Great Falls daily tribune., 1919-10-13
STEEL WORKERS
QUESTIONED IN
OFF |C|AL PROBE
Employe Of 80 Years
Says He's Content
With 43c an Hour.

Pittsburgh, Oct. 12.-Senators investi-
eating the steel strike situation spent
Sunday afternoon and most of Sunday
night listening to evidence. A crowd
which filled the United States court
room in the federal building followed
the procedure and had to be disciplined
several times by Chairman Kenyon for
laughing at witnesses.
Representatives of the strikers de-
voted their efforts to maintaining the
charge that civil authorities, state troop
ers and other law officers were mis-
using their power to break down the
strike. They centered most Of the testi-
mony around incidents in Mahoning. Pa.
40 miles from Pittsburgh, and officials
Of the place demanded and obtained from
the committee permission to be heard
in defense.
The United States Steel corporation
was allowed to put on before the COM
mittee group Of old but lower paid
employees who declared their satisfaction
with conditions, hours and wages.
Arthur Raymont, the first of these.
family Of nine children, bought home
and was now drawing the highest pay he
had ever received, 43 cents an hour.
c. A. Lighthit explained that he con-
sidered the 10 and 12-hour day good
thing.
Especially for young men, he said.
4Maybe after January, when the state
goes dry, it'll be different"
August Mnnn, superintendent OF
wire plant at Donora, followed the en-
ployes and said the strike was rapidly
failing.
The major proportion" Of his men,
Mann said. always had wanted to stay on
the job. Like other steel company rep
resentatives who had testified. he as
sured the committee that the presenta-
tion of grievances to superintendent BY
men in the mills was always counte-
nanced, and even encouraged.
Gus kristvtch, formerly employed in
the National Tube company mill at Nc
Keesport, was the first striker called and
asserted he had been discharged for
joining the union. His charge was denied
stuck to his assertion, saying that the
foreman had given him the reason.
George +. Colson, an exsoldier and an
American, had whoe breadside of COM
plant to make against the company.
II pretty nearly had to 60 On my knees
to the company to get a job bnck. was
one of the first 80 men in France he
said
Then Attorney Rubin, representing the
strike committee. centered his fire and
brought in a battery Of witnesses, nearly
all of whom used Interpreters.
Mrs. Andrew Banks. with her husband:
was called. She weighed 11S pounds and
had been charged, the pair said. with
defving a policeman with club
Released on $50 bond after being taken
to jail when they appeared for trial the
next day, they Were told that their
money was forfeited. The woman said
she had her hat on her arm when ar
rested and had no club and had said
nothing to the special policeman.
"Now. Mr.. Rubin" Senator Walsh in
tcrrupted this case ought TO be fol-
lowed, and if the abuse of these foreign
ers is found to be what they sav it is.
the community ought to straighten it
out There may be another explana-
ton. but the impression ought not to go
out among these foreigners that our
laws do not give them Justice"
Banks insisted that his wife merely
had been on the streets with him when
arrested. She was waiting outside a
store while he went inside to purchase
cigarettes.
Six men. all Austrians. testified that
they had been arrested in AIahoning by
state policemen and taken to Jail: that
while there they had been asked if they
were going to 60 back to work. had re
fused. and then had been held under $500
bail to appear before a grand Jury.
Mrs. Annie Rabinsky. a Serbian. and
woman companion, said she had been
arrested by eight deputies and sheriffs
and taken to Jail because someone else
yelled "scab" while they were walking
down the street
Nearly all Of the foreign born witncs-
ses were asked whether they were
naturalzed All had bought Liberty
bonds. but one of the witnesses did not
know what the bonds were for. Super
intcndent Mann said some Of the men
were discharged because they had not
taken Liberty bonds.