The labor standard., 1918-04-15
EATERS CHARGED
 WITH VIOLATING
 COURT INJUNCTION
Officers and Several Members
 of Danbury Hat Makers , Union on Trial Before Judge ,, Kellogg of Superior Court in
 Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT-The Danbury hat ters seem to be having more than their share of trouble of late relative to obtaining working agreements with certain hat manufacturers in Danbury-more especially those manufacturers who recently declared for the so-called "open shop"
 The officers and about dozen mem bers of the Hat Makers Union of Dam bury have been on trial in this city before Judge Kellogg in the Superior court charged with contempt in vio- lating an injunction of the court. The charges were preferred by the United States Hat Company, a combination of Danbury hat manufacturers. The matters went on strike against this company last year, and the company secured an injunction restraining the union matters from interfering with the strikebfeakers. It is now con- tended that the strike-breakers were threatened with violence and were assaulted when they refused to join the ranks of the union matters. This the union matters deny very strenu- ously. The trial has lasted several days.
 Thomas M. Cullinan of Cullinan & Cullinan of Bridgeport is attorney for the union matters, and Ralph O. Wells of Hartford, a corporate lawyer, is counsel for the United States Hat Company.
 The union matters testified that many of the brawls that took place in Danbury during the early stages of the strike were between the strike breakers themselves, generally a lot of foreigners unable to speak the English language, brought to Dan bury for the sole purpose of defeat ing the union matters in their effort to obtain wage scale agreement with the hat manufacturers.
 Secretary John O'Hara of the Hat Makers. Union was "grilled'' for sev- eral hours by Attorney Wells who attempted to prove to the court that Mir. O'Hara had visited the homes of some of the strike breakers and threatened them, and that Secretary O'Hara also had ignored the order rf the court regarding the injunction Attorney Wells was not successful in his attempt to have MT. O'Hara admit that he had violated any law or court Injunction.
 President Scully of the Hat Makers Union and several other. members of the union sustained Secretary O'Hara in his testimony, all claiming that the officers or members of the union had not violated the injunction and did not intend to at any time.
 The hat manufacturing firms of F. III. Lee Company, John w. Green & Sons, and H. McLaghlan & Co.,, are also involved in the case. .--
 F.. E.. Greenwalt, conciliator of the Department of Labor, is on the scene and has conferred with the hat manufacturers and also the officers of the Matters union having in view, it is said, settlement of the trouble.
 President Michael F. Greene, the recently elected head of the United Hatters of North America, has also been on the scene of the trouble, and in conjunction with Conciliator Green walt has been holding conferences in an attempt to restore harmonious re- lations in Danbury between the war ring factions.
 NEW WAGE AGREEMENTS
 Present wage agreements between the union matters and their employers expire May 1. It is said that no gen eral wage scale will be requested by the Danbury union matters owing to the unsettled business conditions caused by the world war, but that local unions will negotiate with em- ployers for slight wage increases where conditions warrant.
 Wage agreements have also been presented by the union matters in Norwalk but it is not anticipated that any trouble will ensue.