Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-10-02
The Right of a Man to Work,
Whether a Union Member or
Not, Is Question Involved in
Great Steel Strike
TELLS SENATE COMMITTEE
Declares Men Was No Reason for Strike
and That II was Forced on Them
u. $. Steel Chairman Gives His Side
OF story

washington. Oct. 1-Declaring that the
question Of the open shop-the right of
man to work irrespective of whether
or not he was member Of labor union
was the sole issue In the nation wide
! steel strike, Judge F,lbert Fl. Gary. chair
| man Of the board of the United States
Steel corporation, told the Senate COM
mlttee investigating the strike to-day
| that his corporation never would 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. 1t was forced on them from the out
, side. by the organizers of labor unions.
The open shop is tho question here-the
right to bring about fullest production
with only the interests of the employe,
the employer and the public in sight"
Labor leaders, he told the committee.
were seeking to unonize all industry in
the country. Should their etIorts be Sue
cessful he asserted, industrial decay
would follow.
ut means the condition fear England
is in to-day" he added, Though I have
hopes she will come out Of it,
Judge Gary had not concluded his tes-
tmony tonight and will be examined
again tomorrow. He gave way for an
hour to-day TO several employees of the
corporations mills. who told the commit
tee 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 machin-
ist, attacked the leaders of the National
Steel Workers committee.
81 think John Fitzpatrick chairman Of
the workers. committee) with w. z.
! Foster secretary of the committee) as
an able assistant, is heading band Of
| buccaneers who will overthrow this gov
ernmcnt If they are not stopped" said
Martin. who explained that he himself
formerly was a union man. They were
engaged. he said. in "scuttling the Amcri-
| can 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 chill
drcn.' 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.
II wish to state, Mr.. Chairman" said
Judge Gary. that there is no basic in
dustry in this country nor in the world
in my opinion, which has paid larger
wages than the United States Steel cor
poretion. and perhaps not as large, nor
has treated their employees with greater
respect and consideration. II as great.
| ut has been charged that during the
! present steel strike the subsidiary com
Danies have been guilty of attacking and
mistreating employees.
| There isn't a vestige of truth in that
| statement. Photographs were displaved
| here and Il was said a woman was
Killed This photograph has been posted
all over America, with line over it:
! Mrs. Fannie Sellens body ghoulishly
mistreated by the steel trusts fendish
| crew
She was shot at Breckenridge, Pa.
| We have no works there no men there
II she was killed, it was without even
the knowledge Of the Steel corporation
or any of its employees"
Hasn't your company Investigated
that matter. in view of the charge? ?''
asked Chairman Kenyon
| THE verdict of the coroner's iury. -
| said the witness. "made il certain that
no agent Of ours had the remotest con-
nection with her death. have dis
cussed the incident with some Of our
people. not because we thought they
might he guilty. but Tor information. Our
orders and our policy are against any
activity which could lead to anything
of that kind"
r. v Lindabury, counsel for the
| corporation. said the woman was
! Killed during a strike of coal miners
| Judge Gary said In his opinion the
Shot was probably fired by the
strikers themselves" He added tina,
his company had no interest in the
coal mines where the riot occurred
! senator Phipps read a certified COPY
OF the inquest record In the case. The
jury's verdict satd the killing was by
persons unknown and that the deputy
sheriffs involved were firing In self.
defense.
Chairman Kenyon asked whethe,
deputy shcriffs were sworn in at the
corporations plants and were on the
company's pay roll.
II should say yes" said Mr. Gary
80 far as ] know they have had
nothing to do with any of these out.
breaks"
He added that 1t was possible that that
some of the company's guards had partici-
pated in disturbances since the steel
strike began but pointed out that Mrs.
Sellens was killed before the strike
started
Referring to testimony of President
Gompers of the American Federation Of
Labor. that Jefferson -. Pierce. a union
organizer, had been beaten by company
agents while attempting to organize
unions In the steel mills and died from
injuries. Judge Gary read an affidavit
which he said had been sent to his Office
on September 81 by Pieces son.
II was with my father the night he
received his injuries" said the aifdavls.
land he said the injuries were not caused
by any agents of the steel corporation
He was injured by member of the |.
w. w. faction which was endeavoring to
gain control of the organization. I wish
to refute most emphatically that the
charge of Mr. Gompers that his death
was caused by any agent Of the United
States Steel corporation. He died one
year later of cancer resulting from the
lwound."
Washington. Oct. Judge Gary then
took up the statement of John Fitzpatrick
chairman of the steel strikers committee
that men had been killed at Hammond
Indiana. during the steel strike
1 n tl,., ,.,,t 49, u