CHAPTER XII
THE STRIKE AT HARRISVILLE
Labor strikes are terribly disagreeable things to encounter whether inthe daily routine of steel mills and railways, or in the kitchen beforebreakfast on blue Monday. Especially inconvenient are strikes in steelmills when the order books are full as were those of the Harrisville Iron& Steel Co. That the company had large orders could not possibly beconcealed. Vast quantities of ore, limestone, and coke were beingdelivered daily at the mills. Never were more men on the pay-roll, andall the machinery of the gigantic plant was crowded to its utmost nightand day. That business had improved was evident to everybody.
In love and war all things are fair, and the same principle, or lack ofit, seems to control most modern strikes. No doubt what young AlfonsoHarris told his mother on the steamer was true, that the labor agitatorswere advised of Reuben Harris's plan to sell the steel plant to anEnglish syndicate. Souls of corporations decrease as the distance betweenlabor and capital increases, and naturally American employees opposeforeign control of every kind.
For more than a year the employees had accepted reduced wages with theunderstanding that the old scale should be restored by the company assoon as times improved and the business warranted. That the employees hadtimed their strike at an opportune moment was apparent even to stubbornReuben Harris. It was galling indeed to his sensitive nature and proudspirit that his project of selling the steel plant for millions shouldhave failed.
As he kissed his wife good-bye on the steamer in New York, her lastwords were, "Reuben, stand up for your rights." Her avaricious spirithad always dominated him.
Before Reuben Harris left his city office for his home he had arranged,in addition to the precaution taken by the mayor, to dispatch to themills and homes of his employees twenty-five special detectives incitizens' clothes, who were to keep him fully advised as to the doingsof his employees about the mills and in their public and privatemeetings. He had given his men no concessions in a previous strike whichlasted for months. He would neither recognize their unions nor theirdemand for shorter hours.
It was true he had risen to be a millionaire from the humble position ofa blacksmith, but he was always severe in his own shop. Every horse mustbe shod, and every tire set in his own way. He heated, hammered, andtempered steel just as he liked, and if anybody objected he replied, "Goelsewhere then." To have one's own way in life is often an expensiveluxury. In his first great mill strike Colonel Harris lost most of hisskilled labor and the profits of half a year. His own hands and those ofJames Ingram became callous in breaking in new employees.
Gertrude had arrived on the evening of the third day of the strike, andhad busied herself in unpacking her trunk. She knew her father too wellto talk much to him about the strike. While waiting in the drawing-roomfor her father, knowing that George was too busy to come to her, she hadwritten to her lover as follows:--
At Home
_My Darling George_,--
I wish you were here safe by my side. How I hate strikes, they are so like a family quarrel on the front porch. Everybody looks on in pity, husband and wife calling each other names, and breaking the furniture, and innocent little children fleeing to the neighbors for protection. Strikes are simply horrid. Can't you stop it? Labor and capital are like bears in a pit with sharpened teeth tearing each other's flesh. Of what use is our so-called civilization if it permits such brutal scenes? George, the lion in father is again aroused. There is no telling what he will do this time.
It was cruel of the employees to stop his sale to the English syndicate. Something terrible is going to happen. I feel it. I dreamed about it last night before I left Niagara. You must counsel moderation. I am so glad mother is not here to counsel severity. In the morning I shall put my hand on father's arm, and say, "Father, I have been praying for God to help you."
I read in the _Evening Dispatch_ that the employees claimed an increase of their pay because promised by the company when times improved; that the company now flatly refused to restore the old wages; that the mayor of the city had sent fifty policemen to guard the mills, and that the 4000 employees in an enthusiastic public meeting had resolved to continue the strike.
George, you are in a very trying position. The company of course depends on your loyalty, and the employees also have great confidence in your fairness. What can you do? If disloyal to the Company, you lose your position. What more can I do, except to pray!
Above all, my dear, be loyal to your conscience and do right. Be just. Come and see me at your earliest possible moment.
Your own loving
Gertrude.
Gertrude's brave letter reached George before ten o'clock the nextmorning, and greatly cheered him. He was never more occupied, but hesnatched a moment to say in reply:
Office of The Harrisville Iron & Steel Co.
_Dearest Peacemaker_,--
Glad for your heroic letter. It sings the peace-song of the angels. I shall be guarded in my words and actions. Good things, I hope, will result from all this terrible commotion. I confess I see only darkness ahead, save as it is pierced by the light of your love.
