Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-09-26
Agreement To Discuss Differ enceS Would End Steel
 Walkout.
DRAWS EURID PICTURE
 OF LABOR CONDITIONS
Says He EeeIs Steel Company 0ffi- cials Directly Ordered" Killing of Womar-Claims Pay
 af Men l. Small

Washiagtou. Sept. Appearing as lahof's first witness in the senate investigation 0r the steel strike, john Fitzpatrick Of Chicago. chairman Of the strikers committee, declared to- day that an agreement by the United States Steel corporation to arbtrate differences with its employees would result in an immediate end of the walkout which. he said now affects 340, ,000 men. Judge Gary at New York, according to word received here, practically refused to arbitrate the question President Grace of the Bethlehem Steel company issued q similar statement at Pittsburgh. Fitzpatrick's statement came af- ter q six hours recital before the sen ate labor committee of the efforts to organize the steel workers, and Of thn conditions which led up to the strike. Had Judge Ebert H. Gary. chairman of the board of the steel corporation, met the workers committee, the men would not have walked out, titZ- patrick said but an agreement for q conference now would not result n the men returning to work,
 Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor and chairman of the first committee formed to organize the steel workers will be heard by the committee to- morrow. On Saturday William r. Foster, secretary of the workers committee, who has been charged by Representative Cooper, republican of Ohio, with spreading l. W. w, propa- ganda, will be heard. Judge Gary is to appear next Wednesday to present the steel corporations side of the controversy.
 Recital Dramatic.
 In his recital today, Fitzpatrick painted iurid picture of conditions in the steel districts of Western Penn. svlvania. He declared there was a reign of blood and iron there with deputy sheriffs, paid "gunmen," and the Pennsvlvania constabulary as it's chief eXponents. Murder and as- sault of steel workers were of every day occurrence, he alleged and in this connection, he sketched dramati- cally the story of the killing of one woman, an organizer of mine work CTS, which occurred before the steel strike was called.
 Fitzpatrick's deductions from this occurrence led to sharp questioning by senators.
 Do you feel that the steel com pany offiicals directly ordered the killing of this woman?" aswed Sena- tor Sterling, republican of South Dakota.
 "Yes, I do" Fitzpatrick responded
 Think they had a meeting and de- cided upon murder?"
 sOh, I don't think they passed motion and left record, if that's what you mean"
 Elsewhere in the steel industry the witness said striking workers were meeting with fair treatment.
 Not Money, Conditions. Describing the general purposes of the strike, Fitzpatrick said organiza- tion of the steel industry had been de- cided upon by the American Fedora tion of Labor because it was "a bad spot in the industrial situation" with the men forced to work long hours at small wages and under bad condi- tions.
 {, With the actual calling of the strike, list of 12 demands had been made upon which the 24 unions had combined Fitzpatrick said. These demands included recognition of col lective bargaining, the eight hour day reinstatement with pay of all men discharged for union activities and adoption of the "check off system, by which the companies would collect union dues from the men. Wages were 1 not specifically mentioned l On this last subject, Fitzpatrick had two views. "The industry pays less than paupers get he said at one point, but several times later he asserted that money was not the issue.
 "Its conditions" he declared 1.-The hours are terrible, the men tell us. The conditions are awful Their wo- men want more happiness.
 Referring to S60-a-day as the
 wage drawn by highly skilled
 steel workers, Fitzpatrick said 1 this was "a mere pittance for
 work they do.' Average wages, 1 he said, were around 40 cents an hour
 S6O,OOO Strike Fund.
 Fitzpatrick said all the union mon- ey available for the strike would not exceed $60,000.
 "The 24 unions," he said, "have Iproraraced among themselves an amount not to exceed $5,000 a month to carry on organization work l Fitzpatrick, questioned further by Senator Phipps, said little town offf- cials, in Pennsylvania, owned body and soul by the steel companies had Il - X ->s~ s>s- -z-->s->>----~