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Show STRIKE LEADER IS GRI&FD BY SENATE PROBE COMMITTEE FOSTER SAYS HIS ARE ALTERED Just How Much He Is Unwilling to Tell Before Be-fore Reporters of "Lying "Ly-ing Capitalistic Press." Subjected to Grueling Examination as to Views Expressed in His Radical Writings. WASHINGTON.. ct. 3. William Z. Foster, secretary of the general committee commit-tee conducting the steel strike, when confronted today before the senate labor committee witn his writings advocating various forms of revolutionary Socialism, dec'ared under a sriiling Tire of questions that bis views had ciianeJ. How-much they bad changed. Foster declined to toll' the senators unless they excluded newspaper correspondents from the room w'.iile he did it. Tilts the com-, mittee did not do. Armed v.'itli books -winch Foster had written during his career in labor circles, which advocated revolutionary Socialism and sabotage, and with copies of the t. v, TV. organ. Solidarity, containing articles contributed by him from Europe, where he went in 1911 as a representative representa-tive of that organization. Foster was pressed into a lengthy explanation of the doctrines and views he advocated in 1914 and earlier years. Foster first attempted to parry the questions, at the outset refusing to answer an-swer until newspaper reporters were excluded ex-cluded from the room, on the ground that "lying, prejudiced capitalistic newspapers have misconstrued and misrepresented my personal opinions, with the sole idea of injuring the cause of 300.000 steel workers." work-ers." SAYS VIEWS HAVE BEEN CHANGED. He was finally crowded iuio a declaration declara-tion when Senator McKeDar. Democrat. Tennessee, reading many quotation from his works, demanded that he say whether or not he still adhered to his beliefs. "Those are not my views now." he said in a subdued tone after listening to his own words repeated, declaring "the state to be a meddling, capitalistic institution,-' and advocating violence in strikes and calm acceptance of bloodshed as necessary to the forwarding of the revolutionary revo-lutionary cause. President Gompers of the American Federation of Labor broke into the examination ex-amination in irritated fashion at one point when Foster was standing on his objections to newspaper reports of his testimony. "Well, they can't Bay anything worse about you than they have," the leader of the federation adjured him. Foster would not, however, completely retract his old works, and, faced with one line to the effect "that the syndicalist worker will not be held back from direct action by the capit.ali.stic code of ethics, duty, honor, patriotism." he told the committee : "Put quotation marks among some of those and will stand by them yet. They'll show how the words are usd." Other excerpts from later writings. (Continued on Page 2. Column 3.) declared that the present strike was preceded pre-ceded by universal demands for organization organi-zation from steel workers. Tighe said several new charters for local unions had been issued by his organization, but that he could not tell exactly how maffy men had Joined for the strike. On October 1, he said, 363,000 men were on strike. "How many of those strikers cannot speak Knglish." asked Chairman Kenyon. "To be frank about the matter, I think the largest percentage of them are foreign-born." "I wouldn't be doing justice to my organization," or-ganization," Tigbe concluded, "if I failed to contradict Judge Gary's statements. The corporations have used the vicious element tbey complain of. I want' to protest pro-test that neither our organization nor the American Federation of Labor has any vicious element in it," Feared I. W. W. Agents. "Why could not the" strike be delayed at the president's request?" asked Chairman Chair-man Kenyon. "Because there were a number of T. W. W. organizers among the men," Tighe said. "If we bad delayed, they would have said that the American Federation of Labor could not do anything. They would have succeeded in calling some sporadic strikes, anyhow." j "Then, in the- last -analysis, the I. W. W. caused this strike," said Senator i Sterling. "Oil, don't take that view," Tighe responded. re-sponded. "If we had gotten a conference with Judge Gary we would have had something to show these men that their L interests were being protected, and could , have held them on the job." FOSTER SAYS i NOTIONS M ALTERED (Continued From Page Ono.) stating that "government as we know it will shrivel up and die," and "industries now in the hands of the states, municipalities municipali-ties and the nation will be given completely com-pletely over to the workers in them,"' he was quite well prepared to defend. "I have my own ideas about government," govern-ment," he said of the first, and of the second; "That's not so startling nowadays." nowa-days." "Well, that's syndicalism, pure and simple, isn't it?" Senator Sterling, Republican, Re-publican, South Dakota, one of his most , persistent interrogators, demanded. "I think not." Foster said. The wit- ' ness indorsed his own advocacy of race suicide with the statement that "it is foolishness for workmen to undertake to raise big families." GOMPERS LISTENS WITH AMUSEMENT. President Gompers, with apparent amusement, listened to senators read Foster's Fos-ter's essays on the American Federation Federa-tion of Labor, written before he joined It as an organizer, wherein he assorted that "the American labor movement is infested with hordes of dishonest officials offi-cials and labor fakers. These men must go." He explained that today he considered con-sidered the blanket charge not tenable. One letter, written to "Solidarity," wherein Foster explained that it was the true duty of a . revolutionary to work through existing trades unions and quit trying to build up new organizations, interested in-terested the committee considerably. Foster Fos-ter admitted authorsvilp, but would not say it described his present course. "All these things, these doctrines, spelled violence, didn't they?" inquired Senator McKolhir, "They spelled fight," Foster returned. Causes of Strike. His remarks on the present strike were comparatively brief. "It came because the workers were de- I nied opportunity to present their griev- ancps," he said. "It could not be delayed at President Wilson's request because of the steel corporation's policy in instituting institut-ing wholesale discharges." Foreigners made up the largest membership mem-bership in the unions at