The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 22, 1902, Page 1

VOLUME XCII— 0. 144. MEN PERISH IN'A WHIRL OF FLAMES Twenty-Nine Lives| Probably Lost in | Chicago. | Plant of a Sugar Re-| finery Nearly De- | stroyed. Intense Heat Prevents All Attempts at Rescue of the Workmen. CHICAGO, ¢ broke out shortl —By a fire which before midnight in the | Sugar Refinery, sit- | and the Chicago | was almost said that twenty-nine plant of the Gluc uated at Taylor reet facto entirely royed and it i men lost their lives. The number of dead has not been de- is known that the ding. All were work- fioor. The flames t a man who was | rd floor had barely | not thought by the concern or by the e men in the upper story ave avoided death. At midnigh 1 been taken from the ruine, | was burning so fiercely that ng company con- | ngs, the drying- | the main | and an- | f four stories. The fire | se, being caused ames spread with almost incred- 2 the time the first ritment had arrived the | ze from foundation to was impossible for the firemen effective fight against the | v ding was oIt 1 the walls FIREMEN “ARE POWERLESS. | n re was so hot that at one time it feared that th Ta or street viaduct, | ross which a is had to the south | side of the city, would be destroyed, but | firemen managed to save this after a gle. They ng bent every effort | -story building intense was the se that this caught | and at 12:30 a. m. | t even if it could b :1d be badly damaged. | the three lower | g-house ran for the soon as they had re and all of them £ the open air. On| e man was at work. | rom the fire escape b.\'1 of smoke that poured ng was compelled { is life down the stairs. of flames when doorway and was | the fourtee so0 1g-hou plag floor had no | ves. Several | and crawled | ar to reach a ut with the exception of | who attemped to reach de up their minds 1 went back effort e burning LEAP FROM THE WINDOWS. two however, men remained to | take their chance of a leap, and climt g up on the wind ledge they sprang the air. One of them came straight | wn for the greater part of the way, but n a short distance of the pavement his body swung around and he struck the stone waik at full length e other man turned over and over be came whirling dowr Their bodies | were horr mangled, and It was im- possible for any of the men who saw | them directly after their Jump to iden- tify F them in any way. other men jumped from the win- on the fourth floor. These were rribly injured and were taken in police | ambulances to the county hosy Two of them, who were able to gi t names to the police, are Joseph Bui. Paul Kauris. | was under control before 1 o'clock, and aithough it was not possible | that time to form any estimate of the of life the statements of the employed in the drying-house werc conflicting that the police declared that in their opinfon the loss of life would | 't be more than ten or twelve. Several of the men who made their escape from he lower part of the building said there s not more than ten men on the top fioor, and it is not thought there will be | loss of life among the men employed | y other part of the buflding. ank Rothenberg, a foreman working | the fifth floor of the drying-house, | his death in making a jump for a net | by the firemen underneath the win- | dow where he stood. He was cumpcl]edl leap far out in order to clear some tions on the side of the building missed the net by a yard. His skull crushed and he died instantly. who escaped with his dows al kos and f The fire men was Joseph Butkos, life but is badly burned and bruised, had better fortune in striking the net when he leaped from another part of the filth fioor. He hit it squarely, but being a heavy man he went through and struck the ground with terrific force. He was Cnnt;ued on Page 5, Column 5. | volved in the struggle in the hands of the | together for their first meeting on. Fri- | hands of the SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1902. PRICE FIVE CFNTS. STRIKE IN THE ANTHRACITE COAL FIELDS IS UNANIMOUSLY DECLARED OFF BY MINERS Wilkesbarre Convention Accepts President Roosevelt’s Plan of Arbi- tration and All Men Will Report for Duty FTER a bitter struggle lasting nearly seven months the United Mine Workers of America has decided to call off the strike in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania. This action was taken yesterday at Wilkebarre, Pa., where a convention of delegates representing 147,000 mine workers unanimously voted to accept the plan_af arb{- tration urged by President Roosevelt. All strikers were ordered to return.to t{wi; formex places of employment Thursday morning and report for work. .The Presi- | dent has summoned the arbitration commission to meet at Washington Friday morning. To-Morrow Morning. - PRESIDENT 'OF THE— Mg i ;- UOBITED JTATEV ILKESBARRE, Pa., Oct. 21.