2:30
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 lodges knew him , was the recognized leader of the strike . He was not an employee at the steel mills , but an expert manager of strikes , receiving a good salary , and employed by the officers of the central union . At 2:30 o'clock a secret meeting of the officers of the several labor lodges and Captain O'Connor was held behind closed doors . All were silent , when suddenly O'Connor rose and began to denounce capital , charging it with the robbery of honest labor . `` Behold labor , '' he said , `` stripped to the waist , perspiring at every pore in the blinding heat of molten iron , shooting out hissing sparks . Pleasures for you laborers are banished ; your wives and children are dressed in cheap calicoes ; no linen or good food on your tables , and most of you are in debt . ''