Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-11-25
APPEALS SENT
TO WILSON BY
ARSENAL BODY
rV.im 5000 Ousted Unfairly at Fed
eraI Plant-Nay Send Com
mittee TO Labor Board
tEr OFT MEN TELL STORIES
oronlv. Blame Local Manufacturers
for Action On Part of Officers
At Island.

Claiming that 5000 employees at
81 Island arsenal have been dis
.S.-ged without previous notice
mi that the men affected have been
,-sated unfairly IN numerous ways,
'sfsnd workers IN a body, after q
r,.ss meeting held at the Burtis
,Ieatre in Davenport yesterday aft
e-non- sent a telegram TO President
wilson asking that conditions here
h Investigated
Providing no reply to the mes
,sge IS received by the committee
:, charge by l. O'Clock tonight, five
representatives Of the arsenal
rorkers will leave Immediately for
washington 10 confer with the
var labor board and other offic-
,sIs in charge Of the employment
N men III federal plants
Testifyiug in their own behalf,
discharged arsenal workers at yes
tsrday's session related their ex-
neriences in being ousted from the
government plant
One worker charged that he was
sent from the harness shop to the
machine shop blue print depart
ment What do you know about
niue prints? was asked him by the
foreman at the machine shop.
Nothing" he said. They sent
ne over here from the harness
shop. Blue prints are a puzzle to
me
Go back to the harness shop. I
can't use you here" he was told.
The empIoye returned to the har-
ness shop to report to the foreman.
He was told. it is said, that he had
been stricken off the shops payroll
because he was transferred The
man was out Of a job.
Il was brought out at the session
yesterday that not only men who
had been working at the arsenal for
the period of the war were being
let out, but that those who had
been employed in the shops from
seven to 20 years were being IN
fairly discharged.
Ousted, Why9
One man gave his record for the
last several years. He said that
be had served in the United States
navy for four years and in the
French navy for a like period and
then had spent two years as a
United States marine. Later he
went to work on the island. He
was discharged recently and could
not learn why he had been let out.
Others claim that officers on the
Island have discharged male work
ers because women could be OBJ
tanned for 80 cents an hour and
we're able to do the mems work.
Go out and get yourself a job"
It is said. the officers have told
the men, the women are doing
your work satisfactorily and do not
receive SO cents an hour, the wages
paid men"
Blame Manufacturers.
Il is openly claimed by the ar
Lenal workers that the disCharging
Of men is done for the benefit of
local manufacturers. They charge
thai an effort IS being made to so
cripple the government plant that
Il Will not be in shape to take over
private contracts.
The men are positive that Offic-
las in Washington are in the dark
and do not know OF conditions
here. They say that President vii
son or any ordnance official would
DOT permit the discharge of men
Unfairly who had done their utmost
when the cry was production.
Choose SiaCkerS.
Foreueu in the arsenal shops,
VIC have been dtscLarging the men
curing the last week say that they
picked out those who during war
tines failed 10 do their work in a
satisfactory manner They say
hat they have discharged among
others men whom they thought
had secured work on the island 10
hV0id uFFr~r +- ,---