—With a shout that fairly shook the conven- | tion building the repre- | sentatives of the 147,000 mine workers who have | been on strike since last May officially | declared off at noon to-day the greatest contest ever made between capital and labor and placed all the questions in- arbitration commission appointed by the President of the United States. When the news’ was flashed to the towns and villages down in the valleys and on the mountains of the coal regions the inhab- itants heaved a sigh of relier. Many day have gone by since such welcome new was received. Everywhere there was re- Jjoicing and in many ‘places the end of the strike was the signal for impromptu | town celebrations. The anthracite coal | region, from its largest city—Scranton— | down to the lowliest coal patch, has suf- fered by the conflict and every one now | looks for better times. While the large | army of mine workers anG their familfes, | numbering approximately half-a sillion | persons, are grateful that work is to be | resumed on Thursdav the strikers have | still to learn what their reward will be. A THANKSGIVING DAY. President Roosevelt having taken prompt action in calling the arbitrators day the miners hope they will know by Thanksgiving day what practical gain they have made. The vote to resume*coal mining was a unanimous one and was reached only after a warm debate. The principal cbjection to accepting the arbi- tration proposition was that ne provision | was contained in the scheme to take care of those men who would fail to get back | their old positions, or would be unable | to get any work at all. The engineers | and pump men get Detter pay than other of mine workers and they did | not wish to run the risk of losing alto- gether their old places and being com- pelled to dig coal for a living. This ques- tion came up yesterday and was argued right up to the time adjournment was taken. No one had a definite plan to offer to overcome the objection and the report of the committee on resolutions, recommending that the strike be declared Off and that all issues be placed in the arbitration commission for decision, was adopted witnout the ques- tion being settled. A few moments be- fore adjournment, however, a partial so- lution was reached, when a delegate from the furthermost corner of the hall moved that the problem be placed in the hands of the executive boards for solution and his suggestion was adopted. URGES AN ACCEPTANCE. The principal speech of the day was by National Secretary Treasurer Wilson, who practically spoke for President Mitchell and the national organization. In 2 strong argument he counseled the men classes | strike was ended. to accept arbitration, the very plan the strikers themselves had offered, return to work and trust to the President’s tri- bunal to do them justice, The question of taking care of the men who fail to get work will be'a serious-one for the miners. There is no doubt that the executive boards will take care of the engineers, firemen and pumpmen, but there will be thousands of other classes f mine workers who will have to be icoked after. In some places hundreds will not bz able to get work for weeks, and in other localities where the mines are in very bad condition there will be no employment for many workmen for scme months. Now that the strike is ovér the volume of relief money will decrease and the lo- cal unions will be compelled to call upon the netional organization for assistance when the money in hand runs out. With | the close of the great conflict will also end in a few days, probably with the passing of this week, the assessment now ng levied upon all bituminous mine verkérs affiliated with the union. The officials who care to talk of the situation feel cenfident that the national body will come to the assistance and help all those who stood out during the suspension. SOME TO BEGIN TO-DAY. Hundreds of men needed to repair the miies and otherwise place them in condi- ion for operation will be at work to- morrow morning, the convention having decided that this was imperative in order to get the men at work quickly and satis- fy the country’'s demand for coal. All the locals will hold meetings to-morrow, at which instructions will be given the members regarding their application for { werk, President Mitchell received many con- gratulatory telegrams from all over the country after the news spread that the On his return to head- arters he was asked for an expression of his views on the action of the conven- tien and in reply he said: “I am well pleased with the action of | the anthracite mine workers in deciding to submit the issues which culminated in the strike to the commission selected by the President of the United States. The sirike itself has demonstrated the power and dignity of labor. Conservative, intelligent trade unionism has received an impetus, the effect of which cannot be measured. I earnestly hope and firmly belleve that both labor and capital have learned lessons from the miners’ strike | which will enable them to adopt peaceful, humane and business methods of adjust- ing wage differences in the future.'” NOTICE TO RESUME WORK. After Mitchell had notified President Roosevelt of the action of the conven- tion and had received a reply to the effect that the commission would meet in Washington on Friday, he sent out the official announcement through the press to the strikers that the strike was off. It was addressed to all miners and mine workers in the anthracite region, and was as follows: “You are hereby officially notified that it was unanimously decided to-day by the. delegates attending the special conven- tion that- all mine workers should re- port for work Thursday morning, Oec- ——— [ | o . | ! | A | ) e - — ————— — - % CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE UNITED STATES WHOSE PLAN FOR SETTLEMENT BY ARBITRATION OF THE ! ANTHRACITE COAL STRIKE HAS BEEN ADOPTED BY CONVENTION OF MINE WORKERS ASSEMBLED IN THE CITY OF WILKESBARR E. L - e o0 £ ; * tober 23, and that the issues that culmi- nated in the strike should be referred for adjustment to the commission appointed by the President of the United States. “We are authorized by the executive officers of Districts 1, 7, and 9 to cau- tion all those who resume work to exer- cise more