The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1919-11-01
STEEL STRIKE WON.

olEEL SIhlhE WIN.
The newspapers Of the country are
husily engaged moulding public
opinion against every effort of or
gained labor to improve the cOndi-
tion of the workers. They do not
come out in the open and fight col
lective bargaining, increases in
wages or reduction in working hours.
That would not strike popular
chord. But they would prevent lab
orers from getting such things by
creating sentiment against the means
they employ and the representatives
they choose to carry on the battle.
In the steel strike they have taken
Gary's word for it that the contest
was over the union or CLOSED shop"
when the men have made no demand
for such. They merely ask the steel
companies to deal with them collect
lively through their chosen represen-
tatives. The attention of the news
papers was called by agents of the
steel trust to booklet written in
1910 on "Syndicalism" by W. q. Eos
ter, secretary of the National Com
mittee to Organize the Steel Work
ers, Since then Mr.. Fosters views
on the labor question have under
gone considerable change He no
longer entertains such opinions as
we're written in his booklet. Mr..
Foster so testified before the senate
committee. Mr.. GOmpers has
vouched for him. In spite of this
the papers are still hitting at the
steel workers by attacking Foster,
although nothing he has said or done
during this strike is in the least bit
out Of keeping with the highest eth
les Of American trade unionism.
The next camouflage assault on
the steel workers made by the papers
arises from the fact that most of the
strikers are of foreign birth. Such
an issue was not raised when these
men gave the best that was in them
on the battlefield and in the steel
mills to win the war. All men
looked alike in those days unless
they were pro-Germans or pacifists.
Now it is different. They are "for-
eigners' now. But who brought
them here: Before the Steel Trust
was formed the majority of the
workmen employed in American steel
mills were Americans or of English
speaking people.
Such workers had standards OF liv-
Ing that would have compelled the
trust to pay wages sufficient to meet
them, wages that would have pre-
vented the steel barons from paying
dividends on the tremendous watered
stock issued by the United States
Steel Corporation at the time of it's
contamination, fact admitted by
the late J. Pierpont Morgan when
be said, after the deed was done:
cit is too late to unscramble the
EGGS
So to get cheap labor it became
necessary to 80 to foreign lands for
"orkmen. Steel agents secured
southern aud southeastern Europe.
In countries where civilization was
backward and living standards were
lower than in this country, and
United States laws we're wanton1v
violated to bring cheap alien work.
men to America. During all of the
years since then they were timid and
submissive and took what was doled
out to them in wages. conditions and
long hours without outward murmur.
Should one complain he was i'm
mediate)y discharged and this had a
wholesome effect on the other work.
ers. The greater number of these
aliens left their families in the old
country, They worked hard, lived
scantlly. saved money and returned
TO their families with a comforta BILE
NEST egg that would go long ways
IN their native land. An endless
chain. OF such workers was passing
IN and out of the. country, but few
of them remaining to be assimilated
In the great national melting Dot.
The war stopped immigration and
emigration. The chain has been
broken. Few are coming and few
have left. Those that remain are
being Americanized, which means
That they are acquiring new wants
and new needs. Their living stand