The sun., 1919-10-12
TO
TAKE STRIKE VOTE


freight of any kind or in any, circum-
stances until an agreement was reached
IL was intimated yesterday that IL the
men continue to hold to this policy an
appeal will be made to A. Mitchell
Palmer. Attorney-t<eneral, who Is en-
gagged In an effort to reduce food prices
The appeal will be based on the conten-
ton that the waste of food at the o!ers
materially will affect prices.
Speaks for War Department.
Prof. William z. Ripley chairman Of
the commission, Informed the strike
committee tisat he was speaking for the
War Department when he asked tie
members to agree to unload four freight
ships and six transports which are to
arrive soon at the army piers in Brook
lyn and Hohoken. On one of the ships.
the Northern Pacific, which will dock
to-day, Is Col. e. NJ. House, President
Wilson's personal representative at the
Peace Conference.
John F. Riley, chairman of the strike
committee. said the men present were
not authorized to decide the question,
but would submit 1t to the several To-
calls. Prof. Ripley announced then that
soldiers would be used and all civilians
temporarily dispensed with. This later
IL the day became the case.
The decision to submit the question OF
continuing the strike or returning to
work to the men was made upon Prof.
Ripley's plea to have patience until De-
cember 1, when the commission has
promised to reopen its hearings. If the
cost of living has not diminished mate
rally their demands will be considered
favorably, the chairman said, providing
the men show a marked improvement in
a. At,-t .
he declared, two or thres etevedores do
less than one man formerly accom-
p1ished. He based the commissions de-
cision in part also on President Wilson q
statement that the cost of living now has
reached its high water mark and Will
drop within a short time.
In tho course of the session II. v.
O'Connor beseeched the men to prove the
good faith of the association and stand
by the award. He said:
IT am not satisfied with the award.
Vice-President Ryan and myself voted
against II. but II was carried by a ma
jority Of the commission and we must
stand by it
Dent be carried away by a wave of
radicalism which has been successful
in tying up this port. If you do you
will have the condemnation Of the
American Federation of Labor's Execu-
tive Council and the labor chief himself.
This strike is threatening the very life
and manhood of organized labor.
II did make the assertion that this
strike was started by the /. w. w, and
I defy any man here to deny that fact
On last Tuesday morning 1. w. w. cir
cu!ars printed in Italian and English
were circulated along the Brooklyn
waterfront. That pamphlet succeeded
in bringing the men out on strike. 1t
was sent out by an i. w. w. local at
156 Ssckett street, Brooklyn.
Eighty or ninety of the strikers from
Brooklyn came over to the Manhattan
waterfront and pulled the men out on
the piers. The strike was without the
knowledge and sanction of your or
ganization, the I. L. A. These strikers
from Brooklyn first visited the Savan-
nah Line docks and then the Clyde and
Mallory piers. They went into the piers
and drove the men out / doubt II any
one Of the eighty men from Brooklyn
were members of your organization.
Mr.. O'Connor. pointing his finger to
John Greenlach, member of Local sos,
Hoboken. then said: You stated at the
Tammany Hall meeting the other night
that Joe Ryan and myself sold the
men out to the steamship companies
] never received a cent from steam
snip company IN my Ire. 1ou SKUNK,
you have been trying to instigate strikes
among the longshoremen for the last
five years"
Despite a statement by Mr.. O'Con-
nor that the threat of coastwise strike
was "all bunk" 1t was said at union
headquarters that delegates from various
ports would be here today Also It
was pointed out that the longshore-
men at Boston already are reported
to be on strike.
A Federal shipping official said last