Arizona republican., 1919-10-02
.0PEN SHOP S0LE STRIKE QUESTION
 DECLARES GARY
Right of Non-Union Man to Work Is Only Issue in the Steel Controversy, Head of U. s. Steel Go. Tells Senate Investigating Com nlittee

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1.-Declaring that the question of the open shop the right of man to work irrespective of whether he was a member of a labor union-was the sole issue in the natiOn-w wide steel strike, Judge Ebert H. Gary, chairman of the board of the United States Steel corporation told the senate Investigating committee today that his corporation would never yield. Even now, he said. the strike is failing.
 There was no reason for this strike" said Judge Gary. "The men did not want it. It was forced on them from the outside, by the organ izers of labor unions. The open shop is the question here-the rigth to bring about fullest production with only the interests of the employe, the employer and the public in sight"
 Labor leaders, he told the commit tee. were seeking to unionize all in- dustry in the country. Should their efforts be successful, he asserted, in dustrial decay would follow.
 Tt means the condition I fear Eng land is in today" he added though l have hopes she will come out of it."
 Gary Resumes Testimony Today
 Judge Gary had not concluded his testimony tonight and will be examined again tomorrow. He gave way for an hour today to several employees of the corporations mills, who told the com mittee they knew of no reason for the strike All agreed that the men who voluntarily responded to the strike call were mostly foreigners and one of them, John J. Martin a Youngstown machinist attacked the leaders of the national steel workers committee.
 T think John Fitzpatrick, Chairman Of the workers committed. with Will liam z. Foster, Secretary of the com mittee), as able assistant, head band of buccaneers who will overthrow this government if they are not stopped. 1" said Martin, who explained that he himself formerly was a union man. They were engaged, he said in "scut- ting the American Federation of Labor"
 Martin testified that the steel en- ployes at Youngstown, American and foreigners alike" had been terrorized by threats to burn houses and kill children Judge Gary also said in the course of his testimony that the com pany had much "hearsay evidence" that such threats had been made against men who would not join in the strike.
 In the course of his testimony, Judge Gary reviewed conditions leading up to the strike, and discussed at length his refusal to meet the workers na - uonal committee. To have negotiated with the committee, he said, would have been departure from the com pany's policy to treat directly with it's employees and would have damaged the prestige of the open shop policy.
 Discussing this point with Senator Borah, republican of Idaho. he said conditions might arise under which he might talk with union leaders not em- ployed by the company
 Provided they said fairly that they represented fifteen per cent of the men employed for instance" he said T might discuss the wishes of that fifteen per cent with them" MT. Gary brushed aside the charges of union leaders that the corporation had mistreated it's men with the statement that in no basic industry in the world were the men better treated or paid better wages. Later he went into welfare work of the company among its employees and pre- sented figures to show that employes generally received approximately three times as much now as they did in 1914
 Won't Discus Wilson's Efforts
 Although pressed by Senator Ken yon. chairman of the Investigating committee. MT. Gary refused to dis cuss the efforts by President Wilson to bring about an understanding between the corporation officials and the union leaders and avert the strike.