Omaha daily bee., 1920-01-04

! willing to work; fa,2 paid and no
fees charged for this work"
They have a most extraordinary
mixture of human begins in Gary
the Croatians and Poles leading,
with large numbers of Greeks,
Slovaks, Russians, Swedes, Hun
| garians. Latterly the Spaniards have
been coming in, and since the war,
and especially since unionism began
to threaten, many ignorant negroes
and Mexicans. In the main mill at
Gary over 1000 negroes are now
employed.
Power of Corporation.
I asked why it was, then, if this
was strike for freedom, that so
many men had gone back.
That's easy enough to answer. In
the first place the power and watch
| flilness of the managers was such
that we never could form a very
strong union. How can you get ig-
norant Hungarians, Italians, Poles,
negroes and Mexicans together and
teach them the value of organization
when the dread of the boss is al
ways over them? And no sooner
does the strike start than the mill
tary comes in and prevents picket
ing and prevents any large meetings.
Many of these foreigners are easily
frightened by soldiers; they've had
experience at home. On the other
hand, the most intelligent men, who
ought to be leaders, hold high-paid
places or are buying company
houses, or are getting bonuses. or
are working for pensions. They
know that if they go out they lose
everything. Since this strike the
company has done its-best to stir up
racial and national feeling between
the skilled American workers and
the negroes and foreigners. It's
their cue to keep us apart and dis
organized. So it has got to be a
movement largely made up of the
unskilled laborers, and they are for
eigners. And there you are. Oh
they know their business-the Steel
Corporation!. And that's what has
made wild radicals of some of the
foreigners; they don't see any other
way out except secret organizations
and revolution"
Another thing these workers be-
lieve-and believe everywhere in the
steel districts, as shown by the SEN
ate investigation--is that the gov
ernment is somehow against them;
the government meaning to many Of
the foreigners-for they know next
to nothing at all of American in
stitutions-the local police. I am
not entering into the question of
whether they are right or wrong.
but trying to get down what they
actually believe or feel, for it is not
upon what they ought to believe and
feel that they act. but upon what
they do believe and feel. Well, they
believe that the officials and con
stabulary are controlled by the steel
companies. In Pennsylvania there
is every evidence of suppression and
even violent suppression, by the
constabulary. Much testimony was
given before the senate committee
to show that there is no such thing
in some of the steel towns as free
speech or free assemblage. The
companies assert that this control
IS necessary to preserve order and
protect property; but from below,
to the strikers, it looks like op-
preston. =
Believe Themselves Suppressed.
Many of the officials in steel
towns are employees Of steel
companies. Even in Gary, where
the control has been less rigorous
than in Pennsylvania, | heard much
OF the same kind of complaint.
Whether the strikers are right or
wrong, no honest inquirer can avoid
the impression that they feel them
selves suppressed. Much is done for
them by the Steel corporation; but
of themselves, either by political or
social organization, they feel they
are allowed to have no say about