Ohio History Journal

JOHN F. SHINER

 

 

The 1937 Steel Labor

Dispute and the Ohio

National Guard

 

 

 

The spring and early summer of 1937 were troubled times in northeastern Ohio.

On May 25, in an effort to gain company recognition, the Steel Workers Organi-

zation Committee (SWOC) of the newly created Congress of Industrial Organi-

zation (CIO) struck the plants of two of Ohio's major steel producers, Republic

Steel and Youngstown Sheet and Tube. Both of these corporations had numerous

mills in Trumbull, Mahoning, and Stark counties, and in the City of Cleveland.

The SWOC leadership, armed with New Deal legislation guaranteeing the right

to collective bargaining1 and with apparent sympathetic support from President

Franklin D. Roosevelt, was adamant in its demand for company recognition. The

executives of the steel companies were equally as firm in their stand against

recognition. Consequently, northeastern Ohio became the scene of a major

union-management confrontation. As in the case of past labor disturbances in the

United States, violence and destruction of property soon resulted.

Tom Girdler, President of Republic Steel and recognized leader in the steel

industry's anti-union activities, not only refused to negotiate with the SWOC but

also initiated a strikebreaking program that was readily adopted by Frank Pur-

nell, his counterpart at Youngstown Sheet and Tube. Briefly, this program called

for demonstrating to the public that union activities were causing a breakdown in

law and order, and thereby mobilizing community disfavor and pressure for a

"back-to-work" movement among company employees.² Philip Murray, director

of the SWOC, and John L. Lewis, president of the parent CIO, were aware of the

strike-breaking plan but felt that it would be to no avail in light of labor's new

legal rights. Both sides to the dispute soon found they had underestimated the

adversary.

The political climate in the state of Ohio seemed to support the position of or-

ganized labor. Governor Martin L. Davey, serving his second term as a New Deal

Democrat, was considered a friend of labor. He had supported the President's

 

 

1. The National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act, the most important piece of new labor legislation,

reaffirmed the legal right of employees to organize and bargain collectively and required management

to bargain with the union chosen by the workers.

2. Donald Gene Sofchalk, "The Little Steel Strike of 1937" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, The

Ohio State University, 1961), 27-34. For additional interpretations on the strike see Robert L. Daugh-

erty, "Citizen Soldiers in Peace: The Ohio National Guard, 1919-1940" (Ph.D. dissertation, The Ohio

State University, 1974), 363-395; and Michael Speer, "The 'Little Steel' Strike: Conflict for Control,"

Ohio History, LXXXVIII (Autumn 1969), 273-287, which reaches substantially different conclusions.

Major Shiner is an Instructor in the Department of History at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

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1937 Steel Strike                                                      183

 

labor legislation and had twice carried Ohio's steel producing counties in elec-

tions. His independent spirit, however, often kept him at odds with the Roosevelt

administration.³ Davey, above all, desired good government and fairness for all

the citizens of Ohio. It was this quest for fairness, with its necessary ingredients

of law and order, that brought Davey into the center of the labor dispute.

On the first day of the strike, in an apparent move to turn workers against the

SWOC, Republic and Youngstown Sheet and Tube closed thirty-seven of their

Ohio plants. Republic attempted to keep six other mills in partial operation, but

this soon became difficult. Strikers quickly instituted a state of siege at the en-

trances to the six plants as well as around the Youngstown Sheet and Tube mills,

which still contained a caretaker force of maintenance personnel. The pickets

effectively shut off the movement of workers in and out of the plants and also

attempted to interrupt the flow of raw materials and finished goods.⁴ In carrying

out this activity the SWOC members were breaking the law, yet during the first

two weeks of the strike, confrontations between strikers, company officials, and

police resulted in only sporadic violence and disorder. Local law enforcement

agencies were able to keep the situation under control.

Municipal officials in Mahoning, Trumbull, and Stark counties tried to steer a

neutral course, but this became progressively more difficult. As the days wore on,

clashes between law enforcement officers and SWOC members over the issue of

plant entrance and exit became regular occurrences and resulted in the mutual

alienation of strikers and police. Consequently, the local authorities eventually

gravitated into the camp of the steel companies. As the strike entered its third

week, violence increased in Trumbull and Mahoning counties, and the local po-

lice, by now quite unsympathetic toward the SWOC cause, found it very difficult

to maintain order.5

With no end to the strike in sight, Governor Davey decided it was time for the

state government to take a direct hand in attempting a settlement. He offered to

serve as strike mediator and put pressure on the steel companies and the SWOC

to work with him toward an acceptable solution.⁶ The governor's efforts were un-

productive, for the companies were unwilling to modify their position on union

recognition.

Davey employed three state assistants from the Ohio National Guard in his

unsuccessful mediation effort: Adjutant General Emil F. Marx, General Gilson

Light, and General William Marlin. This led the Cleveland Plain Dealer to specu-

late that in the event the negotiations did not prove fruitful, the National Guard

might be ordered into the strike area to insure food deliveries to the besieged

plants.⁷ More accurately, the presence of these three gentlemen indicated Davey

was contemplating using the guard to curb the growing violence in the strike area.