We have a thousand men this morning building a fence eight feet high around our works. It looks like war to the knife under the present policy. Of course I can't say much till my opportunity comes, if it ever does.
Believe me, darling Gertrude,
Wholly yours,
George.
The note was dispatched by special messenger. Its receipt and contentsgave comfort to Gertrude.
Colonel Harris left his breakfast table almost abruptly. One egg, a pieceof toast, and a cup of coffee were all he ate. It was an earlier mealthan usual which the Swiss cook had prepared, and by half past sixColonel Harris started from home to his office, Gertrude from her chamberwindow kissing her hand to him, saying, "Keep cool, father!"
By seven o'clock he and his capable manager were busily using the twooffice telephones. Before nine o'clock, all the teams of several lumberfirms were engaged in hauling fence posts, two by four scantling, andsufficient sixteen foot boards to construct a fence eight feet high aboutthe entire premises of the Harrisville Iron & Steel Co.'s plant.
This early action of the company for a time confused the strike managers,as they could not divine whether Colonel Harris in a fit of despairplanned to fence in and close down his mills, or, perhaps, once gettinghis plant enclosed, purposed to eject all members of labor organizations,and again as in a former strike, attempt to start his plant withnon-union labor.
The leader of the strike was a brawny man with full beard, unkempt hair,and a face far from attractive. "Captain O'Connor," as the labor lodgesknew him, was the recognized leader of the strike. He was not an employeeat the steel mills, but an expert manager of strikes, receiving a goodsalary, and employed by the officers of the central union. At 2:30o'clock a secret meeting of the officers of the several labor lodges andCaptain O'Connor was held behind closed doors. All were silent, whensuddenly O'Connor rose and began to denounce capital, charging it withthe robbery of honest labor.
"Behold labor," he said, "stripped to the waist, perspiring at every porein the blinding heat of molten iron, shooting out hissing sparks.Pleasures for you laborers are banished; your wives and children aredressed in cheap calicoes; no linen or good food on your tables, and mostof you are in debt."
This and more Captain O'Connor said in excited language. Finally heshouted, "Slaves, will you tamely submit to all this indignity and notresent it? The managers of the Harrisville Iron & Steel Co. are tyrantsof the worst sort. They are fencing you out to-day from the only field onwhich you can gain bread for your starving wives and children.
"Reuben Harris cares more for his gold than for your souls. Since yourefuse him your labor on his own terms, he purposes by aid of the highfence and bayonets to forbid every one of you union men from earning anhonest living."
The strike committee decided to call a public meet
ing of all theemployees of the steel works on the base-ball grounds at 7 o'clockthe next morning. All the saloons that night were crowded, and louddenunciation of capital was indulged in by the strike leaders. Early thenext morning a band of music marched up and down the streets where theemployees resided, and by 7 o'clock nearly four thousand men hadgathered.
The chief spokesman was Captain O'Connor whose words evoked greatcheering. He said, "Friends, we meet this morning to strike for ourfreedom. How do you like being fenced out from your work? What will yourfamilies do for a roof when the snows come and you have no bread for yourchildren? We are assembled here not for talk, but for action. I hold inmy hand a resolution which we must pass. Let me read it: 'Resolved, thatwe, the employees of The Harrisville Iron & Steel Co., having been drivenout of our positions by a soulless corporation which promised a return toformer wages when the times improved, will not re-engage our services tothe Harrisville Iron & Steel Co. till the promised restoration of wagesis granted." This resolution was unanimously carried, with hurrahs andbeating of the drums.
"Bravo men! Here is another resolution for your action," and CaptainO'Connor read it as follows: "American citizens! In the spirit ofbrotherly love we appeal to you citizens and taxpayers of Harrisvillefor fair play. Four years ago the employees of the Harrisville Iron &Steel Co. bowed before the law, and we should continue to do so had wenot discovered that the law, the judges, and the government seem to befor the rich alone. But we prefer liberty to slavery, and war tostarvation. Again we lay down our tools and seek to arouse publicsympathy in our behalf. Again we plead the righteousness of our cause,and may the God of the poor help us."
This resolution was carried with shouts and the throwing up of hats. Theband began playing, and the procession headed by Captain O'Connor and hisassistants moved forward.
A third of the sober-minded of the employees soon dropped out of theprocession, while three thousand or more, many of them foreigners, wereonly too glad to escape the everyday serfdom of a steel plant. All werearmed with clubs and stones. When O'Connor from the hill-top looked backupon the mob that filled the street down into the valley and far up theopposite hill, his courage for a moment failed him.
