Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-09-27
ISSUE INVOLVED
IN STEEL STRIKE
IS OUTLINED BY
SAMUEL GOMPE RS
Employees Demand Right To
Be Heard To Organize and
To Have a Voice in Determ-
ming Working Conditions,
CIVIC AUTHORITIES
GET SEVERE CENSURE
!, F, of /, Chief Says They
Favor the Corporations To
The Detriment Of the Work.
erSi Gary Is GriIIed,

by MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL LEASED WtREl
Washington, Sept. 26.-The issue in
the nationwide steel strike was defined
today by Samuel Gompers. president
of the American Federation of Labor,
was Recognition of the rights of em-
ployes Ito be heard, to organize and
to have some voice. in determining
conditions under which they labor"
Appearing as labor's second witness
in the senate labor committees in
vestigation of the stee! strike. Presi-
dent Gompers drew from his expert
ences as chairman of the first COM
mittee to organize the steel industry
and traced the history of organized
labors efforts TO union!ze the work
ers. When he finished the commit
tee adjourned until next Wednesday,
at which time Judge Gary, chairman
OF the United States Steel corporation,
has promised to appear.
President Gompers condemned un-
sparingly civic authorities in the
western Pennsylvania steel centers and
repeated many of the charges made
before the committee yesterday by
John Fitzpatrick, chairman of the
strikers committee.
Gary Responsible for Strike.
Whatever helps the corporation
against the workers. that the authori-
ties of Pennsylvania would be found
doing" Gompers said at one point
Fun responsibility for the strike, he
laid at the door of Judge Gary. who
could have stopped it, he said by
granting a conference to the strike
committee.
Counter charges against the steel
workers involving the revolutionary
radicalism of William Y. Foster strike
committee secretary, in particular,
was met by Gompers with the asser-
ton that Foster no longer was a syn
dicalist or a believer in violence.
There were several interludes, once
when Sefator PKipps, fpublican, OF
Colorado read statements of Presi-
dent Wilson made in 1903, TO the ef-
feet that he was "a fierce partisan of
the open shop" which brought a
quick assertion from Gompers that
President Wilson now does not hold
with what DR.. Wilson then said"
Employer Is Not Master.
Sena,or Sterling, republican, of
South Dakota, at another point read
some steel company statistics, in ref
erence to greatly increased pay of
workmen during recent years, and eff
forts made by the company to place
its stock among employees. In reply,
the labor chief said that the company
had increased its earnings 400, while
increasing workmen's pay 100 per cent
and that it's stock selling enterprises
were "attempts to tie the men to the
Jobs"
what we want is The right to have
workers represented before their EN-
ployers," he went on, represented by
counsel of ability, of courage, and of
intelligence that can cope with the
power of the corporation chiefs and
can fifty set forth the evils and in
justices of plant and mill life. This
war was fought against autocracy and
won against autocracy, whether au-
tocracy of militarism or autocracy of
industry The day is past when an
employer, no matter how great, can
declare himself master of all he sur
veys.'
Chairman Kenyon, adjourning the
session, left the future course of the
to be settled at another
and the only certain date for
its conVening fixed the Wednesday ap-
pointment with Judge Gary, The in
tention to call William z. Foster to-
morrow was abandoned, although
of the committee intend to
call him later.