Governors across the land had traditionally called out the National Guard in

situations of large-scale violence. A number of states, including Ohio, had em-

ployed the guard to keep the peace in earlier labor disturbances. As Philip Taft

and Philip Ross have pointed out, "in nearly all cases troops acted as a screen

behind which it was easier to operate a struck plant. Furthermore, the presence

of troops was likely to overawe, if not intimidate, the strikers and their sympa-

 

 

 

 

3. Charles B. Nuckolls, Jr., "The Government of Martin L. Davey of Ohio" (unpublished M.A.

thesis, The Ohio State University, 1952), 20-27.

4. Time, June 7, 1937, pp. 14-15.

5. Sofchalk, "Little Steel Strike," 148-150.

6. Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 12, 1937.

7. Ibid.

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184                                                          OHIO HISTORY

thizers."8 Historically, the guard appeared to have an anti-labor bent. Davey, however, was not anti-labor. He contemplated using the National Guard only to restore order, not to damage the position of organized labor. In other states affected by the SWOC strike, the situation in the steel towns was similar to that in Ohio. Governor George H. Earle of Pennsylvania, a labor sympathizer, had already ordered out the National Guard in an effort to force Bethlehem Steel to sign a SWOC recognition contract. By declaring martial law and closing down the company's operations, Earle brought the violence and dis- orders under control and demonstrated that the guard need not be an anti-labor force. The National Guard had also been called out in Michigan during the first half of June, but it was used only as a peacekeeping force, seeking to maintain the status quo. The governor of Indiana, like Davey in Ohio, had not employed the guard and was seeking to bring about a negotiated settlement.9 By the end of the second week in June public pressure for plant reopenings in the Youngstown area had intensified to the point that both Republic and Youngs- town Sheet and Tube believed they could soon resume normal operations in their Mahoning County mills. On Friday, June 18, both companies hinted they would reopen their closed plants in the immediate future.10 The following night a deadly confrontation took place in Youngstown. Ap- proximately two hundred female sympathizers and wives of SWOC members     8. Philip Taft and Philip Ross, "American Labor Violence: Its Causes, Character, and Outcome," in The History of Violence in America, Hugh Graham and Ted Gurr, eds. (New York, 1969), 325. 9. Literary Digest, June 19, 1937, p. 5. 10. Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 19, 1937.

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1937 Steel Strike                                                     185

 

had joined the picket lines during the course of the day, and by evening those

guarding Republic's Gate 5 purportedly grew tired and sat down on company

property to rest. The police arrived at 8:45 p.m. and ordered them to move; they

refused. After a series of verbal exchanges, the police opened fire on the women

with tear gas, dispersing them amid shouts and screams. Male strikers and sym-

pathizers, in an angry mood over treatment of the women, soon gathered and

charged the police lines in front of Gate 5. In the resulting melee two strikers

were killed, thirty-one wounded, and scores arrested.11 The situation had reached

the ultimate extreme: people had been killed. Local police officials were clearly

and completely on the side of the steel companies, and the strikers were in an

angry mood. Something would have to be done to reduce tensions and restore

peace.

The next morning, June 20, the SWOC took the initiative by sending a formal

plea to Governor Davey asking him to mobilize and deploy the National Guard

to protect the strikers from city and county officials. Davey made no public com-

ment on this request.¹² Five days earlier he had dispatched General Gilson Light,

the ranking guard field commander in Ohio, to Youngstown with an observa-

tion team. In a report sent to Adjutant General Marx after the Saturday night

disturbance, General Light indicated he was fully aware of the situation and as

yet could see no need for activation and deployment of a large number of guards-

men. 13

What took place on Monday, June 21, may have altered Light's appraisal of

the situation: Youngstown Sheet and Tube announced it would resume operations

in all of its area plants on Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. Tension grew all day Monday as

both sides prepared for the coming encounter. The strikers, remembering Sat-

urday's violence, were more determined than ever to keep the police and non-

striking employees from breaking the picket lines and opening the plants. Armies

of pickets converged on the Sheet and Tube plants Monday evening. At 10:00

p.m. Sheriff Ralph Elser of Mahoning County telephoned Davey and declared

that the situation was beyond his control. John L. Lewis, president of the CIO,

had also contacted the governor earlier in the day, pleading for intervention to

prevent more bloodshed. Lewis sent a similar wire to the President of the United

States.¹⁴

The Roosevelt administration had taken its first positive action to seek a strike

settlement on June 17 after Governor Davey had reported the failure of his medi-

ation attempts. Through the efforts of Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, a

Federal Mediation Board was formed to attempt a Federal Government spon-

sored settlement of the strike. The board had convened on June 19, establishing

its headquarters in Cleveland, but once again the steel companies refused to

modify their position.15 Still, the board continued to seek a workable solution.