"What shall I do with this vast army?" he said to himself. Just thenthe employees made a rush for the company's furnaces by the riverside,filling the yards and approaches, shouting "Bank the fires! Down withcapital!"
The big engines were stopped and the furnaces were left to cool.Frightened faces of women and children filled the door-ways and windowsof the many little brown houses on the hillside. Success emboldened thestrikers whose numbers were now greatly augmented. Again the band playedand the strike managers shouted, "Forward!"
The route taken was along an aristocratic avenue where the wealthyresided. Windows and doors were suddenly closed, and the terrifiedoccupants forgot their riches, their diamonds, and their fine dress,and thought only of safety. Vulcans of the steel works, each armed witha club, occupied the avenue for two miles. Evidences of hunger andvengeance were in their faces and sadly worn garments were on theirbacks.
Prominent citizens now hurried to the mayor's office, where the chiefexecutive was found in conference with some of the labor leaders. Themayor was told that unless he acted promptly in restoring peace andprotecting property, a citizens' committee of safety would be organized,that he would be placed under arrest, and the mob driven back. At oncethe mayor sent one hundred policemen in patrol wagons in pursuit of therioters. The latter had already battered down the great doors of thescrew-works, and hundreds of employees, men, women, and children, weredriven out of the factory. The president of the company was beaten intoinsensibility. Adjacent nail works were ordered to close and allemployees were driven into the streets. Finally, near night, the strikerswere subdued by platoons of police and forced to return to their homes.
The mayor issued his riot act, which was printed in all the eveningpapers and read as follows:
TO THE CITIZENS OF HARRISVILLE AND THE PUBLIC GENERALLY.
In the name of the people of the State of Ohio, I, David A. Duty, Mayor of the City of Harrisville, do hereby require all persons within the limits of the City to refrain from unnecessary assemblies in the streets, squares, or in public places of the City during its present disturbed condition, and until quiet is restored, and I hereby give notice that the police have been ordered, and the militia requested to disperse any unlawful assemblies. I exhort all persons to assist in the observance of this request.
David A. Duty.
_Mayor._
The mayor telegraphed to the governor for troops. The governor respondedpromptly, and ordered the First Brigade to be in readiness, and to reportat 5 A.M. next morning in Harrisville, with rifles, cannon, Gatling andHotchkiss guns and ammunition. Orderlies went flying through the citywith summons that must be obeyed. The signal corps flashed their greenand red lights from the tower to distant armories. Ambulance corpshastened their preparation, packing saws, knives, lint, and bandages.
Imperative orders from general to colonels, to majors, to captains, tocorporals tracked the militia men to their homes, and to their placesof amusement. By midnight every military organization in Harrisville wasunder arms. The general with his staff was at his headquarters and readyfor action.
Before sunset Colonel Harris had his steel mills enclosed by a highfortress-fence; many agents were dispatched to other cities to advertisefor, and contract with, skilled labor for his mills. On his way home, hecalled again on the mayor, also at brigade headquarters, and satisfiedhimself that his property would be protected. In forty-eight hours fivehundred new workmen had arrived, and in squads of from twenty-five tofifty they were coming in on every train.
Colonel Harris, experienced in strikes, knew just what to do. A greatwarehouse in the board enclosure was converted into barracks and suppliedwith beds, and kitchens, and an old army quartermaster was placed incharge. The new men on arrival were taken under escort of the soldiersto the barracks, and were rapidly set to work under loyal foremen.
In a single week Colonel Harris had secured over fifteen hundred new men.Smoke-stacks were again pouring forth huge volumes of smoke. The renewedand familiar hum of machinery was audible beyond the high board fence.This activity in the mills was to the old employees like a red flagflaunted before an enraged bull. Inflammatory speeches were the orderof the hour. It was three o'clock on the eighth day of the strike, whenthree thousand of the old employees left their halls and marched directlyto the steel mills. Hundreds of women and children joined the longprocession.
The strike leaders in advance carried the American flag, and their bandplayed the "Star Spangled Banner." Most of the men, and some of thewomen, carried clubs and stones. Radicals concealed red flags and pistolswithin their coats. Detectives reported by telephone the threateningattitude of the strikers to Colonel Harris at his home, to Manager Thomasat the mills, and to the mayor who ordered more police in patrol wagonsto proceed immediately to the steel works. Following the police rode theHarrisville Troop, one hundred strong. Gertrude would not let her fathergo to the steel plant, so he sat by the telephone in his own house.
