Arizona republican., 1920-01-26
MONDAY MORNING. JANUARY 2s. 1920
Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposl- ton to put moral chains upon thelr own capacities. Burke.
The Late Steel Strike

A lew the steel strike was deciaIeu off This the slightest ripple It was an unnecessary declaration. The framing or the document containing another waste of paper. The steel strike had been forgotten It was of aImost "on
 And vet there had been such long and Elaborate preparation a strike. The preparation vas begun two years ago and there were brought nto the investment twenty-four international unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor The strike was to be an assault in force upon the chief citadel O "open shop" If that could be carried organized labor would command all the de- lenses of the enemy and at could batter them down one by one. A formal demand for sur render. for a barley looking to surrender was made by President Gompers to Judge Gary the head of the Steel Corporation last June There was no reply A couple of months later committee of the organization for bringing workers together called a offices of Judge Gary who declined to see the committee word it 10 put in writ ing what it might have to say.
 A little later there written request for a conference for the of arranging a meeting where the questions of hours. conditions of employment collective bargaining might be dis cussed- That refused.
 The public generally did know what was going on what grievances the steel workers might have. IL could O why conference should be denied. Even meddlesome government either suorant ignoring the fact that the issue was one which could be compromised and that either ihe ~opcn shop" closed shop principle must Triumph sought 10 bring aDoul d cOInpTohlSs-
 But Mir. Gompers the fight on and he saw as most thinking did, how it must end He withdrew far possible from the firing line. transpired that it less strike than an attempted revolution; that a large iorfty of the men involved O strikers were ignorant foreigners The natural leaders of an industrial movement back ground and the management W. z. Foster who had previously distinguished himself by his l. W. w. and jolshevist utteranees.
 Here were none the grievances which ordin- ariIy provoke strikes. Wages good. There was no complaint about working conditions But there complaints about conditions of employ mont which is entirely different matter. That broadly that the steel workers should control the production the United States Steel Cor poration-
 The hopeIessness of the strike was early appar- ent. IT preparation it had been long. had the preparation for its resistance The steel work had been pretty well combed out Those that remained mostly Americans with American ideals. only the vicious and the ignorant constitut ing a small. a negligible minority went Disclosures character of the movement robbed the strike almost the beginning. of that public sympathy without which strike can succeed Though the Steel Corporation had been the public lovabIe institution. anything bet Ter than the ! W. W. sentiment which seemed to animate strike against it.
 In announcing the strike commit Zee
 steel corporation, with the active assistance press federal troops state police and many snublic officials have steel their right of free speech free assemblagc and the right to raufze and by this arbitrary ruthless misuse of power have brought about condition which has compelled the national committee for organizing iron and steel workers to the active strike phase -of the steel campaign end"
 This is a m misstatement of fact. The press generally reflected only the public sentiment and public sentiment is apt to be right. There interference by troops. state federal. with the strikers who away from the vicnities of the plants where other wanted to work. Their rights of free speech sssembage recognized where the exercise of those rights did provoke disturbance. The right of organization not Ienied but the Steel Corporation exercised another inherent right declining recognize organization
 The public which a factor, we have pointed ant in giving force strikes might but for one tbfnc in this case insisted the recognition of the organization in the interest of indus .rat peace There growing sentiment in this country it has invaded the ranks of em- rlovers in favor of labor organization and in favor ,r collective bargaining. The collective bar -.fuirp though is an indefinite one. IL means ,hirp 10 the true and another to the v w Ii is hardly a all by the
 der To Foster and associates meant the
 of steel industry and the ultimate control t, the workers of all industry
 We have always entertained n d-u5t whether srr Go1npers and other reputable labor leaders