The Washington times., 1919-11-08
COMMITTEE RAPS
INDUSTRIAL CHAOS
Continued from First Page. ,

Pa2e.l y
says the report, "to deport such char\
acters, Congress should immediately
enact laws covering this serious situ-
ation.''
William z. Foster. secretary to the
committee composed of the twenty
four international unions managing
the steel strike, and. in the Senate
committees opinion, the real leader In
the walkout was drawn and quar-.
tered "He believed that nothing was
Illegal IL necessary to carry out his
views" the Senators say; was closely
associated with i. W. w. Attorney
Margolis, the self-confessed anarchist
and was a friend of Emma Goldman
Alexander Berkman, and Russian
sovietors.
III Dangerous To Country.
Such men are dangerous TO the
country and they are dangerous TO
the cause of union labor" pursues the
report. II is unfair to men who are
struggling for their rights to be rep
resented by such leaders. II Mr.. Fos-
ter has the real interest of the labor
ing man at heart, he should remove
himself from any leadership.
II he will not remove himself,
the American Federation OF Labor
should purge itself of such leader
ship in order to sustain the confidence
which the country has in it under
the leadership of Mr.. Gompers."
In fixing the blame of the steel
strike the investigating committee
finds that both sides were guilty of
wrong.
Judge Ebert Fl. Gary, OF the United
States Steel Corporation, was mildly
reprimanded for failing to meet with
the steel workers delegation and fer
other minor things considered faults.
in the Senator's eyes.
Gompers Gently Spanked.
samuel Gompers, president OF the
similarly treated to a gentle spank
1--WE regret" the committee writes.
that Mr.. Gompers did not take
firmer position as to postponement of
the strike as requested by President
Wilson"
The report. with copies OF testi-
mony and various exhibits, Is volumi-
nous. The committee, headed by Sem
ator William S. Kenyon Of Iowa and
with Senators Thomas Sterling. Law
renee c. Phipps, Kenneth Mcclellan.
and David /. Walsh-ali Republicans
save the last mentioned-aided by a
subcommittee. visited the strike ref
gions, went into miners homes, ext
amined witnesses on the scene of the
strike itself. in Pittsburgh. Washing
ton, and elsewhere, and based their
findings upon what they saw and
heard.
Not Oraanized Until 1919
The report declares that II appears
there had been no attempt TO organ
ize the steel men from 1892. the year
of the great Homestead strike, which
up until August, 1918, when the steel
workers union was formed.
In June, 1919, there were some 1oo,-
900 members.
About this time Gompers wrote to
Judge Gary asking for conference
between a committee of union leaders
and steel president, but received no
reply. Several other attempts by the
committee In person and by letter
failed to shake Gary from his deter
mination to have nothing do with
union leaders.
The strike was called for septem-
ber %. and President Wilson had his
secretary, Joseph P. Tumulty, tele-
graph to Gompers requesting the Lat
ter to urge the steel workers to post
pone their strike at least until after
the industrial conference to take place
in Washington. This the organizer
of the steel strike refused to agree
to, and Gompers did not insist further.
Both Sides at FauIt.
Both parties (the union and Gary).
it seems to us, were at fault" the re-
port reads, ''in refusing to heed the
request of the President, and evil
dences upon both sides lack of that
consideration for that great third
party, the public, which is always the
greatest sufferer in strike of this
character. The refusal of the labor
leaders to accede to the re-
quest lends weight to the