New-York tribune., 1919-10-11
Visit Big Pittsburgh Mills
and Find That Strikers
in That District Have
Already B e EN- Beaten
Aliens Cry, s'More Pay!''
Effort to Observe Secrecy
Fails and Party of Four
Turns Into a Cavalcade
By Theodore M. Knappen

PITTSBURGH Oct. 10--In the glow
ing heat and thunderous roar of steel
mills four United States Senators to-
day ascertained at least three facts
about the steel strike, viz:
That in the Pittsburgh sector it is
defeated strike
That, whatever else they may
want, the strikers are first, second.
third, last and all the time for more
pay.
That it is, in this district at least,
almost wholly strike of aliens--of
men who have lived in the United
States for years and have not be-
come citizens.
The four Senators were Messrs.
Kenyon, Phipps, McKellar and Ster-
ling, members Of the Senate Commit
tee on Education and Labor, which is
now Investigating the steel strike. The
four statesmen had planned to slip into
Pittsburgh unobserved and visit some
of the steel plants and talk with the
strikers without the aid or company
of reporters, prior to holding formal
public hearings here tomorrow and
Sunday, but the publicity brigade met
them at the station at daylight.
Pilgrimage Becomes Cavalcade
The result was that such q process
sion of touring cars and taxis invaded
the adjacent steel towns with the
Senators leading the van that the
strikers got the impression that half
OF Congress had come to their rescue.
The Homestead plant of the Carne-
Eic Company of the United States
Steel Corporation was honored with
the first call. Then came the Duquesn Il G
mills, next the Clalrton mills and
finally the plant of the National Tube
Company at McKeesport. The method
of Investigating was to go through the
mills, observe the extent of their
activity and talk with loyal workers.
Then the Senators would visit the
ever they could be found, with the
stenographers taking notes as they
ran.
In the tenement district of Home
stead there was great mobilization
Of strikers, of many nationalities, with
their women. children and babies in
arms, as the Senators alighted and
cornered Sever Kalusky, Russian.
who, thinking he was about to be ar
rested, endeavored to escape.
Warns Senator'S to "N.ove On
When the crowd discovered the
identity of the Senators, soon sur
rounded by several hundred people,
one man warned them in deadly
earnest that they had better move Oh
before the mounted police got them.
1t was the biggest street crowd Home
| stead had seen since the strike began.
Senator Mcclellan explained that the
police would not modest United States
Senators, but the admonitory one ex-
pressed great slepticism and concern.
What made you strike ~ asked Sen
ator Mcclellan Of Kalusky.
~ wanted more pay" was the an
swer.
Asked if he wanted anything else
besides more pay. Kalusky declared
that he wanted eight hours day and
''the union.'
An Austro-Hungarian was next OK
amned He insisted the chief cause of
the strike WAS the absolute need Of the
common laborers for higher wages. He
cons dered the eight-hour day and rec
ognition of the union as important
"Working twelve hours" he said, "a
man has no time for pleasure. 1t IS
simply work and sleep"
Linguistic Flood Started
Asked what the organizers had told
the men in urging them to join the
union, he said that they had promised
higher pay, eight hours and strong
union to back them up" And another
nnan intcrjccted that another promise
was that the government would take
the mills"
When Senator Mcclellan asked the
strikers of this group what they
thought would be fair pay he started E
violent debate in a dozen languages
and got answers ranging from rs to 9(
cents an hour.
Senator Kenyon sat on nearby
porch and talked with striker and his
wife, and got the story of their hare
fight to keep away the wolf A visit
to second story fat revealed scene
of congestion and disorder.
After number of typical stories
had been collected the party said good
by to the crowd, which besecched then