Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-10-06
CHURCH REPORT ON
1878 STEEL STRIKE

NEW YORK, Oct. 4.-The COM
mission of inquiry of the interchurch
world movement, made public a sup
Elementary report on the steel strike
of 1919, describing the alleged use
of "undercover men" or spies by the
steel corporations and detailing it's
dealings and efforts toward media
ton with the United States Steel
corporation.
Hundreds of original documents
are quoted in the report on under
cover men in the steel STRIKE" which
declares that widespread systems
of espionage are an integral part of
the anti-union policy of great in
dustrial corporations"
industrial espionage is confined
to America" says the report. 'What
espionage there is in Europe is a
government monopoly; no other civ
iliZed country tolerateS large scale,
privately-ow labor spying"
The spy. hired by the steel com
panies, says the commission, worked
man, whispered depressing rumors,
stirred up racial spite, and argued
failure to the strikers. and ''even
in his daily-mailed spy-reports he
advises not so much sluggers' as
Influence by municipal authorities
to close up public meeting places"
The report also traces the alleged
practice Of industrial espionage
against the commission and the in
terchurch movement from November,
1919. to the summer of 1920. The
report of an unnamed "undercoyer
man" who pursued the commissions
Investigators in Pittsburg and in
spectedN the interchurch offices in
New York, designated as document
A, is given in full. 1t was sent to
the offices of the United States
Steel corporation, it is stated, and
was dated two days after the COM
missions first interview with e. H.
Gary, chairman of the corporation.
The Anonymous" report called the
investigators members of the L.
w. w. and Reds"
Two other "spy reports" against
the interchurch were detailed, one Of
which described as Document b, was
alleged to have been mailed by Ralph
M. Easley, of the national civic fed
GRAFTON. to the offices OF the United
States Steel corporation on March
that the clergymen reported in it
be kicked out of their positions"
Mr.. Easley's letter gave as his
reason for sending the report on
men in the "interchurch world move
ment, the federal council of the
churches of Christ and the Y. M. G.
A." the fact that "at this time they
are proposing to raise hundreds of
millions of dollars for this work"
The commission said that none of
the men spied on by his agent had
anything to do with the 'nterchurch
steel report"
A third document circulated in the
spring of 1920, the commission says,
had been described by business men
who had showed it to hem as the
thing responsible for he failure
of the interchurch financial drive in
Pittsburg." 1t comprises rs type
written pages and included much of
the spy material in documents A.
and B. it was stated
Six hundred alleged daily reports
made by "undercover men" or spies
in the town. of Monessen. Pa. dur
ing the steel strike, are analysed
These reports, it is stated, were fur
nished to the commission along with
blacklists, ETC.. by the steel COM
pany which hired the pies from
labor detective agencies and else
mixed with the strikers or held jobs
inside the plant dressed is workers.
1.-THE Corporations Auxiliary COM
pany," says the commissi IN s sum-
mary of it's report, "professed to
have 500 such operatives at work
in the steel strike and the coroner s
Pittsburg manager told the inves-
tigator that many of these were
inside the unions, frequently as Of
ficers. Their duties were TO break
the morale of the strikers"
The commission charged that the
'under-cover men" circulated strike
breaking rumors and quoted at
length extracts from their reports
purporting to show the general I'M
reliability and worthlessness" of
their records.
The investigation Of the spy sys-
TEN, says the commission, was eX-
tended to other towns in the Pitts
burg region and then to the Chicago
Gary district; ramifications leading
to Ohio, Washington, New York
were followed and data collected in
Guiding original documents rom the
Misunderstanding companies, inter
views with the managers of two spy
firms, affidavits and court docu
mentS."