The daily morning oasis. [volume] (Nogales, Ariz.) 1917-1920, 1920-08-19
EDITORIALS,
THE CHURCH AND STEEL


Recently "The Oasis" made mention of the re-
port of commission created by the Interchurch
World Movement to investigate the Steel Corpora
ton and the strike that it fought last year, pro-
missing to give it further attention as soon as time
and space would permit After reading much about
the report we have reached conclusion that the
best presentation at this time is to reproduce an ar
tice from "The Christian Work." Religious Week
ly Review published in New York Our own COM
ment will be reserved for another time Following
is the article cited:
The Strike Report
The Interchurch World Movements Commission
to investigate the steel strike # last year became
public last week 1t is document of ninety-four
thousand words and will sooE appear as a book of
about five hundred pages, to &c published by Har-
court, Brace and Howe The Investigators found that
the strike was genuinely conducted by the American
Federation OF Labor and had 10 Boshevist aim
The investigating committee considers that the strike
was amply justified They say: "The cause of the
lay in grievances which gave tie workers just cause
for complaint and for action Their unredressed
grievances still exist in the steel industry" When
the strike broke out last September 524 DER cent of
the employees Of the United States Steel Corpora
ton were working on the twelveh hour day schedule
In the past decade the United States Steel Corpora
ton has actually increased the percentage of its
employees subject to the tweive-hour day, which is
compulsory. The 'basc eigh:-hou day" has to do
only with the method of paying wages and in no
way concerns hours Less than quarter of the
Steel Corporation employees can work less than
sixty hours week. Engineers findings are that
the steel industry is being rur for the making of
profit and not primarily for the making of steel as
the country needs it." the repor: continues "and that
tfavors (a spells of ideness, during which the coun
try and the steel workers pay for the maintenance
OF idle machinery and later (b) spurts of long hours
high-speed Labor" The twelv1-hour DAYS. saws the
report els the most Ubiquitous of the bv-nrod1cts of
the corporations labor policy which is to get labor
cheap and keep it cheap"
The Suppression of Liberty in Pennsylvania
The opponents Of the strikers brought the charge
Of "Bolshevism" against the strike leaders, When
reads the Interch rich Report in regard to civil
conditions about Pittsburgh, he comes to the con-
cuson that it the Steel Corporation and its fell
low organizations which were making the region un~
American. Denial of the rights of assemblage and
free speech" says the reportt ''dd not primarily
grow out of the strike. but Was precedent fact
directly related to the policies Of preventing labor
organization maintained by tre Steel Corporation
and certain independents T. was for years the rule
in towns about Pittsburgh that labor organizers
could not hold meetings. To maintain steel COM
panies' non-uron policies communities lost their
lights of assembly so completely that in some towns
Government agents. sent to give patriotic lectures
were denied the right to hold meetings; one such
arrested. The extent TO which rights were
aborgated depended upon the extent to which non
unionism endangered. If labor organizers were
aggressive and local restrictive ordinances were in
sufficient the most arbitrary executive acts were
resorted to. During the strike the repression
complete"
Steel Government
William 8. HaJdock, Sheriff of Allegheny Coun-
ty, issued proclamation September 20, two days
before the beginning Of the strike, in.whch he said
that printed inflammatorv circulars and other in
formation" had been ''distribted and disseminated
among the people calling strike. Sheriff Had
dock has admitted that he never saw any printed