than usual care in order that accidents to life and limb may be avert. ed. Owing to the condition of the mines aftcr an idleness of five months there will be great danger when work" is resumed. We are prompted to offer this advice by the fact that at thé close of the strike two years ago many more accidents and deaths occurred than take place when the mines are operating reg- ularly. “JOHN MITCHELL, President United Mine Workers of America. “W. B. WILSON, Secretary-Treasurer." President Mitchell has not made any arrangements regarding his future move- ments. He does not know whether he will go to Washington on Friday. The miners’ leader will act as the attorney for the men at all sessions of the com- mission, and will have with him several assistants. Headquarters here will be kept open probably until after the award of the arbitration commission is pub- lished. e W i DETAILS OF THE CONVENTION. Vote to Declare the Strike Off Is Unanimous. WILKESBARRE, Pa., Oct. 21—With the prospeet that President Roosevelt's proposal to arbitrate would be acceptad by a good majority, the convention of United Mine Workers resumed its work to-day in the Nesbitt Theater. The dele- gates were prompt in getfing down to work. As soon as President Mitchell ar- rived in the hall at 10:05 a. m. he called the delegates to order. The question of the reinstatement of ail men in their former positions was imme- diately resumed. The question before the convention was a motion to accept the recommendations of the officers to ‘call off the strike and submit all questions at issue to the arbitration commission. A delegate from the Hazleton region asked how the individual operators stood on the artitration plan. He called attention to the | fact that the arbitration made by the rafl- road operators did not contain the name | of John Markle or the name of any other individval concern. In reply Mitchell said | that while no individual operators had | signed the plan, he did not understand that they were against it. A delegate from Wilkesbarre said the superintendent of the Kingston Coal Com:- pany had promised to give work to all men who applied. This brought out con- siderable applause. An impassioned speech by another dele- gate from the Wyoming Valley followed. | He asked the men to stop talking about all getting back to work. He hoped the convention would take a vote by noon and | end the strike. In all victorious wars men have fallen and there would be some to fall in this one. REPORT OF COMMITTEE. At 10:40 the committee on resolutions ar- rived. The committee made its report at once. It was as follows: K We, the” committee on resolutions, beg that the following resclution be adopted and for- warded to Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America: WILKESBARRE, Pa., Oct. 21, 1902. Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, Washington, D. C. —Dear Sir: We, the employes of the various coal companies engaged in operating mines in the anthracite coal flelds of Pennsylvania, in convention assembled, having under considera- tion your .telegram of October 15, 1902, ad- dressed to John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Workers of America, which reads as follows: “I have appointed as commissioners Briga- dier General John E. Wilson, John E. Parker, Judge George Gray, E. E. Clark, Thomas H. ‘Watkins, Bishop J. L. Spalding, with' Carroll D. Wright as recorder. These names are ac- ceptable to the operators and I now earnestly ask and urge that the miners likewlise actept this commission. It is a matter of vital concern to all our people and especially to those in ouc great citles, who are least well off, that the mining of coal should be resumed without a ‘mement’s unnecegsary delay.” We have decided to accept the proposition therein embodied and submit all questions at issue between the operators and Mine Workers of the anthrdcite coal region for adjustment to | v dismissed from the positions you occupied be- the eommilssion. In pursuance of that decision we shall report for work on Thursday morning, October 23, in | the positions and working places occupied by us prior to the' inauguration of the strike. ‘We have authorized John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Werkers of America, with | such assistants as he may select, to represent us In all matters before the commission. JOHN MITCHELL, Chairman of the Convention. W. B. WILSON, Seeretary of the Convention. The debate on reinstatement was imme- diately resumed. One delegate strenuous- 1y objected to the adoption of the resolu- tions because no provision is made in them for the men who may fail to get work. The other side of the question was taken up by a delegate from the Panther Creek Valley. He said, “Let us go back; | we will all get work in the end.” SECRETARY WILSON SPEAKS. There were cries for the previbus ques- tion, but President Mitchell stopped this | by announcing that every man would be given a chance to speak and that he would not entertain a motion to vote so long as there was one delegate in the hall who wanted to be heard. National Secretary W. B. Wilson, the secretary of the convention, was recog- nized by the chair and voiced the senti- ment of President Mitchell and the na- tional organization in a strong speech. He said in part: It ‘seems to me a rather peculiar position for any of the delegates fn this convention to take after they have gome through a strugaie of five months and have secured as a resuit of that strugsle the acceptance of the terms of a settlement that they laididown when the strike began. When the employers refused to accept the proposition made by the miners, the miners said: ““We will submit the entire question to arbi- tration and abide by the decision of the arbitrators.” During the time the struggle was on the employers said: ‘““We will not concede an: thing; we will not arbitrate, and the miners cannot return to work until there is an un- conditfonal surrender.” ¥ Within' the past two weeks the operators { lutions, | the North Atlantic DEWEY WILL COMMAND A VST FLEET Interesting Phases of Caribbean Maneuvers. Two Squadrons Will Attack North Af- lantic Coast. Later All Vessels Engaged Are to Assemble Under the Navy’s Admiral. i Special Dispatch to The Call. CALL BUREAU, 1406 G STREET, N. W., WASHINGTON, Oect. 21.