Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-09-18
NATION-W wide WALKOUT ON
MONDAY ONLY COURSE OPEN
THEY SAY IN STATEMENT
ALI Avenues Closed, Only
Thing Left to Do Is
Quit, Chiefs Aver.

Pittsburgh, Pa, Sept. 18.-Be-
fore resuming their discussion to-
day on matters in connection with
the steel workers strike, called
for next Monday, the national com
mittee for organizing iron and
steel workers issued a statement
that, having failed to obtain a con-
ference with the United States
Steel corporation, the last and only
hope is to strike until such time
as the corporation will meet tho
representatives of the men.
The Statement.
The statement follows:
I'm his letter OF Sept. 16 to the
presidents of the subsidiary com
panies Of the United States Steel
corporation, Judge Gary AYERS that
he had two reasons IN mind when
he refused to meet with the Amer
lean Federation OF Labor commit
tee which called upon him recent
ly requesting a conference for the
purpose Of presenting grievances
of his employees.
First, he did not believe that
the committee was authorized to
speak for largo numbers OF the
employees.
Second, a conference with the
committee would have been treated
by them as recognition or the
closed shop method OF employ.
ment.
On False Ground.
"If these are the real reasons
actuating Judge Gary, surely they
are not sufficient TO plunge the
] In aHua 81 d 80 IL
/ fiict. Judge Gary presents a false
/ premise and then declares that hej
will stand or fall upon this false
| ground.
THE committee that waited upon
Judge Gary was the selected rep
! resentatives of the employees. And
they requested a conference for
! the purpose of establishing the
] principle of collective bargaining
! and some practical method Of re-.
/ dressing grievances.
! Judge Gary denied their author
| ity to represent the employees and
| refused TO meet them in confer
ence. The only way left for the
employees to convince Judge Gary
| that the committee does represent
: the great body of the employees o.
/ the United States Steel corpora
| tion is 10 cease work until the cor
poration agrees to meet their rep
! resen.atives in conference This
| the employees have decided TO do on
Monday morning, Sept. %.
Regret Necessity of Action.
1T is unfortunate that tie en-,
ployes are compelled to resort tot
a strike in order to prove the au-,
fhnwfttr n fIsnfv.
tatives or represent their griev-
ances. But as there is no other
way. the proof in the form of
strike, will ef'ectually remove all
doubt in Judge Gary's mind.
I'm the second place, Judge Gary
sets up the question OF closed
shop which has absolutely no ba-
sis whatsoever in the present con-
troversy. II is simply dragged in
here by Judge Gary as a bugaboo
to becloud the real issue
Strike Only Course Open.
There is one and only one
question at issue. and that is the
question Of a conference. The en-
ployes have exhausted every ave
nue. of approach to the corporation
for the purpose Of securing a CON
ference. and every avenua 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 morn
ing until such time as the Corpor-
alton will meet their representa-
tives in conference for the purpose
of establishing humane and rea-
sonable methods of dealing with
the very vital problems which af-
feet their lives, their homes and
their future.
(SignedJ JOHN FITZGERALD,
Chairman,
"D. G. DAVIS.
WILLIAM HANlMON,
''W. T. FOSTER"
The national committee for or
ganizing iron and steel JEorkers
took a recess at 1870 o'clCbt, when
which will consume an hour No
announcement concerning the pro-
jected strike was made.
Strike Orders Sent 0ut.
Cleveland, Ohio. Sept, 1S.-Henry
W. Raisse, editor of the Cleveland
Federationist, and chairman Of the
local steel organizers committee,
said today that strike orders have,
been sent to all union men in the
steel industry in Cleveland in
structing them to fail to report for
work Monday morning and instead
to mobilize in mass meeting at
Brookside Park.
Reports that our committee
considered postponement of the
strike are false" Mr.. Raisse said.
Neither President Wilson nor
President Gompers can stop this
strike We will win"
ITALY TO BLOCKADE FTUME.
London, Sept 1S.-It is under-t
stood that the Italian government
intends to start a blockade OF
Fiume in an effort to starve out
the insurgent forces under Gabri-
ala d. -Annunzios