The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-06-21
WORK BY MEN OF
 GERMAN DESCENT
By HOLLAND

By HOLLAND
 New York, June 2o.-(Special.)-In every
 consignment of the output of one of the
 largest of American manufacturing in- l dustries care is taken to place red card so conspicuously that when the
 package Is opened it will instantly at tract the eye. Upon this card is printed the statement that every part of the commodity enclosed in the package or box has been thoroughly inspected and 1 found to be in perfect condition. There- ! fore if afterwards discovery is made that
 the commodity has been tempered with | it may be taken as certainty that the damage was done by some one who had access to the package after it left the factory Not one instance has been re- ported to this corporation of any damage. The corporation employees a considerable
 number of men who are either of Ger
 man birth or German descent. But it has been evident thus far that these wage earners have been loyal not only to
 their employers, but to the government. 1 Recently a report was made in this col
 umn of visit by Frederick F. Soaring to various industrial plants in the north
 west, especially at Milwaukee, where a great volume of apparatus is manufac- | tured with which to equip the vessels which are now in the course of con- sttuction. Many of the employees are men of German birth or descent. Nearly | 10000 heard MT. Soaring speak, and every
 one pledged himself to stick to his job I as long as the war lasts, to do anything | that President Wilson asks, and to do | an honest days work
 l The emergency fleet corporation, to whom intelligence of this kind was tele- graphed after each meeting, has ex- pressed qualification at the evidence ob-
 tained that the men of German birth or descent who are now employed in the 1 industries of the United States which
 are manufacturing equipment and mu- nitions of war, are pledging themselves , to give faithful days work and to do
 all tRat President Wilson asks.
 AS TT IS IN THE EAST
 MT Soaring has been for some days
 in Philadelphia, having been asked to visit that city and it's suburbs in order
 that he might address at the noon hour
 the great body of workingmen who are employed in the industrial plants. The I results of his visit confirm the view now
 taken in Washington that the great ma
 jority of workingmen who are employed
 in American industrial plants, especially
 those producing war munitions, who are
 of German birth or of German descent,
 are giving loyal support to their em- ployers and to the government.
 | Possibly the most interesting meeting which MT. Soaring held in Philadelphia vas with the employees of the Schutte- koerting company. This company, which l has never been taken over under the l alien enemy act, had gained very high | reputation for the quality of it's output. It was a German company in the sense that German capital controlled it and I the majority of employees were of Ger
 man birth or descent. They were and
 are now highly skilled workmen. When <, the company was taken over under the I alien enemy act there was recognition by the government authorities that it had gained the reputation of being un- suip passed in the manufacture of tool ma chinery.
 These skilled artisans assembled before MT. Soaring at the noon hour a few days ago. He spoke to them as he had already spoken to the skilled artisans of the Mississippi valley and of Minneap- l oils and St. Paul, and as he will in the
 course of a few days speak to the arti- sans employed in Cincinnati and St. i Louis industries. Every one of these
 birth or descent, held up his hand and with enthusiasm took the pledge to stick l to the job until the war ends, do an honest days work and do whatever Pres ident Wilson asks.
 Having met with gratifying success in this distinctly German industrial plant. as it was before the government took 1t
 over, Mir. Soaring addressed the em- ployes of the Westinghouse electric plant
 at Essington, Philadelphia. There are nearly 4o00 skilled workmen there em- ployed. Many of these are of German 1 birth or descent. The number is SC l large that it was necessary to hold two meeings, since there were not accommo-
 dations for all the employees at one meet | ing Every one of these employees gave his pledge and did it apparent not in any perfunctory or insincere manner, but with something like enthusiasm.
 | The next day Mir. Soaring addressed l the employees of the American Engineer ] ing company at the noon hour. All re- 1 sponded cordially to his appeal that they pledge themselves to give an honest days 1 " ''~>-"~ ever President Wilson asks.
 l The next day the employees of the Tin dell Morris company at Eddystone, where | is located one of the great intuition l plants, responded as cordially to the appeal made by MT. Searing as the skilled artisans in other industrial plants | had already done. That is true of the employees of the Federal Steel company as Chteser, of the Keystone Drop Forg- | ing company at Chester, and of the New ton Machine company in Philadelphia. l Here then were seven industrial plants
 with some 10000 employees established in | or near Philadelphia whose output is chiefly munitions or apparatus needed
 l. by the United States in carrying on the 1 war Many of the employees are of Ger man birth or descent. Yet in not a l single instance was there any refusal | to take the pledge. and furthermore al- most everyone of the employees attended these noon meetings. This experience combined with that of the Rev. pr.
 Eaton, who visited all the shipbuilding plants of the United States and ad- dressed the workingmen, tends to justify | the impression that the vast majority | of skilled artisans and wage earners who are of German birth or German | descent are now loyal to their employers and loyal as we'll to the United States. Of
 course there are spies and others who l would if possible do damage, but they | constitute. it is now believed, only a l small part of the number of individuals of German borth or descent who are now | in the United States.