educed hours of labor, especially in the building
trades. By 1891 the eight-hour day had been secured for all building
trades in Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Indianapolis, and San Francisco.
In New York and Brooklyn the carpenters, stone-cutters, painters, and
plasterers worked eight hours, while the bricklayers, masons, and
plumbers worked nine. In St. Paul the bricklayers alone worked nine
hours, the remaining trades eight.

In 1892 the labor movement faced for the first time a really modern
manufacturing corporation with its practically boundless resources of
war, namely the Carnegie Steel Company, in the strike which has become
famous under the name of the Homestead Strike. The Amalgamated
Association of Iron and Steel Workers, with a membership of 24,068 in
1891, was probably the strongest trade union in the entire history of
the American labor movement. Prior to 1889 the relations between the
union and the Carnegie firm had been invariably friendly. In January
1889, H.C. Frick, who, as owner of the largest coke manufacturing plant,
had acquired a reputation of a bitter opponent of organized labor,
became chairman of Carnegie Brothers and Company. In the same year,
owing to his assumption of management, as the union men believed, the
first dispute occurred between them and the company. Although the
agreement was finally renewed for three years on terms dictated by the
Association, the controversy left a disturbing impression upon the minds
of the men, since during the course of the negotiations Frick had
demanded the dissolution of the union.

Negotiations for the new scale presented to the company began in
February 1892. A few weeks later the company presented a scale to the
men providing for a reduction and besides demanded that the date of the
termination of the scale be changed from July 1 to January 1. A number
of conferences were held without result; and on May 30 the company
submitted an ultimatum to the effect that, if the scale were not signed
by June 29, they would treat with the men as individuals. At a final
conference which was held on June 23, the company raised its offer from
$22 per ton to $23 as the minimum base of the scale, and the union
lowered its demand from $25, the rate formerly paid, to $24. But no
agreement could be reached on this point nor on others and the strike
began June 29 upon the definite issue of the preservation of the union.

Even before the negotiations were broken up, Frick