The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-07-17
DISCRIMINATION
 ALLEGED TO BE IMPORTANT ISSUE

(Continued From Page One)
 problems based on the cost of living that would affect this present, and all other such controversies, it had been impossible for them to attend | the hearing.
 | Attorney Wallace made a brief | statement to the effect that he had | been in conference with the com plainants on the subject of discrim- nation, and that it was felt that the 1 wage question was essentially the | dominant one. Assurance had been | given that there would be a decision 1 of the War Labor Boardd by August | 1 and that it was desirable that the | main yquestfon, that of wages, be not i obseured or embittered by collateral | matters.
 MT. Wallace said: 'In regard to | the statements of the compliments | | of the discrimination that had been l practiced in 1915, 1916 and 1917, to- l | day were introduced without objec- i ton on our part having in view the l desirability if possible of avoiding in | quiry on the subject. A question has | arisen within the last day or two, 1 relative to the assurance that no dis | crimination would be practiced i against the men pending the award 1 of the board. It was as to whether l | or not that assurance applied to men discharged after July. 1915, up until i July 1 of this year, or only since July 1.
 "An inquiry was made to Chair man Walsh of the board and he re- piled that the assurance removed al! discrimination for membership in unions or for practicing legitimate activities in connection with the unions Men blacklisted on such grounds should be re-instated at once in their former employment, if otherwise acceptable to their em- ployers. For the Remington I ac- | cept MT. Walsh's ruling" MT. Hewitt at this juncture asked permission to introduce in evidence the story of Theodore Navigen, who claimed discrimination had been practiced against him. MT. Lavit was called upon to speak on the sub ject and he stated that Navigen had been driven from shop to shop and that he demanded to know the reason why this had been done to him, that his home was in Bridgeport and he wanted the right to work here.
 Hewitt stated that 1t seemed as If there was a concerted effort on the part of the manufacturers to keep Navgen from obtaining employmenht here and for that reason it was par
 ticularly desirable that his story be heard. Attorney Wallace stated he would not take the time to make a
 protest against this matter but that
 he wished to h1e a formal memor-
 andum of objection that would be
 gone into more fully later on. Fix aminer Stoddard granted his re- quest.
 Navigen was then called on and told at some length of the various at
 tempts he had made following his experience at the Ashcroft Manufac- turing Co. He was asked to go bach
 to work and help break a strike. This he refused to do and was discharged"
 From that time on his troubles began and he could obtain no employment
 He went to every factory in the city
 and finally was compelled to leave the city in order to get work.
 MT. Hewitt then asked for an exact
 status of the case as it was at the
 present time. He said that consider
 able unrest had been caused by the
 publication of a. set of principles is
 sued about a month ago by the Labor
 Policies Board which included the
 statement that no standard would be
 set that the present rate would stand
 as it was without further change. He
 said he would like to know how the
 Labor Policies Board affected the l War Labor Board. There was a fear if the Above were so this investiga- | tion would be to no purpose. Examiner Stoddard then read a t resolution passed recently by the La 5 bor Policies Board after explaining 5 that the War Labor Board was above ,. the Labor Policies Board and had a s definite jurisdiction and authority t The resolution was sent to the War
 Labor Board and is as follows: "Be it resolved, that it Is the un- derstanding of the War Policies ' Board that the general principles and policies governing the relations of g employers and labor adopted by the . War Labor Board and approved and . pronounced on by President Wilson - are incorporated and embodied as 8 [ part of the guiding principles and 1 policies of the War Labor Policies
 Board"
 The hearing was continued this af-
 ternoon.