El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-10-25

dominated by the influence OF Lue w tSt
ern federation that they were futile
the managers stated today they were
concluded
a lengthy statement issued by the
managers follows, in part:
with unvarying persistence the de-
Federation of Miners has attended each
Development of the situation which the
Federation agitators forced upon the
community that is now stricken It
has not been possible until the preset
time, when the details of this amazing
I conspiracy against industrial peace IN
Z Arizona have at last been laid bare. 10
acquaint the public with a complete
record of the case.
Lay All Blame on Federation.
The recently concluded conferences
. between the mine managers and strikers
committee supplied the final links OF
. evidence which proved that the Western
FederauOn's sole object was to force It's
! organization upon employees, mine man
! ayers and the state of Arizona. At
Z these conferences, the federation's de
. mands invariably were woven into the
Z issues TO such an extent that the mine
! managers were powerless to act in the
{ interests of their old employees
! Must Have Cheap Labor.
! The public cannot entertain a clear
conception OF the situation without
E knowledge Of conditions which prevailed
. as far back as the early SOS when
: the CliftOn-MOrenci district was
J opened
/ ~Mexicans were in a large majority
3 there at that time and they secured a
; large part of the employment to be
had only by utilizing this cheap class
4 Of labor were the mining companies
+ enabled TO undertake work in the dis
! tricL Ore bodies were small in com
parison with those Of other camps in
{ the state, and scattered over wide
! area Today. the Morenci miner can
deliver only two and half or three
/ tons OF ore for his days work In
camps more recently developed and in
which the introduction Of more economic
methods Of extracting and handling ore
is possible, six or ten tons Of ore per
day is the average per man AT the
present time. the average grade Of ore
mined in the Clifton-MOrenci district IS
continually falling. This results in
higher cost per pound of copper.
shut Down Following War.
Secret agents of the WesternFedera-
, tiOn Of Miners entered the district early
this year. when, on account Of the
European war. the companies were con-
( frOnted with the necessity Of striving TO
aid their employees in the face Of de-
creased output This was necessarily
attended by a reduction in wages. The
Shannon company had been compelled
to shut down entirely. The Detroit
company. seeking TO avoid the suffering
bound to result from shut down, en-
plOyed as many men as possible. cutting
down the hours of work for individual
, Workmen in order to increase the num-
Der employed.
The Arizona Copper company Cthe
largest operator in the districtl was
forced by the prospect Of certain loss,
10 shut down its entire Metcalf prop
erty. and the concentrating plant At
Clifton. Prior to the European war.
the wage scale was based on L to IS
cent copper No wage reduction was
Of the fact that copper had meanwhile
fallen as low as a TO Is cents
AIIeGe Wages Raised
Following Improvement in the mar
ket early this year. the managers Of
the companies adopted a sliding scale
copper This scale gave the employees
even higher wages than they had re-
ceived previously at corresponding cop
per prices"
Claim Organizers Were Uninvited.
The managers assert the scale was
satisfactory TO the employees until
Western Federation of Miners agitatOrs
and organizers appeared, ABSOLUTELY
unlimited so far as a request Of any
representative body Of men OF the dis
trict was concerned" according to the
statement. which describes the arrival
in June, July and August, OF secret !
agents" followed by Guy E Miller.
executive board member, and president
Grafton Of Miners. and others.
Call Employees For Conference
The mine managers. being aware or ;
impending trouble. called committees |
Of their old employees for conference.
the committees TO be chosen from the
various mining departments by the men
themselves These were to meet the /
three mine managers in Clifton on 1
August IS. They were told that no !
good would come Of affiliation with the I!
. Ffntrr Of Miners that the I
companies reaffirmed their policy o. K
advancing wages when conditions war
ranted such increase Advances en-
joyed by the men in the past would be /
amplified in the future. but such /
changes could not be arranged while I
the existing agitation Of the Western 1
Federation prevailed. and while the 1
agitators and organizers remained in /
the district.
Says Federation Opposes Mexicans.
The managers covenanted to deal /
directly with their employees as soon as
the Western federation influence was
eliminated. 1t was clearly explained TO
the men that the underlying motive OF
the federation movement was TO GUST
the Mexican employees from the district
During the ensuing two weeks the
federation organizers adopted holder
methods and by importuning. harasSinS
and prosecuting the men, succeeded in
forming a local organization of con-
siderable strength Not until then did
the companies take active measures by
discharging certain rinEleaders who
were guilty of fragrant breaches OF dis
cipline-
~AEftRtOrs Ask Conference
"On September IL two letters with !
demands from the agitators for a con-
ference with the Western Federation /
OF Miners were dispatched to each OF
the three mine company managers
The old employees OF the company had 1
submitted no detailed grievances to the
managers"
The statement then narrates the call
ing of the strike on September II un-
der the leadership of Guy F. Miller. J
The companies. il was said, were given
no time to protect their properties or 4
save them from destruction
Pickets Placed Around Plants.
THE federation stationed pickets in
and around the plants" the statement
continued. these pickets denied en-
trance even to officers Of the COM
panies-"
subsequently the plants were sur
rendered by the companies to the care
OF the sheriff
Claim Committees Were Handicapped. :
The companies managers deter
mined to appeal to their old employees
continued the statement: and agreed to
meet on September L a committee
representing the employees Of the Ari-
iona Copper company. The committee I