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Show BEFORE Right of Employes to Have Voice Is Para-I Para-I mount Issue. DEFINES DEMAND Aliens Were Brought to U. S. by Systematic Efforts of Officials. WASHINGTON Sept 26. After hearing Samuel r.ompert-, pr sident of ili" American Federation of Labor, for I more than three hours, the senate committee investigating the steel strike today abandoned its plans to examine tomorrow William Z Foster, secretary of the steel workers' committee, com-mittee, who has been attacked in the house of representatives as a radical and an I. W. W. WASHINGTON. Sept. 26. The richt 'A the employes to have some voice I in determining the conditions under which they work is the paramount issue is-sue in the strike of leel workers president of the American Federation I of Labor told the senate investigai inc jrommirter. Appearing as the second I witness for labor, Mr Compere was first asked by Chairman Kenyon to define (he issues in the controversy !Tho right to be heard is what the i steel workers are asking above all I else, Gomper.-- said. "The riht to -peak with their employers em-ployers throuch the own representatives, representa-tives, to have some voice in determining determin-ing conditions under which t h y work,' ho continued. The right of workers to be a880( Eu i l has been denied, denied with all the power and influence and wealth of the steel corporation denied by brutal and unwarrantable means. "It has been said that most of the men taking part in tin- strike nr.' of foreign birth and not naturalized iti.. n s . That may be and no dor.br Is time. The large proportion of Btei corporation employes are of foreign I birth, but thse men were brought here 'by tho companies J "There was for years a systematic effort to brim,' in these gangs from j Europe There was a systematic ef-; ef-; fort to eliminate Americans They have a harvest to reap now. "They have u harvest to reap now I These Bteel companies brought about thi stale of which they now compla'n 'Lnder the efforts of the steel corporation cor-poration the hours of labor weie al way abnormally long. They never seemed satisfied until they had ;h"ir men toiling seven days a we. k, days a year. When the shifts changed from day to night they got them work ! ing 24 hours a day "The right of association, the at-i' at-i' nipt to organize met with the stern-iest stern-iest opposition by the steel corpora 1 tion. "The appeals coming to us from their employes were for help in organizing. or-ganizing. But most of the effor'.s wen slaughtered by the detectives and the agencies in the company pa. More than sixty per cent of all the private detective agency effort in this country has been devoted to spying on employes in mines and mills Th have been used as agent provocateurs I to induce men to some overt act to get them to strike too soon" Describing the "dogging" of employes em-ployes by detectives, Gompers empha sized bis words by pounding frequent lly on the table "In the steel industry," he continued, contin-ued, "men were discharged lor me roily ro-ily talking of organization, or for grumbling;. "There have been numbers of men watched so closely that when the j rented a hall the proprietor was told I to lock the doors apainst them. "Their meetlncs on rented ground have been broken up, the men were run down, dispersed and some assaulted." assault-ed." "Can you give instances of that last practice?" asked Senator Sterling. Republican, Re-publican, South Dakota. "Yes, at McKeesport," Gompers responded. re-sponded. "Since this strike the offices offi-ces of the iron and steel workers there have been closed against them " , (Continued on Page 9.J GOMPERS BEFORE SENATE (Continued from Page 1) iy "I suppose that has been done on a the theory ih.it cnHiiiinn of ni'v.,!- H would create disorder," Senator Ster h. line remarked. "I don t know the theory, ' Mi t Gompers said But I do know Ihe n I purpose. Ir was to prevent (lie bad ers from counselling with Lhe im to I and making the strike effect i v. ! Only 'in the event of war, the labor F leader declared, should the rights of free speech and assembly be restrict ed. They should not be, he said, lor j I a "privateering corporation " c "I know that many of the public au-thorities au-thorities in districts of Pennsylvania are under the direct domination Of. the L United States Steel corporation,'' the! L witness declared, pounding the table. "In response to the men's requests for organizaion wo sent a few a. ats Into the field some years ago. Men Arrested and Beaten. The were arrested and bpulen. one of them being so badly bludcnncj that he died That was four or five years ago. He was Jefferson Davis Pierce of Worcester " Gompers told of ihe final decision of the American Federation of Labor ' in 1918 to organize the men and described de-scribed the methods used to finance i the work. "You have dealt with the policy ol the steel companies trying to exclude union men," said Senator Phipps, Re-I Re-I publican, Colorado. "Is the policy of the unions to try to exclude non union t f men''" "It is the policy of the union.