The Sentinel=record., 1918-02-19
STRIKE OF SHIP BUILDERS
Affected ALL LABOR
Without Ships to Carry War Muni.
tions and Supplies to the Allies and
the Troops of This Country Many
Industrial Plants Would Have Been
Forced to Close.

Washington, Feb. 1S.-President
Wilson's Intervention has terminated
the eastern ship yards strikes. Pc
ports tonight to the shipping board
from union heads in all districts in
which carpenters are out, said the
strikers would be back at work by
noon tomorrow.
William L. Hutcheson. president of
the Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners, who was due here today, did
not arrive, but is expected tomorrow
to take up the situation with gov
ernment officials. Although hereto
fore Hutcheson has declined to leave
to the ship building labor adjustment
board settlement of the carpenters
demands. officials believe that after
President Wilson's message of last
night, he at least will be willing to
renew relations with the board
The carpenters brotherhood it was
brought out tonight, was made a
party to the creation of the adjust
ment by the signature of its vice
president, but Hutcheson overruled
his subordinate's action This fact,
according to V. Everit Macy, chair
man of the adjustment board. is
causing the present trouble at Seat
tie, where carpenters are trying to
enforce a closed shop. All carpenters
in the western yards agreed to the
Pacific coast awards, Mr.. Macy said,
until they learned recently that
President Hutcheson had repudiated
Il.
William Blackman, director of labor
for the emergency fleet corporation,
issued a statement tonight declaring
that ship yard strikes threaten the
life OF organized labor in that a
shortage Of ships will force closing
of plants producing war munitions.
1T is only through shipyard labor"
he said, that relief to labor throgh-
out the country can come. Therefore
uncalled for strikes not only threaten
the safety of our armies in France,
but the very heart of labor itself
through the reduction in employment
which IS faced by millions of men
not engaged directly in ship yards
work
For this reason n ship yard strike
is in effect a lockout aimed at all
labor in the country and threatens
the very life OF organized labor it.
self.
ION the ship yard workers depend
the ability of other labor to obtain
steady employment. If a group of
ship yard workers tie up the ship
yards or fail TO give a days work,
not only will the resulting stoprage
of each mans work throw them ont
of employment but this stoppage also
will affect the employment of the
100000 swar workers as well as the
employment of the entire thirteen
million workers throughout the coun-
try.
Because of this fact. the labor
leaders of the country, including
Samuel Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor, have
entered into al agreement with the
navy department, the shipping board
and the emergency fleet corporation,
an agreement which has been kept
with scrupulous care by its signers
and enforced by a board, the very
personnel of which insures fairness.
81 wish there, now that the presi-
dent has personally taken action in
the carpenters strike to point out to
employees and to the members of orr
ganized labor throughout the country
that their own interests are vitally
at stake in this shipping matter and
that the whole force of their mighty
influence must for their own protec-
tion be used 10 keep the ship yards
running full time and block any at
tempt TO paralyze all the nations
business through strikes and trust the