The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1920-05-14
STRIKE ON AT
GREAT NORTHERN
LUMBER MILL
FIFTY OR SIXTY MEN AND 4
FEW WOMEN EMPLOYED At
MILL AND BOX FACTORY. co
OUT MONDAY MORNING.

Fifty or sixty men and a few wo
men employed at the Great Northern
saw mill went on strike Monda,
morning out of sympathy for thre,
men who on Saturday were dis
charged.
There are several different storio,
told as to the cause of the company
discharging the men. One is that
some wobbly had written obscene
matter on the bulletin board and that
when it was discovered by the men
discharged they had not reported or
erased it, thus bringing down upon
themselves the wrath of foreman
who discharged them. Another is
that the writing on the bulletin board
was advice to workmen not to ioin
the LIS, but to join the Timber
Workers union. The reason given
by the superintendent of the com
pany's business here. f. w. Stevens.
is that sawyer had been damaging
some of the choicest lumber with his
"nigger iron" This had been going
on for about two weeks. When tho
sawyers' attention was called to his
damage to the lumber he had not
needed the warning and Saturday he
and two helpers were discharged. The
superintendent says that they have
a considerable quantity of this dam
aged lumber to show for itself and
plenty of witnesses to testify to the
truth Of the allegation.
branch of the Timber Workers
union, it seems, was recently formed
here and that the discharged men be-
longed to this organization: and it is
reported that the union held a meet
ing Sunday and decided to go on
strike Monday morning if the dis
charged men were not reinstated
Anyway the strike came off as above
stated and the strikers have been
picketing the mill yard and depot to
prevent men coming in, from going
to work.
On the other hand, the company
still has considerable crew of men
who remained loyal and one side of
the mill and the box factory have
continued to be operated There
has been no disorder and the strike
has not spread to the camps or to
the men operating the logging train.
1t is unfortunate that this contro-
versy should arise in these times
when production throughout the
world is low and the cost of living is
high, and everyone would welcome an
early settlement which is within the
range of possibility. If the strike he
continued the mill may finally shut
down. which would be especially hard
upon those men with families who
depend upon the mill for work. No
matter of wages enters into the CON
troversy. 1t is simply a matter as
to whether the management can con-
duct the business in profitable and
b1siness-like way. or whether the
men may damage lumber and dictate
who shall and who shall not be dis
charged-that is from the Com
pany's standpoint The mems stand
point is not so plain, but we presume
it is that they do not consider that
the men discharged should have been
discharged and out of sympathy.
they too left their jobs.
Ordinarily in these days the work
ing men have the sympathy of the
public. There has been some expires
sion of opinion in this case and it is
not all for the men. Just what will
be thought if the real facts were un-
derstood, we do not know but it il
pretty safe to say that if the mill
company's allegations are true, there
will not he many to SympathiZe with
the men, for all persons of expert
cnce and judgment believe that men
should do good days work for a
days pay and do a good job of what
ever they are employed at. Who
ever is wrong should recant, that the
wheels of progress may be kept go
ing as steadily as possible The Echo
has no other interest in this matte
than to state the case as nearly right
as we can get at il. and to see both
employer and employee get together
on a friendly basis and resume pro-
duction at the earliest possible
moment.
Extra early cantaloupes. cucum-