49

Vol. XX

No. 8

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N the 22nd of this month the Commission on Industrial Relations expires. Its report should be in the library of every workingman who is interested in his own welfare. A limited number of copies, so it is said, are to be printed, but not enough to supply the demand of an interested and aroused working class.

This commission was created by law to inquire into the causes of industrial unrest; to study conditions of labor throughout the United States. The very terms of the act implied publicity. It provided that public hearings should be held and such hearings have been held in all the great industrial centers of the United States. One thousand witnesses have been publicly examined, and ten thousand more have testified through the intensive investigations carried on through the commission's experts.

For the first time in the history of government investigations a commission has tried to honestly and thoroughly probe the cause of industrial discontent so evident among the workers of the land.

They have heard the evidence from every possible angle, which revealed conditions that more than justified this discontent. They have tried to place the responsibility for the conditions they were commissioned to investigate and in seeking for the truth have been no respecters of persons. ers of great wealth have been questioned as fearlessly as were the poorest, the most illiterate of the workers, and a mass of evidence accumulated distinctly relevant to the matter investigated.

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Thoughtful men, irrespective of class or

distinction, who have appeared before the Commission agree upon one point. They all hope for reform that must come from education, from an enlightened public sentiment. They all believe that nothing is stronger than the popular will, where the public mind is quick to focus and is free to give expression. Publicity, therefore, is necessary for enlightened public sentiment.

Needless to say many of the representatives of the exploiting interests are becoming alarmed at these revelations and already have plans on foot to smother the report of this commission. The members of the next Congress will receive the report of the commission and will decide whether it is to be given the widest publicity or be suppressed.

The American people ought to insist that every word of testimony taken should be printed for public circulation, so all may know everything that has been brought to light. There are strong forces working against this, but the American people must insist that all shall be allowed to know.

It is within our (the workers') power, in whose interests it is, that this report be given the widest publicity, to prevent its virtual suppression. You should get busy and write your Senator and Congressman, telling them of your interest in this report, insisting that they vote to have it printed in its entirety and distributed in unlimited numbers. Demand a copy. Tell them you will watch how they vote on this matter and will hold them strictly to account. Insist that it receive the publicity it deserves. Do it now.

WILL COLORADO COME CLEAN? Has the United States government, through the Commission on Industrial Relations, officially given to the workers of Colorado the material with which to fight back against Rockefeller on something like an even basis?

Those who watched through the hearings and noted the thoroughness with which the Rockefeller machinations in Colorado were laid bare went away speculating about the chances for indicting Rockefeller and his Colorado officials on the same basis that Lawson and almost a half-hundred other miners were indicted on.

In these hearings the very last link in the chain was laid bare. It was shown, by Rockefeller's own correspondence, that he was boss of the situation every minute. His letters to his Colorado satellites said, "Whatever the outcome, we are with you to the end."

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Meanwhile his Colorado officials writing to him boasting that the big banks had banded together and swung the "Little cowboy Governor"-so L. M. Bowers called Ammons-into line, that they had "rounded up" the editors of fourteen of the biggest newspapers of the state and the scabs were pouring in from the East and South.

On top of this came the astounding information that Bowers had informed Rockefeller, IN ADVANCE, that Troop A, the infamous troop that massacred Ludlow, was to be formed from company men, mostly thugs and gunmen, to be paid by the mine owners, but to operate under the guise of state militia. Here was the clincher. This was the evidence. The Commission has it in black and white and it can't get away. Neither can the Rockefeller outfit get away from it. It is there-in the records for all time, the crowning infamy of the nation's most infamous chapter.

There are strong indications that the miners will make use of the evidence brought out in this hearing and that information will be filed in Colorado, on the strength of which it is hoped that indictments for complicity, or some similar charge, may be obtained.

It is pointed out that Rockefeller stands in exactly the same position as the miners in the matter of responsibility for violence. It has never been claimed that Lawson knew that there was to be violence, that he counselled it or approved of it. In fact, he is known to be opposed to violence.

It is not claimed that Rockefeller actually ordered any one shot, or roasted. But he approved the policies which resulted in many deaths, it is pointed out. He knew about the formation of the murderous Troop A and he backed the Colorado operators to the finish in everything.

The evidence brought may shake the nation to its roots before the last echoes of it have died away. Things have been laid bare to the last ditch. It was a great piece of work. Inevitably Colorado was the center of it all. And Colorado now has the oppor

tunity to clean her skirts. WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN COLORADO NOW?

INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS IN OHIO. That more care must be taken to prevent infection of wounds is strikingly demonstrated by a recent report issued by the Industrial Commission on Accidents in Ohio. Of 25,731 industrial accidents causing loss of time but no permanent injury, one out of every 14 was infected in greater or less degree. Of 601 accidents which resulted in permanent partial disability, one out of every 29 was complicated by infection.

