The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-05-20
BEHIND THE SCENES WASHINGTON 9wv ROONEY DuTcHER-i Democrat Washington COrre-
 gpOndent
True Story Behind The Taylor Lewis
 Steel Episode May
 Never Be Known

kA1CA4bo 0AAAOAA6 kAAO AAAAN NROANSAAo SN~~@ corporations stretches behind the memorable negotiations which end- ed in a collective bargaining agree ment between Chairman Myron Taylor of the U. s. Steel Corpora tion, and Chairman John L. Lewis of the c. I. O.
 Snatches of the true story behind the Taylor-Lewis episode have been told, some of them in inaccurate version. The full story probably will never be revealed, because men like Taylor and J. P. Morgan-and men like Lewis-have way of keeping their secrets. Ask any newspaperman.
 Those here in the best position to know, however, insist that there were two essential factors hitherto hidden:
 1. Taylor's insistence on going
 behind the assurances of his im-
 mediate subordinates to find out
 the extent to which the c. I. o.
 really could make a dent in his
 corporations production.
 2. A complete factual report by
 Taylor to J. P. Morgan which
 caused that mighty financier to
 give him virtual carte blanche in
 persuading the corporations board
 that it was good business to reach
 an agreement with Lewis.
 According to this authoritative version:
 Taylor went to Europe last sum- mer convinced that the c. I. O.'s organization drive in steel was nothing to worry about. After his return in the fall, for reasons which are not clear here, he decided to make his own investigation. He went to Pittsburgh and other cities and interviewed subordinates whose jobs brought them into closer contact with the rank and file than those with whom Taylor ordinarily con- suited.
 Found It No ''FlOp"
 At that time, and for quite a while thereafter, it was being said rather commonly that "the steel drive is flop" Taylor found that the top men in his organization generally were convinced that their workers were not interested in the union. But it appeared that their own subordinates had been giving them the kind of rosy reports they most wanted to hear. Taylor's own interviews led him to believe that the union had made large headway and would be able to put a severe crimp in production.
 Taylor then reported to Mor-
 gan, who, with the late George
 F. Baker, had persuaded him,
 against his reluctance, to take
 over executive command of U. S.
 Steel. He is supposed to have told
 Morgan that the Lewis union was
 strong within the steel plant gates
 that the corporation faced big
 year of production and profits
 which could hardly be had if
 plants were closed, that the sym-
 pathy of the federal and Pennsyl-
 vania state governments would be
 with the strikers.
 He also is supposed to have pointed out that U. s. Steel had been losing tonnage to independent companies in recent years, and that it would be of real advantage to U. s. Steel if industry-wide unioni- Zation were to force the independ- ents to maintain as high wage structure as the corporation, in stead of being free to cut corners on wage classifications.
 Nothing could be more obvious to Taylor and Morgan than the fact that the independents would flourish and produce fun blast at U. s. Steel's expense in case the latter's plants were tide up by strike. What these two industrial financial giants went through mentally and emtionally to reach an agreement can only be imagined. But when Taylor went back to sell hostile board of directors on a new labor relations policy he was invincibly fortified by the backing of Morgan. Bitter at Taylor
 Heads of the independent com- panies have been bitter at Taylor even since, assuring each other they would never concede as much as U. s. Steel conceded. Rivalry has been increasingly intense. But plainly it would be relatively as disastrous for an independent company to be closed by strike as it would have been for U. s. Steel. Quick settle ment of the Jones & Laughlin and Pittsburgh Steel strikes was taken here as evidence, pending plant elec- tions, that those independents had encountered more c. I. O. strength than they anticipated.
 Bethlehem Steel, with 80,000 em- ployes, is expected to be the last of the independents to hold out against signing a contract with the union. It has had the strongest of all company unions, claiming 60,- GOO members for it at one time. But Lewis long ago instructed his own men to join that company union and today no one can tell how strong it really is.
 Copyright, 1887, NEA Service, Incl
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