Evening star., 1921-04-30
Secretary Davis Asks Com
mittee of Three to Take
Up WrangIe. !
MEN WANT SAME WAGES
UNTIL REPORT is MADE
Body Would Consider Only Cues
tions Brought Up at Confer
ences Here.

workers representatives. Secretary
! Davis today urged President Harding
to appoint a committee of three to
mediate in the dispute between ship
owners and their workers in an effort
to prevent a strike called for tomor-
row. The President reserved judg-
ment.
The committee, under the plan ap-
proved by the union men. would re-
| port within fifteen days. and meantime
! wages would remain as at present.
The committee would consider only
| those questions of wages and work.
! ing conditions which were brought up
at conferences here between the men.
| the ship owners and Chairman Benson
of the shipping board.
Earlier in the day representatives
of the marine workers unions were
told at the White House that the
President would take up with his
cabinet officers the matter of media
,, tion in the wage dispute with a view
to preventing a threatened strike to-
morrow on American ships on the
Atlantic, Pacific and gulf coasts.
Mr. Davis Ready to Act.
The Department of Labor inter-
ested itself in the controversy early
in the day and it was understood
that Secretary Davis was prepared to
ask that his department be author
lied to use it's good offices in the
event the executive decided not to
appoint special board of mediation.
Andrew Furuseth. president of the
International Seamens Union, and
William $. Brown. representing the
Marine Engineers Beneficial Associa-
ton. conferred with Secretary Davis
at the Labor Department after they
had been told at the White House that
the President would take the mat
ter up with his advisors. They laid
their situation before Secretary
Hoover at the Department of Com
merce yesterday.
Soon after the labor men entered
Mr.. Davis office, President Harding
sent out call for the Labor Secre-
tary and Secretary Hoover to confer
with him at the White House. 1t was
understood that Mr.. Davis was pre-
pared to urge action and to tell the
President tina. experts of his depart
ment had estimated that the strike
would cost the country s1,000,O00 a
day on the single item of ship values.
Plans Go Ahead.
While the President was consider
ing the strike problem, Shipping
Board officials went ahead with plans
to operate the government merchant
fleet irrespective of any strike. They
refused to disclose what preparations
were being made.
Mr.. Furuseth and Mr. Brown were
understood to have told Secretary
Davis that they were Perfectly will
ing to leave the whole controversy to
the settlement of three fair minded"
men to be named by the government
I and that they would accept the deci-
sion of such a committee. They wait
ed at Mr.. Davis office pending the out
come of the conference between the
President and the Labor and Com
merce secretaries.
There were reports that President
Harding agreed with Chairma Ben
son of the Shipping Board that there
should be a wage reduction, but Sec
retary Davis was said to have urged
upon him that even if the President
held to this view he should appoint a
committee to decide as to working
conditions. The Labor Secretary, it
was stated, told the President that
the marine workers felt that they had
fully their side Of the case.
Neither Mr. Davis nor Secretary
Hoover would discuss the situation
| when they came out of the conference
with the President. Upon reaching
his office the Labor secretary re-
sumed his talk with representatives
Of the marine workers unions.
Case Before President,
Late yesterday Chairman Benson of
the Shipping Board and representa-
tives of the marine unions called sep
arately at the White House to lay
their cases before the President. Pre-
viously the chairman and the shin
! owners had rejected a proposal by
Mr.. Furuseth to submit the whoie Gt12s-
ton to President Harding for arbitra-
ton.
Chairman Benson declined to dis
cuss his visit at the White House.
but the union representatives, in the
absence of the President, left "a re-
port and a prayer in behalf of all
the workers submitting the matter
to him.
BreaN After Conference.
The break in negotiations came after
final conference called by Chairman
Benson 10 consider new wage and
working agreements. The chairman's
proposal for Is per cent wage cut
was rejected for the engineers on the
ground that it was not justified by
| living costs or necessary as an ecan-
| omy in operating expenses. H. P.
Griffin, for the cooks and stewards,
declared that the proposed wage cut
was Sign on the dotted line propo-
sition" and asked that the controversy
| be submitted to a disinterested party.
Mr.. Furuseth asked for assurance
| that certain conditions would be made
| a part of any new agreement includ-
| ing preference for American citizens
| in employment, enforcement of the
seamen's cat and recognition Of the
unions right to act for the men,
Chairman Benson replied that he in
| dorsed the idea of preference for
| American citizens and would carry
out those parts of the law under his
! Jurisdiction, but that the other points
! were matters of working conditions
! to be determined later.
Furuseth Offers Plan.
| Mr. Furuseth then offered his plan
! for arbitration by the President. I'VE
| are willing" he said. ito submit this
whole thing in its Nabsolute entirety,
! without reservation. to the President
| of the United States and we will
adopt his decision as organizations
and will go to every one of our men,
| bers and plead with them to Loyalty
abide by anything that he decides. and
that Is all we can do"
| The offer was rejected by the chair
| man and by w. A. Thompson for the
| steamship owners.
Men of America, men of the United
States" Chairman Benson said, I'VE
are supposed to be the supporters and
aid Of the President Of the United
States. We are supposed not only to
carry our own burdens. but to help
| him carry his. ! for one will not add
one iota to the burden he is already
carrying. We are responsible citi-
Zens. l trust all of US are of America
| And it is for US to aid the Presiden mt
Ala attempting to carry this question
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