Homestead : $b A complete history of the struggle of July, 1892, between the Carnegie-Steel Company, Limited, and the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel WorkersBurgoyne, Arthur Gordon
History
Homestead : $b A complete history of the struggle of July, 1892, between the Carnegie-Steel Company, Limited, and the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers
Burgoyne, Arthur Gordon
Homestead Strike, Homestead, Pa., 1892
The eclat with which the Homesteaders performed their part of the
political display in Pittsburgh encouraged them to repeat the
demonstration still more energetically in their own town. October 23 was
fixed as the date on which the cession of Homestead to the Democracy was
to be celebrated. On that evening the town was profusely decorated,
Chinese lanterns, bunting, starry flags and red fire contributing to the
picturesqueness of the scene. The parade, held in honor of Cleveland and
Stevenson, was headed by the best known Republicans in the district,
including such notables as Thomas J. Crawford, W. T. Roberts, Captain O.
C. Coon and William Gaches. Prominent among the emblems carried was a
live sheep painted black, beside which stood a man arrayed as a negro
wench. On the float occupied by this group was the motto, "This is
Protection." As the float moved along the street, men, women and
children strained their lungs with the cry of "Carnegie's Blacksheep!"
The success of the Homestead demonstration was the "last straw," and
Republican missionaries visited the benighted town no more.
The Hungarians continued to grow more and more restless as they saw the
number of men in the mill increase and the chances of their getting back
their jobs diminish correspondingly. All these foreigners belonged to
the laboring class and it was especially hard for them to stand the
strain of a long period of idleness. Arnold Frank, a representative of
the race who continued in the employ of the Carnegie Company, devoted
himself to quiet missionary work among his compatriots and took frequent
occasion to inform the newspapers that a break in the ranks of the Slavs
might be looked for at any time. Mr. Frank claimed to be the recipient
of daily applications for jobs from Hungarian strikers and that these
men were sick and tired of hardships endured for the benefit of an
organization which did not even admit them to membership. Slav leaders,
who were loyal to the Amalgamated Association, rebutted Mr. Frank's
statements, alleging that their fellow-countrymen received their full
share of strike benefits and were just as steadfast as any other class
among the strikers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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