The Cordova daily times., 1916-05-08
Special Correspondence

ANCHORAGE. May l. - The dis patches of the past few days no doubt have told your readers of the progress of negotiations and final settlement of the strike, which tied up all operations on the government railway project here; but there are many incidents connected with this unique labor dis turbance" which have not been print ed. yet are of world wide interest. It was not a fight between labor and the government, as some of those inter- ested would have the public believe. It was a victory for justice and hon esty as much as one for labor. The lesson it taught will prove beneficial not only to the parties directly inter ested. but also to employers and em- ployees everywhere, as it established new precedents of far reaching import ance.
 You cant fight the government and expect to win," said friends of the Alaskan engineering commission, and the so-caled federal board of arbi- tration and concilation. The answer of those who had the audacity to pro test against further impOsitions and injustice was: "We are not fighting the government, but those here who are misrepresenting it." The first report of the labor commission grant
 ing raise of only IA cents an hour to common laborers, who comprise at least 80 per cent of the force, was re- iected by the union without an Oppos- ing vote. In the revised scale sent back to the commission, practically the only differences between that body and the union was in the items involv- ing common laborers and longshore- men, The commission offered 43 3-4 and 46 7-S cents for different classes of laborers and 56 1-2 cents for long shoremen, while the union asked 50 and 75 cents. While real arbitration was in progress Thursday for the first time, the wires between here and Washington were busy. Both sides made concessions. and late Sunday af- ternoon the amended scale was ac- cepted by the union by the customary vote of about 1000 to half dozen.
 The strike was so effective that within three days after the hour set the Alaskan engineering commission announced indefinite suspension of all work and laid off the few strike break CTS who had been working in the yards and construction camps. Station gang contractors and employees of the city were not interfered with The steam ship Aerolne. arriving from Seattle last Tuesday, was stopped fourteen miles down the arm and met by gov ernment tugs and lighters, with the expectation that steerage passengers and crew could be induced to act asI strikebreakers This plan failed, the passengers rejecting the alluring of fer of SIPS an hour. When the steam ship Farragut arrived a few hours later, both came up to the port, and so far as concerned the unloading of freight. the nothing doing" sign was displayed until the office force of the A. F. c. got busy and unloaded these vessels, as we'll as the steamer Alaska.
 It was at this stage of the game that the A. E. c. began cooperating with the union and proding the so called conciliators into life and ac-E tivity. In reality the strike was one man against both the engineering and the union, that one being Chairman Moffatt of the con ciliators. Learning upon his arrival that the Alaska Labor Union was an independent organization intended es- pecially for the benefit of Alaska, and not affiliated directly with the Ameri-