Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1916-01-20

Sc g. they connot forever adhere I
,a a. uresent policy of depressin
lle ros below a decent standard %
= Ns aSintsining a vast horde of helples
,immigrants in a condition OF econt
lli ;n smbserviency, throwing them o
alsritv during times of depression
ING less than living wage durln
i p1,os' of prosperity, and during al
.,n,os. brutalizing them either by m
Using .,,h excessive hours of employ
wsnt or by imposing the enforced lei
ar,a that breeds fear and pauperiza
ton" :,
ranort on the Youngstown STRIKE
md riot on January Z, made public
,,nav nv the committee on lndustrld
S SvI The author is George. T
%esf whose reports on the Colorado
.,npe and the Bayonne strike were
,a,nlIshed by the united States Com
,aission on Industrial Relations be
iore taat body expired on August 70
lg5
The strike and riot at Youngstown
.,ys the West report, marked the
n ginning of a rebellion that was
mont to spread throughout the steel
Industry. and that was checked only
nv the prompt action of ElDert II.
Gary chairman of the United States
Steel Corporation, in announcing a
IN ner cent increase for the 2S0,OOO
.,,lovoc IF that n0minalV.
The increase is asserted to have
been directly instigated by the
Youngstown strike, which began De
cember 20, nine days before the riot,
At the plant of the Republic Iron and
Steel Company. The report says:
"Of all the significant facts disclos-
ed by the investigation the most i'm
pOrtant was the conclusive evidence
that full responsibility for the situa-
ton there existing lies with the Nun
sgement of the United States Steel
Corporation.
Gary Advised Resistance.
Reports which received credence
in responsible quarters, came to the
writer in Youngstown to the effect
that officials of the Republic Iron and
Steel Company sought advice from
judge Gary. immEdiateT 81 J7r the
strike began, that he advised them to
resist an advance in wages, and that
later, realizing the danger of a gen
eral upheaval, he acted promptly to
avert strike and announced the 10
per cent increase, effective February
lSt"
Although neither the Republic Iron
and Steel Company, nor the Youngs-
town Sheet and Tube Company are
owned or. controlled by the Steel Cor
pOration. the report says, their high
est officers made it clear that their
wage policy is determined by that OF
the SteelnGofporation, and that they
conform Substantially to the condi-
lions of employment imposed by that
company
Worse Conditions Other Places.
In an introduction to the report. =.
N Manly director of the Committee,
and formerly director OF research and
for the United States
Commission on Industrial Relations,
asserts that conditions at Youngstown
among the employees of the Youngs-
town Sheet and Tube Company, and
the Republic Iron and Steel Company,
bad as they are, are better than those
prevailing in almost any other COM
Munity where steel is manufactured
either by the Steel CORPORATION or by
other independent companies. Mr.
Manly inN9lO had charge of the Unit
ed States Bureau of Labor Statistics
Investigation into living and working
in the steel industry Of the
entire country
Discussing the riot Of January Z,
IN which three strikers were killed
and twenty-five others wounded by
arnled company guards employed by
lae Youngstown Sheet and Tube Com
pany the report says:
Riot Natural OutgroWth.
The riot was the natural outgroWth
" spontaneous. unorganized REBEL
ol against an economic and industrial
regime SO oppressive and brutalizing
rs to overshadow the immediate pro-
'oatlon and render it comparatively
Insignificant.
Not only is there likelihood of a
.epetitlon OF the Youngstown riot at
~! one Of the large steel plants that
together employ nearly. 100000 men,
WI an investigation discloses that
.aen such disaster, shocking as it
"a ~S' must be regarded as trifling
=. "t'eh compared with the heavy toll
=, ueath and suffering that has. been
vac day after day and year after
10. s oy what have come to be re
s sta as normal conditions in the
S'eeI industry.
g., me prevailing demand to make for
~ labor in many large indus
g.. mas given the unorganized work
NIL, IN the steel industry the first op-
rrS oay accorded to them in many
HTS to register their protest against
s,as conditions without danger of
\, iney- We're about to make the most
TN .nlS opportunity not only in
~, vuHsstown but throughout the indus
T'n,. When the management of the
awos eu States Steel Corporation
n VAe 10 the danger. Whether the
ia PEI cent advance in wages erect
,ho,s FEBRUARY l will be sufficient to
IN me revolt remains to be seen.
", r'ioence is conclusive that the
b,s So policy of the Steel Corporation