Evening star., 1919-09-18
SAYS STEEL STRIKE
IS ONLY HOPE LEFT
Committee, Meeting in Pitts
burgh, Cites Refusal Of Cor
poration to Confer.
GIVES OUT A Statement
BY the Associated Presa.

By the Associated Press.
PITTSBURGH, September 1S.-Be-
fore resuming their discussion today
on matters in connection with the
steel workers strike. called for next
Monday, the national committee for
organizing iron and steel workers
issusd q statement that having failed
to obtain q conference with the Unit
ed states Steel Corporation. the last
and only hope is to strike until such
time aB the corporation will meet the
representatives of the men.
The Committees Statement.
The statement follows:
"In his letter of September 16 to
the presidents of the subsidiary COM
panies Of the United States Steel Cor
poration, Judge Gary ayers that he
had two reasons in mind when he re-
fused to meet with the American
Federation of Labor committee which
called upon him recently requesting
a conference for the purpose OF pre-
senting grievances of his employees.
"First, he did not believe that the
committee was authorized to speak,
for large numbers of the employees.
Second. a conference with the
committee would have been treated
by them as a recognition of the
closed shop method of employment.
"If these are the real reasons act
uating Judge Gary, surely they are
not sufficient to plunge the industry
into a great labor conflict. Judge
Gary presents false premise and
then declares that he will stand or
fall upon this false ground.
THE committee that waited upon
Judge Gary were the selected repre-
sentatives of the employees. And they
requested a conference for the pur-
pose of establishing the principle of
collective bargaining and some prac-
tical method of redressing grievances.
Judge Gary denied their authority
to represent the employees and re-
fused to see them in conference. The
only way left for the employees to
convince Judge Gary that the COM
mittee does represent the great body
Steel Corporation is to cease work un-
til the corporation agrees to meet
their representatives in conference.
This the employees have decided to
do on Monday morning. September %.
cit is unfortunate that the employees
are compelled to resort to a strike in
order to prove the authority of their
selected representatives to present
their grievances. But as there is no
other way. the proof, in the form of
a strike, will effectually remove all
doubt in Judge Gary's mind
sets up the question Of the closed
shop which has absolutely no basis
whatsoever in the present controversy.
1t is simply dragged in here by Judge
Gary as a bugaboo to becloud the real
issue.
"There is one. and only one. ques-
ton at issue, and that is the question
of a conference. The employees have
exhausted every avenue of approach
to the corporation for the purpose Of
securing a conference, and every ave-
nue. has been closed to them. Their
last and only hope Is to strike. and
now the employees declare that they
will cease work on next Monday
morning. until such time as the
corporation will meet their repre-
sentatives in conference for the pur-
pose of establishing humane and
reasonable methods of dealing with
the very vital problems which affect
their lives, their homes and their
future.
(signed) JOHN FITZPATRICK.
I'd. J. DAVIS.
WILLIAM EAMMON.
wv. q. FOSTER
The committee sessions are being
held behind closed doors. with the re-
suit that little official information has
been secured by newspaper men. But
according to Mr.. Fitzpatrick, the si-
lence will be broken today, when fol-
lowing the meeting he will issue an
official statement on behalf of the
committee.
States Corporations Position.
A letter from T.. H. Gary. chatr-
man of the United States Steel Cor
poration, to the presidents of sub
sidiarx companies. made public here,
gives the reasons of the corporation
for refusing to meet with the union
leaders to discuss the affairs of it's
employees. The letter. dated New
York, September 16. says:
THE declination was made for two
reasons: First, because 1 did not be-
lieve the gentlemen were authorized
to speak for large numbers of our en-
ployes, whose interests and wishes are
Of prime Importance; secondly, be-
cause conference with these men
would have been treated by them as
Q recognition of the closed shop