Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-02
John A. Fitch Tells Steel Com
mittee Of Labor Conditions.
REASONS FOR CRITICISMS
Says Majority Work Twelve Hours
Daily; Some Seven Days Week.
HIS PROBE FOR SAGE SURVEY
Writer Made Study Of Conditions
in Pittsburgh Field in 1907
and 1908, He Says.

The Stanley steel investigating commit
tee today presented the unique spectacle
Of cross-examining an author when II
called John A. Fitch Of Pittsburgh to the
witness stand to explain his reasons for
criticising the United States Steel Cor
poration's treatment Of its employees. Mr..
Fitch is a schoolgirl. In 1907 and 1908
he made a study Of the labor and social
conditions OF the Pittsburgh field for the
Russell Sage survey. Later he incor-
porated his observations and conclusions
in book form.
These publications are the basis Of the
report Of the commissioner Of labor and
of the argument against the steel trust
made by Louis D. Brandeis Of Boston
during his two days attendance on the
Stanley committee.
Mr.. Fitch read his statement. He dts
cussed the profit-sharing plan Of the steel
corporation, its pension policy and Its re-
lief for injured workmen to the dlsad-
vantage Of the company. He dwelt on
the methods employed by the company to
discourage labor unionism and deduced
that this was inimical to the best inter-
ests of the laborer.
MY personal observation has been that
q majority Of the employees Of the steel
corporation work twelve hours q day, and
days a week. said Mr.. Fitch. He also
stated that it was difficult for the average
steel mill employee to earn $76S q year. the
minimum ascertaincd by the Associated
Cha ritieS of Pittsburgh as necessary for
the bare costs Of subsistence OF man,
his wife and three children In Pittsburgh.
Submitted Book to officials.
Mr. Fitch said that before his book
was published it was submitted to on
Gals of the Carnegie Steel Company.
One OF them, President A. C. Dinkey,
described Mr.. Fitch's views as biased"
the witness said. Mr.. Dinkey also OBJ
jeeted to one of Mr.. Fitch's quotations
OF the Carnegie company head, and Mr..
Fitch eliminated it, he said. In addi-
ton to his work for the Russell Sage
survey. MIR. Fitch said. he had been en-
ployed on similar work by Charles NJ.
Cabot of Boston, a large stakeholder In
the steel corporation. who has been
active in lettering the conditions Of
the workers in the Pittsburgh district.
Mr.. Fitch analy zed the pay rolls OF the
Carnegie Steel Company in Allegheny
county. Pa, for the committee. He said
his figures were given him by the presi-
dent of the company. Sixty per cent OF
the 1887 employees are not naturalized
citizens, and 10 per cent cannot speak
English, he said. His figures were from
the condition in 1901. he said. He divided
the foreign-born employees into three
classes-Teutonic. Celtic and Slavonic.
There were 5,705 white Americans on
the pay roll. ;S1 black. Americans 1,SD
Teatons. / ,4O1 Celts and 1908 Slavs and
1,O51 other employees. Mr. Fitch said OF
this whole number G54 employees were
under sixteen years of age and 2,O22 un-
der twenty years OF age.
Menace to the Country.
The steel corporation wields such an
enormous power that 1t is a menace to
the country" said Mr.. Fitch at the con-
cIusion Of his statement. Conditions of
work in the steel mills are demoralizing.
Thinking, red-bleoded workingmen do
not care as much about welfare work as
they do about their rights. They are not
as anxious for sanitation as they are for
Justice"
REPRESENTATIVE Gardner OF Massachu-
sets failed in his cross-exanination OF
the witness to get a statement that maya
zine and newspaper writer's write i'm
pressions that will coincide with their
employers opinions Of what the public
his opinion, to which Mr.. Fitch dis
agreed.
Il write what / think is right saSd
Mr.. Fitch. ut is a coincidence that l
write that which pleases my employer,
because my employer and myself agree
in what we think is right
Mr.. Gardner also gave his views on
uaicnism He said that in his neighbor-
hood men joined labor unions to get
E.2fer PAY and shorter hours. Mr.. Fitch
fiie: req with him