Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-10-04
FOSTER PEEVED
fcantinusd from Pare Onel

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Federation of Labor. with the censor
| ship of "a alert union presidents ove'
me-"
Foster said he belonged to the L. w
w. in 1911 and represented the organ
ization at the International convention;
in Europe.
II haven't been a member for five
years. he added.
what was your attitude during thu
! war; asked Senator Walsh Of Mass
achusetts.
It thought the war ought to be won
at ali COSTS" he said. adding that hi
had made dozens of speeches in bond
campaigns.
| Questioned as to steel industrial con.
ditions, Foster said he knew that In
Pittsburg. Braddock and Homestead
steel workers live in novels"
; ''L.aborers in the building trades gel
about 80 cents an hour he said. while
in. the steel mills the same class get
% cents an hour
President Gompers OF the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor broke into
examination in irritated fashion at
one point when Foster was standing
on his objections to newspaper re-
ports of his testimony.
"Well. they can't say anything
! worse about you than they have" the
aged head of the Federation adjured
him.
Foster would not, however. COM
pletely abjure mis- old works, and
faced with one line to the effect
that the syndicalist worker will
not be held back from direct action
by the capitalistic code of ethics
duty. honor patriotism" he told the
committee:
Put questions around some OF
those and I'll stand by them yet
They'll show how the words are
used" ~
Other excerpts from later writ
ings. stating that government as we
know it will shrivel up and die" and
industries now in the hands of the
state. municipalities and the nation
will be given completely over to the
workers in Them he was quite well
prepared to defend.
Il nave my own ideas about gov
eminent" he said of the first, and of
the second:
That's not so startling now a
Days"
We'll. that's syndicalism. pure
and simple, isn't it," Senator Ster-
ling. Republican. of South Dakota
one of his most persistent interroga-
tors demanded.
Il think not" Foster said.
The witness endorsed his own ad-
vocacy of race suicide with the state
ment that 1T is fooiishness for work
men to undertake to raise big fam
lies
President Gompers with apparent
amusement listened to Senators read
ing Fosters essay on the American
| Federation Of Labor-written before
he joined it as an OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
in he asserted that The American
labor movement is infested with
! hordes of dishonest officials and la
Dor fakirs. These men must 60" He
explained that today he considered
the blanket charge not tenable.
One letter. written to solidarity
wherein Foster explained that it was
the true duty of revolutionary to
work through existing trade unions
and quit trying to build up new or
CARNATIONS, interested the committee
considerably. Foster admitted au-
thorship. but would not say it de-
scribed his present course.
"All these things. these doctrines
spelled violence, didn't they?" Sena
tor Mcclellan asked him.
They spelled fight" Foster re-
turned.
His remarks on the present strike
were comparatively brief.
at came because the workers were
. denied opportunity to present thei:
grievances" he said ut could not be
! delayed at Pres dent Wilson's reQues,
lecause of the steel corporations policy
il, instituting Wholesale discharges
Foreigners made up the largest mem
befship In the unions at present, he ex.
planned. because higher paid Ameri.
| cans. knowing of the fate of past at.
tempts to organize the steel industry
stand back to wait and see
"Of course we'd like to take the
Americans first he said. "They oc
cupy the strategic positions. being mora
skilled
President Gompers came back before
the committee when Foster concluded
ito straighten out a few matters" he
said. and attacked briefly some of The
steel cooperation. emphasized in his tes
timony before the committee.
The steel corporation in 1901 passel
a resolution declaring itself unalterably
opposed to union labor. Mr.. Gomper.
| said. notifying all it's subsidiary office.
, that it stood against any extension"
He defined an "open shop as "a Sc
place where the principle of collective
/ targa ming cannot exist"
| Steel corporation hospitals-"I have
been notified by newspaper men," Il!
he put it-are places where workmer
ARE confined in communicate aftcl
accidents.
| He described the corporation as q
federation of companies and corpora
lions, which does not allow it's work
men to organize and be heart
! through representation.
So late was the committee held b,
its hearing of Foster that plans e
go to Pittsburgh to conduct an inves
! tigation in the field were set ovel
until next week. Hearings will b,
j resumed tomorrow, with other repre-
I sentatives of the strikers on hand.
During the morning session Micha ;
! F. Tighe. president Of the largest o
| 1lfo ,nfnrc {r&yolyod IN fbo fr;L In