Captain Crager in charge of the fifty police on guard in and around thesteel plant at once concentrated his force at the great gateway leadinginto the fenced enclosure. His men were formed in three platoons, thereserve platoon being stationed fifty feet in the rear. Captain Cragerhimself took position in the center of the first line. He had time onlyfor a few words to his men. "The city expects each policeman to do hisduty. No one is to use his revolver till he sees me use mine. Standshoulder to shoulder, use your clubs, and defend the gateway."
Probably not one of his fifty men had ever read of the 300 Spartan heroesat Thermopylae, who for three days held at bay the Persian army of fivemillions. To pit fifty policemen against three thousand enraged strikerswas too great odds. Captain Crager's orders were "to defend theproperty of the steel company." The reserve police force and troops enroute might or mi
ght not reach him in time. The strikers purposed drivingout of the mills all the non-union men, and taking possession. Nearercame the mob, determined to rule or ruin, O'Connor in the lead holdingthe Stars and Stripes. The last fifty feet of approach to the gateway,the mob planned to cover by a rush. On they came swinging their clubsand filling the air with stones.
Captain Crager and his platoons used their short iron-wood clubsvigorously. The strikers' flag was captured. O'Connor fell bleeding.Right and left, heads and limbs were broken. Women screamed and strongmen turned pale. The whole mob was soon stampeded and the rioters fledlike animals before a prairie fire. Those strikers who looked back sawthe approach of more patrol wagons loaded with police, heard the clatterof horses' hoofs, and the heavy rumbling of artillery, and they knew thatthe city's reserve forces had arrived. A battery of Gatling guns at oncewheeled into a strategic position. The police and troop occupied pointsof advantage, and soon the victory was complete.
Within thirty days over four thousand employees, mostly new men, were atwork in the steel mills. Policemen and detectives, however, were stillkept on duty. Colonel Harris was frequently congratulated on his secondtriumph, and orders for steel rails were again being rapidly filled.
Most of the strike leaders left the city, some threatening dire revenge.Many of the employees, who had lost their situations, were alreadysearching for work elsewhere. All who were behind in their payments ofrents due the company, were served with notices of evictment, as thetenements were needed for the new employees. Wives and children werecrying for bread. In sixty days labor had lost by the strike over twohundred and fifty thousand dollars, and capital even more.
* * * * *
It was in August. The moon had set beyond the blue lake, and the myriadlights of heaven were hung out, as George and Gertrude alighted fromtheir carriage in front of Colonel Harris's residence. They had been tothe Grand Opera House, where they had witnessed Shakespeare's "MidsummerNight's Dream," beautifully played by Julia Marlowe and her company.Between the acts, George and Gertrude talked much of the strike, of labortroubles in general, and earnestly discussed the possible remedies.
Reuben Harris, who had awaited their return, hearing the carriage driveup, extended a cordial welcome. His hand was on the knob of the frontdoor, which stood half open, when the sky above the steel mills suddenlybecame illuminated and deafening reports of explosions followed. Thedoor, held by Harris, was slammed by the concussion against the wall, theglass in the windows rattled on the floor, the ground trembled, Harrisseized George's arm for support, and Gertrude's face was blanched withfear. Fire and smoke in great volumes were now seen rising above thesteel plant.
George ran to the telephone, but before he could shout "Exchange," a callcame for Colonel Harris from his night superintendent, who announced thatthe engines and batteries of boilers had been blown up, and that all themills were on fire. The chief of police telephoned that he had sent onehundred more police to the mills; the chief of the fire departmenttelephoned that ten steamers had been dispatched. George dropped thetelephone, kissed Gertrude, and on the back of her Kentucky saddle horseflew into the darkness to direct matters at the mills as best he could.
The next morning's _Dispatch_ contained two full pages, headed,
"The Deadly Dynamite!
Frightful Loss of Life, and Destruction of Property at The Harrisville Iron & Steel Plant.
"One hundred employees were killed outright, and hundreds more were wounded. All the mills were either burned or wrecked. Many women and children were also injured. Five hundred tenement houses were damaged, and the windows of most of the buildings within a half mile of the mills were badly broken."
Next morning the citizens of Harrisville were wild with excitement.Ringing editorials appeared in all the morning and evening journalsdeclaring that "Lawlessness is anarchy," and that "Law and order mustprevail."