7 o'clock
Since you refuse him your labor on his own terms , he purposes by aid of the high fence and bayonets to forbid every one of you union men from earning an honest living . '' The strike committee decided to call a public meeting of all the employees of the steel works on the base-ball grounds at 7 o'clock the next morning . All the saloons that night were crowded , and loud denunciation of capital was indulged in by the strike leaders . Early the next morning a band of music marched up and down the streets where the employees resided , and by 7 o'clock nearly four thousand men had gathered . The chief spokesman was Captain O'Connor whose words evoked great cheering . He said , `` Friends , we meet this morning to strike for our freedom . How do you like being fenced out from your work ?