Evening star., 1921-08-17

trouble in this country. You do not
see it here, but We do If we cannot
carry home sufficient food for our
children, you are going to see some
thing in this country that you have
never seen before. 1 do not know
Il will tell you when it is going TO
come" said Capt. Robson. 'It is go
ing to come this winter, and do not
want to see it"
Capt. Robson agreed with him that
piecework should be abolished, and
also that there should be monthly
meetings between the men and the
yard managers to discuss conditions.
Capt. Robson also characterized the
charge of $4,000 a month for naval
officers on duty there as an unjust
overhead charge.
81 Apprentices Overpaid.
When the matter of the discharge OF
apprentices came up Capt. Robson
told the committee that they were
going to run into a stone wall II they
attempted to get more pay tor them.
He characterized it as evil and
crime to pay apprentices with no re-
sponsibilities 81 "A day. They are not
worth 10 cents an hour, he said. They
cost the government money. Only
boys. he said. with initiative and
willingness to undergo the trials OF
apprenticeship. not the rewards as in
class ever amounts to anything any
way. They have no responsibilities
Then" retorted Mr.. Savage, give
his daddy enough money to keep him
through the apprenticeship.
Shipfitters in the Norfolk yard re-
ceiving "a cents an hour worked side
/ by side with men in the employ of pri-
vate contractors on the same ship
who were receiving 81 an hour. w. H.
Colein. jr., told the board. He said
! that when the yard men asked that
they be permitted to bid on the work
they were told by yard officials that
| the yard could not handle it and could
not furnish the materials, but that
the private contractors used the yard
machi merry and yard materials.
| Advocates Posting Marks.
He also advocated the posting Of the
efficiency marks of the men. and tes-
titled as to the use of coercion in re-
Quiring men to take lesser ratings or
| suffer discharge.
| A. j. Smith. representing clippers.
| carpenters and rfveters of the Norfolk
yard. said that in the recent dis
| charges many Of the best men were
dismissed, that men without depend
ents were kept in preference to men
! with families, and that it was not al
ways the inefficients who were dis
| charged.
| Frank Goodman. representing the
boilermakers Of the Washington navy
yard, said that the award of the local
wage board was not in accordance
| with the law, as boilermakers on the
| outside were getting a higher wage.
| Boiler makers in the local yard. he
said, perform a higher class of work
! than outside men, as they perform
work on the guns and gun mounts,
| work that requires much skill and ac-
! curacy. He felt that the board in
making its recommendations did not
| take into consideration the class of
work performed. If they had, he said,
they should have recommended an in
| crease.
Friends Favored, He Says.
| He told the board that the present
system of efficiency marking in the
| Washington yard permits of favorit-
ism. and charged that it is practiced
by men giving to their friends higher
! marks than they deserve
j. A. Quinn. representing the chip
pers and calkers of the Philadelphia
yard. also complained of the methods
1 used in discharging men there. char
acterizing It as just plain crooked
tress"
| That the private employers in the
vicinity of the Charleston. S. c. navy
yard. when they became cognizant of
the government wage board recon-
! mendation of 20 cents an hour for
boilermakers, locked out their men
until they would accept such lower
wage. was charged by j. N. Davis,
representing the International Asso-
citation of Boilermakers. Employers
| on the outside use present conditions
to force men to accept starvation
| wages.
| He said he wanted to impress on
| the board the absolute disregard BIZ
the local wage boards of data received.
! In many cases. he said. there was evil
dence that firms had refused to give
data because they wanted lower
wages AMI wanted to take advantage
of unemployment conditions to lower
| them.
| Fears Lack Of Confidence.
The wages Of the navy yard men
should be adjusted, he told the board,
on the purchasing price Of the dollar
and not by the arbitrary wage ad-
justments Of private employers forced
on their men. There is no reduction
of wages justified at this time.
If the Navy Department, he said,
uses the methods practiced by pri-
vate employers. aided by depression
cause lack of confidence in the gov
jernment andf lower the morale Of the
men.
| Thomas Nolan, head of the inter-
national boilermakers, and John B.
Simering. representing the toolmakers
of the Washington yard. also testi-
fed. Mr.. Simering pointed out that
the tool makers should be given a
wage of $7.20 a day.
The hearing is being continued this
afternoon. representatives of the
the noon recess.