The copper era and Morenci leader., 1917-10-05
RING DOWN THE CURTAIN

by Secretary of Labor Wilson, will arrive in the Clifton-Morenci district some day next week and the Ameri- can citizens of the District will be delighted to honor them. The Con- mission will find the citizens of Creenlee as loyal. as patriotic and as sacrificing in this critical period through which the nation is passing, as those elsewhere in this country and ready and willing to do their bit"
 Unfortunately, however, the Con- mission will find an idle district. Instead of this district supplying the copper industry of the country with 24,O0O.OO0 pounds of the neces- sary brown metal during the past three months, not single pound has been furnished.
 The Commission will further find that at least 95 per cent of the American citizens of this district, including American employees of the three large producing companies, were opposed to the strike in it's inception and are at this time op- posed to its continuance.
 The Commission will further find that in order to avert the strike, two of the producing companies of the district offered an increase in wages, taking into consideration the increased cost of living in the district due to war prices.
 The commission will further find that a representative of the Depart ment of Labor wired the employees of the district to await his coming, in an effort to conciliate the differ ences, before walking out, and tha. this request was refused, and finally the Comm ission will find that no organization or grievance committee in the district is willing to assume |. the responsibility of calling the strike but the responsibility is laid at the door of prominent labor lea der of the state who is no longer win us.
 Unless we mistake not the Con- mission will discover that hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages have been lost; the country has been de prived of millions of pounds of cop per. and the producers have suffered in profits, damage to their property, and irraparable losses because of a flare up on the part of the alien ele- ment of our population in an i'll ad- vised, hasty, and uncalled for strike which has crippled our only indus try; caused American citizens to leave their homes; brought heavy financial losses to every American citizen in the district and a heavy expense to every taxpayer in the county.
 Under these exasperating conditions and trying times the patriotic Ameri- can citizens have remained patient and law abiding. Our American young men have marched before the local exemption boards, waiving all exemptions, eager to serve their country, even at the sacrifice of their lives, while these same aliens rode through the district in automobiles with only one thought uppermost-- that of securing exemptions from any and all kinds of service at this critical time, and on the following day. resolving to continue the bas- tsrd strike Indefinitely. Shirking ali responsibility to cave the life of the nation, these aliens have gone even further, and, by their dominance of the industrial fife of the district have deprived American citizens Of their right to employment and crip- pied one of the important industries of the nation.
 Times are hard for all of us the country over, and the need of the ma jority and the deserving should come before personal, petty griev- ,ances It is a time for sacrifice on the part of all. The striker is not a patriot. He is iniuring the chances of his country in the war; he is Iessening the income at home thus hindering the finances of American Citizens of the nation in helping to finance this great war. Whether we favor the war or not, it is upon Us and we should each place will ing shoulder to the wheel and help bring affairs to speedy close. Our boys must have food. clothing and medical aid. Our armies must have ammunition. How can this district properly do these things when so many homes have not one cent to contribute and are themselves help