present, he explained, ex-plained, "because higher paid Americans, knowing of the fate of past at t erupts to organize the steel industry, stand back to wait and see." "Of course, we'd like to take the Americans Amer-icans first," he said. "They occupy the strategic positions, being more skilled." President Gompers camo back before the committee when Foster concluded "to straighten out a few matters," he s;i Id, and attacked briefly some of the points Judge Gary, chairman of the steel corporation, cor-poration, emphasized in his testimony before be-fore the committee. "The steel corporation in 1001 passed a resolution declaring itself unalterably opposed to union hibor," Mr. Gompers said, "notifying all of its subsidiary divisions divi-sions that it stood against any extension." exten-sion." He defined an "open shop" as "a place where the principle of collective bargaining bargain-ing cannot exist." Gompers' Definitions. Steel corporation hospitals "T have been informed by newspaper men," as lie put it are places where workmen are "confined incommunicado." He described the corporation "as a federation fed-eration of companies and corpora t ions, which does not allow its workers to organize or-ganize and be heard through representation." representa-tion." So late was tho committee by its lienr-Ing lienr-Ing of Foster that plans to go to Pittsburg Pitts-burg to conduct an invest i gat ion in tin: field were set over until next week. Hearings will be resumed tomorrow with oilier represent a ti ves of the strikers on hn nd. During the morning session Michael F. Tighe, as president of the largest of the twenty-four unions involved in the strike, the iron, steel and tin workmen, went over the Luutioii for the committee and asserted as-serted that "Judge Gary has breu badly misinformed about wot king conditio dm and practices in his plants when n at- i tempts to pudental the ntcd corporation j hei e." Witness Has a Laugh. At tin' oiil.'ul of hi.t If-stimony, KomIit,! 1 by direction of Chairman Kuiiyon, out lined at some length -the reasons for the strike. Senator McKellar interrupted to ask: "Are you in favor of organized government?" govern-ment?" Foster laughed. "I see you have that red book;" he remarked, re-marked, referring to the pamphlet, "Syndicalism." "Syn-dicalism." After reading paragraphs, the senator asked: "Is that your belief'.'" "It's my composition," Foster replied. "The chairman has told me to tell about the strike,. I'd like to take up questions in order." "I want an answer to that question," Senator McKellar" persisted. "That was written eight or nine years ago," Foster said. "At that time well, I may say I'm one who was raised in the slums. I've knocked around, seen many things I didn't agree with. At that time I was a follower of the Spanish, Italian and French union system. Today I've become a little less radical, possibly, and a believer in American and English trade unionism." "You are not answering my question. Do you believe in the doctrine of revolution?" revolu-tion?" Senator McKellar demanded. "I'd not include that if I were writing a book again," Foster said. "That question can be answered yes or no perfectly well," Senator McKellar per-! per-! sisted. Dodges an Answer. "I'd like to say one thing," Foster s, . "There's been a great deal of publicity; the newspapers have treated us unfairly. The organizers and the American Federation Fed-eration of D.abor in this campaign have, been misrepresented. They've tried to hurt 370,01)0 steel workers by making me the issue. I do not feel that my answers an-swers will be properly handled ny the ' press. If this committee wants to know my personal views, I'll tell them fairly and openly, provided the press is excluded , from the room." I Chairman Kenyon interrupted to say I that his views were not important.. I "Jt has been charged that this strike is an attempt to overturn our institutions," institu-tions," Chairman Kenyon interrupted. "That revolutionaries are leading it." "I've repudiated that pamphlet," Foster Fos-ter said, "but I don't want my views bandied about by a lot of prejudiced, lying newspapers to tho damage of the strik- 6r"May T say, Mr. Foster, there are some members of this committee in sym- , pathy with labor, but utterly opposed to j violence." Senator Borah. Republican. ; Idaho remarked. "You cannot render any: hotter service to your men than to tell ti s now w h at your v 1 e w s a re . The reporters re-porters will send out the facta correct," Tighe on the Stand. In refusing to arbitrate the strike, Elbert El-bert H. Gary, chairman of the board of the United States Steel corporation, "is sowing the seeds of anarchy," the senate committee investigating the. strike was told todav bv Michael F. Tighe, president of the Union of Iron, Steel and Tinwork- ei"f was very much put out yesterday by Judge Garv's refusal to compromise or arbitrate this issue," said Tighe. "He Is sowing the seeds of anarchy; promoting the insidious doctrine that there is no way out of industrial difficulties except by the destruction of one side or the other." Tighe repeated the charge that the steel corporation, early in its history, had appropriated $20,000,000 to fight unions, and gave names of his informants. The unions, he said, had never sought tho "closed shop" but "union shops." "When the management signs a contract con-tract as to scales and working conditions, U is a union shop," he explained. "The eJTeet is the same as a closed shop, isn't it?" arked Senator Sterling, Republican, South Dakota. "No," snid Tighe. "We are not asking for closed shops and -never have." W. Z. Foster, secretary of the general strike committee, whose alleged views aa a radical have drawn congressional fire, was present at the hen ring todav prepared pre-pared to testify after Tighe had concluded. con-cluded. Armed with copies of his book, on "syndicalism." members of the committee" com-mittee" were ready for sharp cross-examination of Foster. Reads an Advertisement. Tighn read an advertisement of 1509, credited to the V ni ted States Steel corporation, cor-poration, whl'-lt said: "Men wanted Syrians, Poles and Rumania Ru-mania ns preferred." "This gentleman's (Judge Garv) remarks re-marks about foreigners now," Tighe remarked." re-marked." "are not well taken in view of that." "Do you charge that from 1909 on there was a. steady increaMo of foreign workman work-man In tin- stffl compmiy's mil In V ' nsked Sr n a tor Walsh, Democrat, M ansae Initio! Ini-tio! i u. "Yes, I do," Tigho answered, Tigho |