- to try to organize all workers," GompcrS said, adding that In all Ins i i r.i c he had necr known a workman "vol-1 untarily refusing to join a union of his craft." Senator Phipps read a statement bj Woodrow Wilson in 1909 in which Mr. Wilson said he was "a fierce partisan of the open shop" and that the pres-ent pres-ent attitude of labor in America v ax I r "to give a? little as possible." I "I think it an unfair to quote Mi I Wilson of vjivi a -hi- in bold up; op statements of W. Z. Foster, secretary j of the steel unions' committi e, made at that time and since disavowed and Sty they represent his attitude now,"! stdd Gompers. ;S "Now, Mr Gompers, can't we come! down to bras- tacks?" said Chairman' I. Kenyon "We would like to know now why this strike was not postponed, as! the president requested, until allcr the industrial conference." Advised Against Strike. Mr. Gompers told of the effoftn by President Wilson to brinp: about a conference between the men and the steel corporation officials "I advised on September 8 with the union committee and suggested that the strike be deferred," Gompers ccn-tinued ccn-tinued "A general meeting was called and the respOABtble officers of thei union resolved there to strike Septem ber 22 unless Judge Gary (chairman of the board of directors of the steel corporation) consented to a conference. confer-ence. "I got a telegram from the presi-' dent asking me to use my efforts to I secure a delay 1 dictated a message j to Mr. Fitzpntrlck, (chairman ol the steel workers' committee) asking tbat the president's request be complied with. Ho told me the men were in such a frame of mind thai, they could not bp prevented from striking even should the committee vote for delay " Leaders Forced to Vote Strike. I Several of the international union officers had declared in far ol postponing" post-poning" (iompers continued "They met In Pittsburg September 17 ani is and my letter was read. Organizers who counselled postponement reported report-ed that they could not maintain i!.-dr position. They voted almost unani-j mously to strike out the original date. "They knew the strike would have! taken place anyway, unguided, disjointed, dis-jointed, and leaderb ss Tin Ir choice was not that of having no strike, but of simply having a disorganized or an organized strike, under the guidance of experienced men " "Papers are carrying communica tions from Secretary Foster, of the union committee,'' said Chairman Kenyon of the committee, "signed yours for resolution' and carrying implications." "I've made a brief reference to Mi. Foster," Oompers returned. "He wrote a book. No one could have a I greater antipathy to this . W W position po-sition Foster took In 19H than I do. Ills pamphlet on syndicalism, his attack at-tack at Zurich before the international labor conference on James Duncan, who represented the American Federation Feder-ation ol Labor all those things pn-ju diced me But he Changed and took a constructive position. In view of what he has since done to improve conditions of the workers he is entitled en-titled to something beller than to have his mistaken views of the past ln ld up to injure his usefulness I have no hesitancy In saying that these are not now his views. "He is not now an executive offi cer of the strike. He is merely ehos en to perform the secretarial work." Two Men Arrested. GATiY, Ind.. Sopt 2 6 Two men were arrested here today charged with throwing stones at an automobile believed be-lieved to be loaded with strikers reluming re-luming to work at the plant of tbo United Stales Steel corporation. None of the occupants in the car was injured. in-jured. Mayor W. D. Hodges denied a report that a committee representing $00 sinkers anxious to return to work had called on him last night to de niand protection He jald B committee commit-tee of strikers visited him last Tuesday Tues-day and Inquired about protection but he did not think they represented men. "The men who talked me were employed as rollers at the mills," said the mnor. "They did not say liow many men desired to return I told I hem Ihat the city would provide protection pro-tection to all who Wanted W gO back. I bavo not heard from the in since and do not know whether they returned to work." Labor union leaders said that after today they would be able to give an accurate estimate of the number of strikers who have returned to work. There appeared to be little chance In the strike situation. It was sa'd (that the strikers were returning to work in small groups, although tliin was denied by union officials. An un ! official estimate placed the number of j men at work today at between 3000 and 4000. Shots Are Exchanged PXTTftfiURG Pa., Sept. 26. -State troopers and sieel worker.-; exchanged ' shots early today In the woods be-1 tween Clairton and North Clalrton. according ac-cording to reports received here. o on1 was injured. The troopers arrested arrest-ed thee men, all armed, and lodged them In the Clalrton police station. 'l he path through the woods cn-, M .nc: the two towns has for BO vera I days been infested wit hmen who tfiVoj shots at workers going lo the Steel plantc The state troopers were patrolling the path when fired upon. Plan to Influence Workers, COLUMBUS, ., Sept. 26. Upon rev celpt of a telegram today from Governor Gov-ernor t'ornwell of West Virginia to, the effpet that fivo thousand men irvm Steubenville and other Ohio towns nearby are reported to be planning to cross the tiin line into Hant ot k county, coun-ty, West Virginia, for the purpose of influencing workers to quit thpir place?, Governor Cox today wired W. G Baker, sheriff of Jefferson coun- I ly, to use his best offices in order to ' prevent any possibility of conflict be-j iween citizens of Ohio and West Vlr- I cinia. In his lelegrnni to Governor Cox, iGoernor t'ornwell said such an ln a-lion a-lion of Wppf Virginia by Ohio strikers I "will be regarded as an act upon the I sovereignty of West Virginia." I A ' |