The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-09-11
SEPT. 22 SET AS DATE FOR STRIKE
 BY A UNIONS IN
 STEEL INDUSTRY
Efforts to Obtain Confer ence With Steel Corpora tiOn Fail, Announcement
 Declares, and Strike
 Now Only Recourse
By Associated Press

On Board freSiuent TllSon Special Train, September 10. President Wilson today, through Secretary Humility, sent a telegram to Samuel Gompers, urging the steel men to postpone their threatened action until after the forthcom- ing industrial conference Is held in Washington.
 At the same time he teiegraphed Louis Browniow, president of the board of commissioners of the District of Columbia, asking him to postpone action against the police of Washing ton, ID. C., who recently joined a union affiliated with the American Federa- ton of Labor, and who were ordered to give up their utilization by today under pain of dismissal. until after the industrial conference.
 The two telcGrams follows:
 "Hon. samuel Gompers. president
 of the American Federation of
 Labor, Washington D. C.:
 "In view of the difficulty of ar-
 ranging any present satisfactory
 mediation with regard to the steel
 situation. the President desires to
 urge upon the steel men, through
 you, the wisdom and desirabiIity
 of postpOning action of my kind
 until after the forthcoming indus
 tria. conference at Washington.
 tSigned) "J. F. TUMuLTi."
 "IIon. Louis Browniow. Commits
 sioner of the District os Co.,
 Iumbia. Washington. D. C.;
 "'Fhe President suggests the
 great ndvisnbiIity of postpening
 any issue regarding the police
 sitGntion until after the furthconi-
 ing industrini conference at Wash
 ington md hopes that the post
 poDement cnn. he effected.
 tsigned) "J. r. TUMuLTY., IGNORE PRESIDENTS REQUEST
 Washington. September 10.-Regard- less of the request of President Wi,- son that they take no action pending the coming industrial conference. rep resentatives Of organized workers in
 
 strike, effective September 22, to con,- pei recoenition of their unions and ot the principal of collective bnraaining by the United states Steel corpora ton.
 The executive council of the a4 unions represented among the work CTS made known their decision in an announcement issued after they hal requested the President by telegraph Frr .raFt Ft,,it -t,t the possibility of arranging a confer ence with steel corporation officials and after they had received reply iron. the President asking that they withhold action until after the indus trial conference
 The Presidents telegram was not made public by the steel union heads. but it's context became known in Washington tonight through press disps tches. In their statement the ex- ecutive council merely said they hal not been advised that the efforts of the President have been any more sdc- cessful' than the efforts of the men.
 RIDICULE GARY STATEMENT
 Union officials firmly refused to in duige in any speculation regarding the extent of the strike. though deciara- tion attributed to Judge Gary of the steel corporation that the steel work CTS were not more than 10 per cent organized was ridiculed as erroneous The steel corporation was said to em- ploy about 262,000 persons and the en- tire industry nearly 100000. In some places. it was said, the men are 95 per cent organized, and at virtually all mills, organizers have been active for weeks and still are working to obtain recruits for the unions.
 This campaign of organization, union nf inia ly r..iI ously by the mill owners, who were said to have adopted every possible method to defeat 1t. Claims were made that al least 100. 900 men in the Pittsburg district, 100000 in the Chi cago district and 50,ooO in scattered areas employed by "independents' as well as by the steel corporation hal been brought into the union and would answer the call by dropping their tools. In addition. union officials said. the strike would have wide ramfica- tions by it's effect on other industries.
 Evidence of the bitterness existing in the relations between the unions and the steel mills was seen in ale gations made in the statement of tha union heads announcing the strike. Seven union memebrs and organizers. the statement said. had been killed re- gently by the armed yegs and thugs"
 STATEMENT OF UNION
 The statement issued by the union heads said.
 The 2i international unions in fhe steel industry and affiliated to the American Federation of Labor. having exhausted every honorable and pos slb1e means of securing a conference with the United States Steel corpora tlon for the purpose of discussing the intolerable and brutal conditions un- der which the men are compelled to work and having failed in these ef- forts. have decided by unanimous vote to cease work on Monday. September 22.
 The representatives of these inter- national unions have for the past four months tried every conceivable means to secure Q conference with Judge Gary. representing the United States Steel corporation.
 "A personal letter from President Gomrers to Judge Gary was totativ ignored. Later on a committee awaited upon Judge Gary in New York and were refused an audience Subse- quently they were advised through a letter signed by Judge Gary that he wonle not deal with union labor rep resentatives. which is an absolute de-
 tContinued on rage Twe)