According to this report, the danger of infection is much greater in cases of lacerations, punctures, abrasions, bruises, etc., than is cases of burns and scalds. Of 15,389 cases of laceration, etc., one case in 10 became infected. One out of every 20 of the 2,208 burns, scalds, etc. covered by the report was rendered more serious by infection. Although getting a foreign body in the eye is not popularly regarded as dangerous, in one out of every 24 such cases, infection followed.

The 128 fatal accidents analyzed in the report were ascribed to a variety of causes. Thus 15 men were killed in coal mines, by falls of stone, slate or coal. Another 15 were killed by falls from considerable heights. Nine of these fell from scaffolds, staging, etc., three fell into elevator shafts, and three fell while cleaning windows, The deaths of 33 men were ascribed to causes connected with the operation of various kinds of machinery, while hot metals, dynamite and other materials handled, cost 17 lives.

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Stamping, shearing and chines won an unenviable first place among the different types of machinery causing permanent partial disability. Out of a total of 601 such accidents, 94 were ascribed to the action of machines of this type.

A large part of the report is devoted to causes of accidents, but it also contains a great deal of information concerning awards' duration of disability, hour of accident, day of accident, nature of injury, etc.

Anyone may secure a copy by addressing the Industrial Commission, Columbus, Ohio. The report is designated as Report No. 4 of the Department of Investigation and Statistics, and six cents should be enclosed to cover postage.

THEY BEGIN TO SEE IT.

Frank J. Walsh of the United States Commission on Industrial Relations, is the chairman of the commission that for many months has been investigating the causes of industrial unrest.

The search is still on. It seems to be earnest and honest. Mr. Walsh has said recently: "When we began the work I made but one pledge: That, so far as my heart and brain could carry it out, nothing

in this investigation would be held sacred but truth; and in the recommendations that I hoped to have a part in formulating, nothing would be worth while except justice." Whether we are to have the truth and justice remains to be seen, of course. But one thing is evident, at least. Mr. Walsh begins to see some of the fundamental facts that underlie the situation.

For example, in his address before the thirty-fourth annual convention of the American Federation of Labor, on November 12th, last, he said:

"The insistent cry of labor is for its democratization, if I may so express it. It

says that no man of intelligence will ever be satisfied until he receives the full product of his toil."

There you have it-the final demand of the workers of the world.

Mr. Walsh begins to see it. Let us hope that the whole commission will see it and that their report will help the whole American people to see it.

That all those who labor, whether with hand or brain, shall be protected from exploitation and plunder; that all shall receive the full product of their toil, the full social value of their labor.

The following new lodges have been instituted since last issue: Oneonta Valley Lodge No. 576, Oneonta, N. Y., by Brother D. J. Collins; Benewah Lodge No. 396, St. Maries, Idaho and Elroy Lodge No. 473, Elroy, Wis., by General Vice-President G. H. Kennedy; Garrett Lodge No. 482, Garrett, Ind., by General Vice-President Geo. A. Nolte; Chapel Hill Lodge No. 542, Cumberland, Md., by General Vice-President W. H. Ronemus; Stratchona Lodge No. 117, Edmonton, Alta., and Dunvegan Lodge No. 530, West Edmonton, Alta., by General Vice-President F. McKenna.

continued

We regret to announce the serious illness of Brother Frank L. Ronemus, Past General President, for many years General Secretary Treasurer and later, prior to the election of the present incumbent, Brother M. F. Ryan, General President or Grand Chief Carman, as the office was then styled, of our Brotherhood. His address as will be observed by referring to our Grand Lodge Directory, is 3223 Garner Avenue, Kansas City, Mo., where we feel assured both he and his good wife, Mrs. Marie R. Ronemus, will be glad to see any of their many friends who may be visiting or passing through Kansas City.

By

Some reasons why Professor Scott Nearing lost his job: 1. Financing the Wage-Earner's Family. By Scott Nearing. $1.25. 2. Reducing the Cost of Living. By Scott Nearing. $1.25. 3. Solution of Child Labor Problems. Scott Nearing. $1.00. 4. Social Adjustment. By Scott Nearing. "A clear, sane gathering together of the sociological dicta of today." $1.25. 5. Wages in the United States. This work represents an examination of statistics offered by various states and industries in an effort to determine the average wage in the United States. By Scott Nearing. $1.25. 6. Income. An examination of the returns for services rendered and from property owned in the United States. By Scott Nearing. $1.25. 7. Social Religion. By Scott Nearing. In this book Professor Nearing takes up the more deplorable elements in the modern social and industrial world, analyzing them in the light of a practical Christianity. $1.00.

"Making history for the working women of America" is the way one prominent labor leader characterized the work of the convention of the National Women's Trade Union League held in New York City rerecently. For a week the women of St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Boston, Baltimore and other industrial centers as well