthusiastic, and when the vote was taken every man voted to resume the strike. From Braceville Mr. Ratchford and his brother officials drove across country to Coal City, where 400 miners were gathered. Speechmaking took up the entire afternoon. There was no dissenting voice on the vote to resume the strike for ten days or until the operators would agree to arbitrate. President Ratchford and several miners’ officials hold a conference at Streator with several operators Saturday morning. A. L. Sweet of Chicago talked for the operators. He declared he for one would never arbitrate. He said he did not know a man in the State whom he would trust to arbitrate a difference between workmen and employers. He believed the men always got the best of it. The indications are that the entire northern Illinois mining district will be tied up again. A letter from the district chairman at Springfield contained the information that a committee of miners had had a conference with Gov. Tanner on the Chinese proposition, and that the Governor had not only said that he would not permit the importation of Chinamen, bn t that there -should be- no Gatling guns to coerce the men back into the mines. The Governor said that if he found that the operators were building stockades about the mint’s lie would see that they were torn down. The Governor referred to the Chicago ex-policemen, who, it was said, were to be .sent there to protect nonunion num, and said that he would promptly send them back to their homes. To all outward appearance the importation of Chinamen has ceased to be a bugaboo with the miners, and there is scarcely one who cun be found now who believes that the companies will ever make such an attempt. They rest their cause on public opinion and say the operators will not dare to do that which they know would precipitate riot and bloodshed.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS MINING DISTRICT.