Denver labor bulletin., 1917-03-10
SIXTY-FOIJRTH CONGRESS DID NOT
ADVANCE CAUSE OF AMERICAN LABOR
Measures Died in Senate When War Fever
Absorbed Legislative Interest; Attacks Fundamental
Rights of Workers Were Successfully Coun-
tered By the Labor Group.

kinds of armament, and who wanted to
enforce immediate compulsory mill
tary service and to exalt the military
above the civil power in the govern
ment. AS the likelihood of war with
Germany has increased, the militar-
labor group has had to content itself
with trying to get as much as pos
sible of the work of preparing for
war-the manufacture of ships and
guns and munitions, etc.-done direct
ly by the government, so that private
profit might at least be eliminated
In this connection it may be discov-
cred, when President Wilson has
signed the last bill permitted to pass
thru the filibuster in the senate, that
a really notable advance has been
made. Government shipyards will
henceforth be able to produce mer-
chant vessels as well as ships of war,
and the union scale of pay and of
hours in these government yards will
set the standard for private yards
that must compete with them for bus
mess. So with various other manufac-
turing enterprises now in the balance.
Replace Asiatic Sailors.
Chairman William Denman of the
shipping board, who has been try
ing to get the senate to pass a bill
permitting the United States, in time
of war, to impress into the American
merchant marine all vessels under
construction in this country for for
eign owners, says that the board is
going to try to set new standards of
operation of merchant vessels, wheth-
er it gets the 100000 tons of Norwe-
gian ships now building in American
yards or not. 1t is going to expert
ment with some proposed improve
ments in the Pacific carrying trade
especially, when the time is ripe. 1t
is likely that it will try to work out
some plan whereby white sailors can
replace Asiatics in ships crossing the
Pacific.
Denman is one of the few success
ful maritime lawyers who dared to
come to the defense of the seamen's
act before it had been passed. He was
boycotted by various shipowners on
that account, but managed to get the
last laugh by heading the board which
will now have the regulating of ocean
and coastwise shipping. His board
will buy or build S50,00O,0OO worth
of ships as a starter, and will charter
them out to private operation, under
strict terms as to sailings. rates and
policy of management. Where exist
ing lines are discriminating in favor
OF certain big customers, or where
trading companies run their own ships
and refuse to give equal treatment to
the shipments made by rival traders,
the board will run "fighting ships" to
hammer down their rates.
Build a a,Merchant Fleet.
If this experiment in regulation
does not work, after complete try
out, the board will probably come back
to congress with proposal that the
government proceed to buy or build
big fleet of merchant ships, costing
possibly S500,000,000, to carry Amer
lean goods to South American and As
iatic ports. Once this policy is decided
upon, government ownership and op-
Grafton of shipping, tied up with white
domination Of the seas, will become a
real political issue. 1t cannot be ex-
pected that any government merchant
ship would be sailed by an Asiatic
crew. This shipping board seems to
have in its hands the key to final So
luton of the problem of coolie- manned
shipping.
Gompers Cables to Japan.
President Gompers of the American
Federation of Labor, has cabled to
Bunji Suzuki, president of the Labor
ers, Friendly Society of Japan:
The most important immediate
uuty OF our labor movement is to use
every Influence in our power upon the
governments Of Japan and the United
States to maintain the best possible
relations between our respective coun-
tries and endeavor to amicably solve
vexatious problems"
Suzuki has answered: Cooperate
for labor and humanity"
This exchange of greetings is the
result of Gompers' inability to go to
Japan this spring to assist the new
labor movement there, as authorized
by the recent Baltimore convention.