New-York tribune., 1920-08-01

Is
instatement of all men discharged
for union activities. with pay for time
lost; eight-hour day one days rest
IN seven; abolition of 24-hour shifts
increases in wages sufficient to guar
antee American standard of living,
standard scales of wages in all trades
and classificatlons of workers, double
rates of pay for all overtime after
eight hours, holiday and Sunday
work. check off system OF collecting
union dues and assessments, princi-
pies OF seniority to apply in the
maintenance, reduction and increase of
working forces, abolition or company
unions, abolition Of physical exami-
nation of applicant for employment
The very first OF these demands
proved the rock upon which all at
tempts to reach an agreement split Mr.
Gary and the members Of the commit
tee understood the phrase. collective
bargaining" in a widely different sense.
M. Gary contended that he was per-
fectlly willing to listen to the sriev-
ances of his employees presented by
themselves but refused to admit that
the committee represented a majority
OF the steelworkers.
strike vote was taken, and, accord
ing to Mr.. Foster. resulted in an over
whelming majority in favor OF quitting
work. September % was set as the
date Of the strike. A last attempt to
prevent the conflict was made by Presi-
dent Wilson, who appealed to the com
mittee to postpone action until after
the Industrial Conference President
Wilson's appeal received the qualified
sanction Of Mr.. Gompers The autho,
explains at length why 1t was rejected.
he asserts that men were being dis
charged in large numbers for union
affiliations and that a postponement of
the strike would have fatally dis
credited the unions in the eyes of the
workers. As he says:
Between certain. ignominious de-
feat and possible victory or, at the
worst, honorable failure the national
committee had only one choice"
The strike was called; and. accord
ing to Mr.. Foster, 365,0 900 men answered
the summons. The author reviews the
course Of the strike briefly, laying
stress upon certain salient incidents.
lie devotes q chapter 10 the working Of
the commissariar, which was estab-
llshed by the committee TO provide food
for the more destitute strikers and
their families
Mr.. Foster IS most Interesting when
he analyzes the factors which brought
about the failure Of the strike. In
this connection he SAYS:
Blames Labor for Defeat
u have said much about the inius
tees visited upon the steelworkers by
the steel companies and their minions.
the mayors, burgesses, police magis-
trates, gunner, state police, Senate
committees, etc. But let there be no
mistake. do not blame the failure Of
the strike upon these factors. l put
the responsibility upon the shoulders
of organized labor. Had it but stirred
little the steelworkers would have
won their battle. despite all the Steel
Trust could do to prevent it,"
The author develops this point in
considerable detail. He makes specific
charges of apathy, bordering on treach-
cry, on the part of the Amalgamated
Association OF Iron, Steel and Tin
Workers, one of the unions involved
in the strike He feels that the Amer
lean Federation Of Labor did not sup
port the strike to the best OF its abil-
ity. He expresses the hope that the
miners and railway workers will come
decisively to the aid OF the steelwork-
ers in the next big strike, which, in his
opinion, is certain to take place within
another year or two.
It IS not surprising that the more
conservative leaders of the American
Federation of Labor were somewhat t
lukewarm In their attitude toward a
strike led by Mr.. Foster and Mr.. Fitz-
patrick For, in the last chapter Of
the book, the author sets forth con-
ception Of trade unionism which is GER
sainly very different from that Of Mr..
(cmpers Trade unions, according to
~. Foster, are essentially radical and
anti-cap pitalist bodies. There is no rea-
son to assume that they would balk at
the abolition of the wage system itself
Trade Union Camouflage
Why, then, do labor leaders habitu-
ally use such expressions as "a fair
days pay for q fair days work" and
. "the interests Of capital and labor are
identical"2 Mr.. Foster answers this
question by saying that the unions
have been forced to surround them
selves with sort Of camoufage or
protective coloring." This "camou-
fage" does not, in his opinion, prevent
the unions from being most effective
instruments in the hands of the work
ing class in its struggle for more
power
Not many Americans viii sympathize
with the authors frankly expressed
purpose Of using the traditional de-
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