Denver labor bulletin., 1918-04-20

that made the report, was bound to
vote for it, but he said he had op-
posed this section 3 at all times in
committee.
Sterling of South Dakota, King and
Smoot of Utah, Fernald of Maine and
Calder of New York were paired
against labor on this vote, while half
dozen others who are generally op-
posed to labor were announced as be-
ing merely paired"
On the next day, Friday, an at
tempt was made to reconsider this
adverse vote, but the attempt was
beaten, 35 to 29. And among those
who voted against labor this time
were Gore of Oklahoma, Hardwick
| of Georgia, Lodge of Massachusetts,,
and Nelson of Minnesota The mo-
I ton TO reconsider was made by Jones
\ of Washington, who had voted against
the right to strike.
These are the outlines of the for
NAL action taken. To give a true
picture of what happened would re-
quire the quoting of long hours of
bitter debate-most of it devoted to
attacks on the attitude of organized
labor during the war, and to de-
mands that labor either stay contin-
ually at work, regardless of griev-
ances, or put on the Khaki
Thomas Assails Organized Workers.
Thomas of Colorado, King of Utah,
Sterling of South Dakota, Underwood
of Alabama, Williams of Mississippi,
Calder and Wadsworth of New York,
Fall of New Mexico, Myers of Mon
tana-theSe were among the sena-
tors who assailed the organized work
ers of the country for having struck
for higher wages and better condi-
tions in the war industries. Hollis of
New Hampshire, assisted to some eX-
tent by Pittman of Nevada, tried to
hold the defensive line for labor, but
the msssed drive of the anti-strike
forces, republican and democratic,
could not be stopped. Jones of Wash
ington had first suggested that organ
lied labor had not asked for any such
exemption rs contained in section 8.
Overnight he thought better of his
position. Knox of Pennsylvania
claimed that the right to strike was
not endangered, even after the sec
ton was thrown out, but other Senate
lawyers said that almost any reaction
airy judge would hold that the Ian
guage of the sabotage bill would for
bid strikes in any war industry.
The most painful surprise to or
ganized labor was in the vote of Sena-
tor Cummins- Next day he said, in
debate: There is but one alterna-
tive if we deprive the laboring man of
the right to strike. That alternative
is the settlement, final and conclu-
sive, by the government. of the dis
pute. l have believed that in peace
full times it was far better to permit
the strike than to assume this addi-
tional function upon the part of the
government. / believe, however, that
in this time, when the energies of all
the people of the United States are
imperatively demanded in order to
carry on successfully the war in which
we are engaged, we must give up for
the time being the right to strike; but
am not in favor of surrendering
that right thru legislation unless
something else is substituted for it."
He said that he would have pro-
posed, had he had the chance on the
day of the vote, that the bill be
amended to provide for government
tribunal to definitely decide industrial
disputes during the war, and that dur
ing the war there should be no cessa-
tion of work.
House May Prevent Adoption.
OF course, the national war labor
board. headed by Frank p. Walsh and
William Howard Taft, has already
been created by the President to de-
termine all industrial disputes dur
ing the war. but it has not the legal
authority to forbid any stoppage of
work 1t cannot legally enforce its
decisions upon the workers, and can
only punish employers by withdraw