Evening star., 1937-01-08
Strikes
Continued From First Page.)

week as Governor OF Michigan.
emerged from the last Of the noe
turnal conferences at 3:15 am. EAST
ern standard time) and said:
We have a definite objective, but
I can't say what it is"
Confer With Knudsen.
Standing at his side was James r.
Dewey. United States Department Of
Labor conciliator.
They had held a series Of separate
conversations with William S. Knud-
sen, General Motors executive vice
president. and Homer s. Martin, pres
ident Of the United Automobile Work.
ers Of America.
Knudsen similingly declined to COM
ment. Martin and Dewey indicated
that any statements would have to
come from Gov. Murphy.
The demonstration last night at
Flint, where $4,000 General Motors
employees are idle, took place outside
the city Jail, where two union mem
bers were held incommunicado after
earlier disorders.
A crowd, which Police Chief James
". Wills said numbered 500 union
members and sympathizers, marched
to the jail and demanded that the
prisoners be released or, at least, be
permitted to talk with an attorney.
Demonstrators Retreat.
The throng ignored police requests
that it disband. Then policemen.
wearing gas masks and carrying tear
gas guns, walked out Of the building
and said they would release the gas
II the crowd insisted upon remaining.
The demonstrators retreated and dis
persed without the gas being dis
charged.
The two prisoners are Roy Slee Of
Toledo, Ohio. a U. A. w. A. organizer,
and Harold Hubbard, union employe
Of the Fisher Body Corp. at Flint.
They were detained yesterday after
noon after a street fight outside the
Flint Chevrolet factory when its clos
ing today was announced. 1t had
been operating on a restricted basis.
In the scuffle Detective Lieut.. Ray H.
Martin said, one union man was hit
on the head with a screwdriver, but
did not require hospital treatment.
Lieut.. Martin said the mans name
was not learned.
An amplifier through which union
leaders had been addressing the crowd
was damaged. Robert C. Travis, a
union leader, said he would ask war
rants charging three minor oficials
Of Chevrolet with malicious destruc-
tion Of property. He did not name
the persons.
Troopers Protection Sought.
Reuther also said the men we're de-
Tending their property and their lives"
and added that he would ask Gov.
Murphy to provide protection by State
troopers. After the second demonstra-
ton Reuther said he requested the Gov
ernor to remove Police Chief Wills
for not permitting the two prisoners
to talk with legal advisers.
William F. Coburn, 49, q union
member serving as a strike "inves-
tigator," was fatally injured by an
automobile as the crowd outside the
Jail broke up. He was taken to a
hospital where he died this morning.
The number OF General Motors
workers idle mounted steadily as
additional divisions were closed. With
56,323 employees already on strike or
laid of, the corporation offices an
nounced that 1926 will be laid OF at
Flint and Bay City, Mich, units by
tonight. The Chevrolet plant at
Muncie. Ind, which has / 500 workers,
suspended operations today.
BY nightfall more than 10000 en-
ployes of the large automobile COM
pany Win be without work. Several
days ago Knudsen predicted that as
many as $4,000 might be idle by the
end of the week.
New "sit-down" strikes affected
other automotive companies besides
General Motors. One of the Briggs