The Dallas express. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1893-1970, 1919-11-22
STRIKE HEADS CONFER.
National Committee for Organizing
Steel Workers Issues Statement.

Philadelphia, Penn, Nov. 20
The following statement was is
sued last night by the committee in
charge of the steel workers strike:
1.-THE National Committee for Or
ganizing Iron and Steel Workers
met yesterday afternoon at the Mon
ongahelia Hotel with John Fitzpa-
trick, chairman, presiding. Reports
the strike work. Commissaries in
some steel towns have their first al
lotment of rations for needy fam
lilies of strikers, and distribution in
some of these places begins today.
Tons of food are going forward daily
to the various towns and cities where
steel strikers live.
Numerous announcements were
made of funds pledged for relief Of
steel strikers by various labor CEN
tiers and labor organizations. Altoona
is entering upon a campaign to raise
$4,000, several unions there having
already voted to contribute days
pay from each member. Arrangements
are being made to attempt to pro-
vide speakers of the numerous cities
where labor organizations are start
ing campaigns to support the steel
strike, and the International Ladies'
Garment Workers, the Amalgamated
Clothing Workers, the American Fed
Grafton of Labor and numerous of
its affiliated organizations, other
than those associated with the Ma
tional Committee, are putting or
ganizers into the field to assist in
the money-making campaign.
Reports from all the strike cen
tiers were received and the situation
everywhere shown to be in excellent
situation. 1t was shown to the COM
mittee by information collected from
widely different sources. that the re-
striction in production of steel is
even more serious than the committee
itself realized at its meeting a week
ago. A collection of various small
newspaper items in business and fl
nancial papers, and in the business
sections of daily newspapers, shows
YlhdL OH clSulS oICCl olOl IdSoO 10
tinctly felt nearly all over the coun-
try and in practically all the large
steel consuming lines.
mo newspaper has started that
production was reduced more than
so per cent, but comparison of figures
in different papers and at different
times makes clear that 1t is literally
true that steel production during the
first month of the strike was in the
vicinity of Is per cent of the nor
NAL pre-strike production of $780,
900 tons monthly. Reports to the
committee indicate that production
over the entire country is now slight
ly higher that that, making no allow
ance for steel shipped but subse-
quently found defective by consignees
and reaches approximately 20 per
cent.
''The strike reports were interest
ing in the multitudious variety OF
the methods being employed by the
companies to get the men back and
the equal variety of methods found
effective in combating the employers
efforts. There has been leakage in
the strikers ranks in many places
but the success in pulling strike
breakers away from the mills has
quite compensated THE importa'
ton of white strike breakers has
been uniformly unsuccessful in gett'
ing anything approaching working
forces organized.
Negro strike breakers are USED
in fairly large numbers in 10 large
mills and number of small ones
but not more than 1000 were report
in any single mill and in most place:
the number is but few hundred
The Negroes are almost universally
inexperienced and whole blocks o.
Z them have left mills in at least eigh
instances. No clashes between Negro
strike breakers and strikers have oc
Cured Of any seriousness and in
structions were ordered to all or
ganizers that especial care be takeI
that no possibility Of race riot b
tolerated. If any measures within thu
power of the organizers can avoi(
the danger"