Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-09-18
APPEALS TO
GOMPERS TO
END STRIKE
Chairman Hurley of Ship
ping Board Asks Aid of
Labor Chief.
EXTENSION OF
STRIKE is FEARED
Navy Contracts involved in Labor Sit
uation on Pacific Coast of Cost Plus
Percentage Of Profit TyPe-Marked
Wage Increase Paid by Firms With
Commercial Contracts Largely Re-
sponsible for Unrest.

washington, sept. 1o.-SHdiEIidli
Hurley, Of the shipping board, today
appealed TO President Gompers.' of the
Amesican Federation OF Labor, to stop
the strikes that are holding up ship
building on the Pacific coast. A con-
ference will be held today between
Chairman Hurley and Mr.. Gompers.
Chairman Hurley also conferred today
with Secretary Daniels on demands OF
men in government ship yards.
Secretary Wilson has telesraphed w.
T. Boyce, assistant commissioner Of
immigration at San Francisco to ten
der his offices as mediator or concili-
ator in settlement of the strike Of iron
workers and ship builders there.
Mr.. Boyce has been instructed to
keep in close touch with developments
and to advise the department of labor
here promptly concerning them.
Samuel Gompers. president OF the
American Federation Of Labor, has an
engagement to confer with President
Wilson late today.
Fear Extension Of Strike.
Extension Of the strike to mills pro-
ducing lumber for government ships is
feared by shipping board officials.
From Portland and Astoria, Ore, come
reports that striking carpenters we're
trying to persuade other workers to
gAlk ont and that lumber mills might
|; he affected.
The government marked .ims today
q efforts to settle strikes at San Fran
cisco and other coast cities, pending
srrival Wednesday or Thursday Of Off
cials Of Seattle company. which has
granted a high wage scale. Concili-
ator William Blackmon, Of the depart
menr Of labor, has studied the demands
OF the men but will take no other ac-
tion for several days. The shipping
beard is awaiting CO conpletc report Of
the San Francisco 1iluat.on from Capt.
A. r. Pillsbury. district officer Of the
BOARD for the Pacific coast.
Raise Dependent on Profits.
Shipping board officials favor a sub
stantial wage increase with sliding
scale for government participation.
The proportion of wage raises to be
paid by the government should depend,
Chairman Hurley Of the board believes,
on the profits Of ship builders. Some
officials have urged that the govern
ment pay IS per cent Of the increase
for companies making 10 per cent
profit or less and require profits OF
more than that amount to go into the
wage grants.
Navy contracts involved in the
strike, virtually all are Of the cost plus
a percentage Of profit type, adopted to
meet precisely the situation that has
arisen. When bids for destroyers,
cruisers and battleships were opened,
private builders said they could not
make fiat contracts, except at an ex-
traordinary advance in prices, because
they had no assurance as, to what lahor
might cost them before the contract
was completed.
Under the cost plus profit contract
the government would absorb some in
creased wage scale. So far no sugges-
tion that the navy department author
ized increases at the San Francisco
plant has been received.
One Company Blamed For Unrest.
Presumably the builders are not will
ing to grant the increases demanded by
the men on commercial work they have
in hand and are hopeful that an ad-
justment can be reached without set
ting the precedent of an advance scale
on the navy work.
It has been reported here that one
Pacific coast firm has number OF
commercial contracts at such prices
that It feels Justified in paying almost
any rate for skilled workers. The COM
pany. It is said, does not plan to stay
shin building business except to
complete its unusually profitable con-
tracts.