—Plans for the first phase of the Caribbean maneu- | vers have been perfected by the gemeral board of the navy, and were announced to-day by Rear Admiral Taylor, chief of the Bureau of Navigation. The first phase will be a search prob- lem in which the combined European and South Atlantic squadrons, with Rear Ad- miral Summer as commander-in-chief, and Rear Admiral Crowninshield as sec- qnd in command, will represent an cne- my aiming to strike at the North At- lantic Coast of the United States, which will be defended by the North Atlantic squadron under command of Rear Ad- miral Higginson. DEWEY TO TAKE COMMAND. The rules for this search maneuver will be the same as when Rear Admiral Higginson guarded the New England ccast last summer against the attack | of an enemy in the shape of a squadron commanded by Commander Pillsbury. If the combined European and South Atlantic hostile squadrons effect a land- ing within certain boundaries in a cer- tain time the strong defending fieet will have been defeated. The European and South Atlantic squadrons will assemble in the Gulf of Para about November 25. At the conclusion of the search prob- lem the three squadrons will assembile as a combined fleet under command of Admiral Dewey in Great Harbor, Isle of Culebra, The torpedo flotilla will be assembled a8 tHe sathe piace, " " The greatest naval force ever assem- bled” by the United States in time of peace will then engage in extensive evo- the exact nature of which Has not yet been determined. FIRST ON THE SCENE. The Olympia, the flagship of Rear Ad- miral J. B. Coghlan, commander-in- chief of the new Caribbean squadron, will be the first on the scene of mimic war. The Olympia will leave New York about October 24 for Porto Rican waters. She will be accompanied by three col- Hers, six coal barges from Norfolk and two from Pensacola. The colliers will carry heavy moering buoys and pilotage buoys, all of which will be put into po- sition in the waters around Culebra. The Wasp and other smaller vessels will leave for the zone of war a little later, together with the converted yachts, which will be used as tenders. Rear Admiral Higginson will assemble squadron at Hamp- ton Roads on November 15, and proceed at once to Culebra. @it b @ have entirely changed their position upon that point and they now say they are willing to sub- mit this matter to arbitration. Now, then, the question raised is in antici- paticn of the dismissal of some of the mea. You have not returned to work; you do not know yet whether or not you are going to be fore the\strike; but you are anticipating; you have already secured a proposition: the question of dismissal of those men, it they are dismissed, will be submitted to arbitration and the operators have agreed to abide by the de- cision of the arbitration commission. We canm just as well afford to meet them on that ground now as we could have afforded to meet them on that ground five months ago; in fact, we can afford to meet them on that ground now a great deal better than we could then. In view of the fact that even if some of the men are left out, and in view of the additional assurance given by the president of the Minec Workers of America yesterday that if any men were left out of employment the United Mine Workers of America would take eare of them until employment was found for them, I be- Heve it would be folly to risk the chance that you now have of ultimate defeat rather than accept the complete victory that is now be- fore you, Some of you say we,should not ac- cept this proposition now. Would It not be well to ask, “If you do not accept this propo- siticn, wha will you substitute for it? What wil: you put In its place? What has made your struggle the complete success it has been up to the present time?” It is the fact that it has been so handled as to command the ad- miration, the respect and the confldence of the entire American people. If them, you tusm down a proposition made in good faith by the President of the United States looking to & settlement of the difficulties now- existing, can you expect to retaln that confidence, that ad- miration and that redpéet of the American peo- ple that you have had in the past? You should accept it because it is the proposition that you yourselves made when the struggle began. You have won that which you were contending for. Now the proper course to pursue is to accept your own proposition made when the striks ‘began. SLAV CAUSES A LAUGH. The delegates in brief speeches took up both sides of the question with great earnestness. Those opposed to the prop- osition wanted specific assurances that they would be taken care of. During the debate three speeches were made in for- eign languages—Slavonic, Polish and Lithuanian, Three foreign-speaking dele- Continued on Page 3, Column 1.