The labor standard., 1918-05-01
s'OPEN SHOP" HAT MANUFACTURERS ERR
 SAYS CONCILIATOR

Government Official Returns to Washington After Futile Attempt to Adjust Danbury
 Matters Dispute With Employ ers-Praises Union Hatters DANBURY - One more a govern
 ment' official has declared that the
 hat manufacturers who nearly a year ago declared for the stopen shopn are Tn the wrong. Elmer E. Greenawalt, 9 conciliator of the Department of
 Labor, by the direction of his de-
 partment, arrived in Danbury April
 15, having come from Pittsfield, Mass. where he succeeded in settling the diff
 ferences between the General Flee
 tric Go. and it's employees. which threatened to close the General Elec- tric Go. plant.
 Conciliator Greenawait has been very successful in many other cities in satisfactorily adjusting labor dis putes; and it was hoped by nearly everyone in this city that he would be- able to suggest some arrangement whereby the three firms now running "open shops" and the Hatters' Union could resume harmonious relations. The conciliator held lengthy confer ences with President Greene. of the United Matters of North America officers of the Hatters locals in thisS city, and with Messrs. Greene, Me- Lachlan and Lee, the s<stand- -pat' manufacturers, but all to no purpose. Before leaving for WashinRton MT. Greenawalt made the following state ment:
 The citizens iof Danbury no doubt expect and 1 feel they are entitled to know what has been the result of my efforts in the direction of settlement of the disaereemenff between several large hat manufacturers of x their city and the United Hatters of North America The story. 90 far as my ofscial x Identification with the matter is concerned, is x not very lengthy one. spent several dnys in Danbury making diligent inquiry as to che merits of the case and found that while therez may perhaps have been instances in which the matters were not wholly blaneless for some of the misunderstanding that from time to time may have occurred in the days prior to the actual outbreak of the present dificnIties a careful analysis of the entire situation shoMs that the burden of responsibility for the re- gretable situation4 that now obtains in this community in consequence of this disputs rests upon the shoulders of the naanufaetnr- CTS whos in my judgment. preeiu1fo1n1 >rifh- out sufficient reason. consideriu8 11< 6 lii-a tions of the world and our counix M <%4- trial trouble that h.s hrp1nshz E ffr ha m to the 3b1elnese inte11 & bury as the hat making center M e try sk
 t.In arriving at my conclusfSn. q h weighed the statenents made b bo1A 6fdesX with the utmost care and impartialfty md have found the matters manifestinR . c1n- did spirit of openmindedness and entirely willing to meet and confer with the manufac- turers. thus offering me. as representative of the government, possible opportunity to su1k- gest some means or plan under which the matters in dispute might be adjusted equit- ably and fairly to both sides. On the other hand found the employers quite willing to relate circumstances that prompted them t0 the decision to break away from the tine honored custom of working under the cclleck- i've form Of agreement with their em- ployes or. in other words. union shop. 41r1 they steadfastly declined to look with faycr upon any proposal to meet in conference wfth either the national or local representativcn of the matters. in connection with myself " otherwise. for the purpose of consolidating thelr sg sy ssaR .T met with Messrs. Lee. McL.chlan and Green in Mfr. Lees office and found heni very agreeable gentlemen. They treates me with the utmost courtesy but were 90 ,si- tive in their assertions regarding the com troversy between themselves and the United Matters of North America that found my powers of persuasion wholly inadeuuate C bring them to the pjoint of agreeing ever to consider any conditions for settlement of che F dispute. dispute that has now continued for nearly year. ss-7 s- 2
 'T endeavored to show them that the posi- tion they took at the conference was an un- tenable one, if there was to De any hope of Y settlement, but to no ssail- Our plAns are N laid. said Mir. Lee. to conduct our business as we have since last Septem- Der absolutely open shop hesis. There will stand or fall in accordance with that policy
 ''Mr McLachlan and MT. Green gave me to understand that they are in entire zccord with the policy outlined by MT. Lee. A
 'sIt is too bad that Danbury has this labor trouble and that those in the past have oc- cured It seems much of the trouble could have been avoided if there was . bet8er spirit between employers and employes- Dan- bury is fine town; there are many excellent people in Danbury and the employees of the local hat factories high grade men and women. The employers are excellent men and considering the way Danbury is situated in- it is altogether re9retahle that @ much trouble has occurred in it's principal industry much of which, it seems. could have been avoided if the differences had been handled in . manner such as the seriousness ,f those differences demanded
 Under the circumstances have found 1t impossible to accomplish anything in the way ,f settling the existing dispute in the hat ting industry in Danbury"
 ------ . LOCAL B MEN
 ON SICK LIST