The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1911-06-15
CBy National Socialis, Press

Washington, June 1.-THE House
Steel Trust Investigating Commit
Tee mas practically lodged the cor
poration's treatment of its 100000
employees in its examination of Judge
Gary. head of the trust.
AFTER examining and cross-eNamin-
ing Gary regarding the business re-
latlohs OF the trust for nearly five
DAYS. the committee only touched
the labor question Tor about five
minutes. and then Just before the
trust magnate was excused from fur
ther examination
Chairman Stanley's method of
dealing with the rotation of the
trust with its big labor army wos
superhcial. He read some flgures
showing that the Pennsylvania IRON
workers have gained little Improve
fnent in their working conditions I'm
the last ten years.
His statistics showed tl.at the nv
eraSe daily output of an ironworker
IN 1907 was 1.52 tons of mig iron
ana that it increased to 2.39 tons
IN 1909. On the other hand the av-
erase daily wage in 1902 was s1.S9
ana 1t increased only 20 cents in
1909, or 5000.
Not n member of the committees
Republican or Democratic, took Gary
10 task for this state of affairs. Not
one OF them called attention to the
marked contrast between thte low
wages and the big dividends which
Gary has admitted.
Bnt instead of grillinE Gary along
tnis line. the committee allowed the
steer trust head to tell that old
story of how the men are given ben
of
permitted to insert in the record tho
contents of two booklets which
praise tthe trust for its ..beneyo-
lence to the workers."
And this ended the labor inyes-
ngation as far as Gary was con-
cerhed The man who could tell
more about the labor conditions in
the "h"lls of the Steel Trust than
any other official of the corporation
was excused by the committee with
out even q question.
ihe same investigators on tho
other hand had exhausted all their
energy to get Gary to admit that the
trust had mistreated independent
com npanies. The committee was ever
alert to bring out points showing
that capitalist here or there had
p"en injured by the trusts methods
- - INtIS 1nOuSn tnat the COM
mittee may later take up the labor
uueS'ion. This would be done to
discredit the trust from n politica1
Standpoint. Should the committee
1all to get any campaign material
from the business record of tho
trust II would not he surprising that
me committee should later take up
the lahor end of this Investigation
But 10 date the committee has
ignored labor. It has excused Gary
without delving into the trusts in
human treatment OF nearly n half
million workers. IT has sought TO
protect the dollar. but not the man.
Wisconsin for New Constitution.
the Wisconsin State Legislature
mas adopted joint resolution in
favor of national constitutional
convention which was first proposed
in Congress by Socialist Represen-
tative Berger on April 10 last.
One of the big States of the Tn
ION now agrees with Berger and the
Socialists that the Constitution is
ahtlpuated and obsolete" The
joint resolution provides:
Section l. That the Legislature
OF the State of Wisconsin in accord
ance with the provision in Article
of the Constitution of the United
States. desires to 1cin with other
states of the Union. and respectfully
request that n convention of the sew
eral States be caileo for the purpose
OF proposing amendments to the Con-
Stitution of the United States, and
fereDy apply to and request the
Congress of the United States to
call such convention. and 10 provide