Upon hearing of the reopening announcement of June 21, members of the board

immediately petitioned both Roosevelt and Davey to do all in their power to keep

the status quo. The board believed the situation must not be allowed to deteriorate

further. The President responded Monday evening by sending wires to both Pur-

nell and Girdler asking them to delay all reopening plans so that no more blood

would be spilled.¹⁶ Local officials in Mahoning County also made last minute

 

 

11. Nation, July 3, 1937, pp. 12-13; Cleveland Plain  Dealer, June 20, 1937; Youngtown Vindi-

cator, June 21, 1937.

12. Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 20, 1937.

13. Ibid., June 21, 1973.

14. Time, June 28, 1937, p. 13

15. Business Week, June 19, 1937, pp. 13-14.

16. Youngstown Vindicator, June 22, 1937.

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186                                                                OHIO HISTORY

 

pleas to the steel companies to maintain the status quo. Fear of the consequences

of the proposed Tuesday reopening was not unfounded as both the SWOC and

the "back-to-work" organizations began moving into Youngstown for a show-

down.¹⁷

Davey reacted to the Federal Mediation Board's telegram by using the one

weapon at his disposal that could best assure the situation would deteriorate no

further-the Ohio National Guard. No other course of action for maintaining the

peace was possible, for at the Monday morning (June 21) meeting of the Medi-

ation Board, the representatives of Republic Steel and Youngstown Sheet and

Tube had stood firm in their position against signing a contract with the SWOC

and had emphasized that both companies would reopen their closed plants im-

mediately. After conferring with Roosevelt and receiving his approval, Davey,

late Monday night, June 21, issued the following proclamation:

 

WHEREAS, the laws of the State of Ohio are being violated in the Counties of Mahon-

ing and Trumbull, State of Ohio, and violence has been resorted to by various persons in

connection with the steel strike in said counties; and

WHEREAS, minor riots have occurred and a most serious riot is threatened in connec-

tion with the advertised re-opening of two plants now closed; and

WHEREAS, the peace, comfort and safety of the citizens of said counties are in grave

jeopardy because of promised action and threatened counteraction, and the peace and

dignity of the State of Ohio are menaced; and

WHEREAS, official information indicates that the local peace officers will be wholly

unable to cope with the situation that would otherwise arise on Tuesday morning and for

some days thereafter;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Martin L. Davey, Governor of Ohio, by virtue of the power

rested in me. under Article 9, Section 4, of the Ohio Constitution, hereby "Call forth the

militia, to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrection, and repel invasion," in

the Counties of Mahoning and Trumbull, State of Ohio.18

 

The governor shortly thereafter contacted Adjutant General Emil Marx and

issued to the National Guard the following instructions for maintaining peace

and the status quo:

 

Steel plants which are now operating shall continue to operate on the same basis as they

have during the strike, free from interference except lawful picketing. Steel plants which

have been closed shall remain closed during the deliberations of the Federal Mediation

Board, provided this period of time is reasonably limited.

 

Further, all persons not law officers were to be disarmed, any persons caught

violating the law were to be arrested and turned over to the civilian authorities,

and steps were to be taken to prevent the invasion of Mahoning and Trumbull

counties by non-residents.¹⁹ The governor's position on maintaining the status

quo was most clear.

Since Davey did not declare martial law, National Guardsmen could act only

as assistants to local law enforcement agencies, their use within a given region

being contingent upon the agreement of the county sheriff or local chief of police.

The guard could undertake no action strictly on its own. Needless to say, the law

 

 

 

17. Steel Labor News, June 21, 1937, p. 1.

18. Proclamation of Governor Martin L. Davey, #1, June 21, 1937, Folder 2, Box 1, 1937 Steel

Strike File. Ohio Historical Society Archives. Hereafter cited as Strike File.

19. Proclamation of Governor Martin L. Davey, #2, June 21, 1937, Folder 2, Box 1, Strike File.

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1937 Steel Strike                                                      187

 

enforcement officials in Mahoning and Trumbull counties who were in desperate

need of help, welcomed the troops.²⁰

Mobilization throughout the state started shortly after midnight, June 22, as

Davey called to active duty nearly one half of Ohio's ten thousand guardsmen.

The 145th Infantry Regiment consisting of units from the Cleveland area, the

166th from the Columbus region, and the 147th composed of units from the Cin-

cinnati area were all activated as were various other companies scattered through-

out the state. No units, however, were called up from the Youngstown, Canton,

and Warren areas. Major General Gilson Light, a man quite familiar with the

strike situation by this time, was placed in overall command and was ordered to

establish the Youngstown Military District.

With the calling of the National Guard, preparations for battle by the two sides

were suspended, and the SWOC leaders began disbanding the groups that had

gathered at the plant gates to oppose the planned morning reopening. According

to accounts in the liberal, pro-labor magazine New Republic, it was at this time

that the city and county officials unleashed their vengeance on the dispersing

pickets. Police made wholesale arrests throughout the night, and by morning 225

SWOC members had been placed in jail without being formally charged. All cars

entering Mahoning County bearing out-of-state license plates were stopped, and

the occupants arrested. In the opinion of the pro-labor forces, this was a last

ditch spree on the part of the "lackeys" of the steel companies to damage the

SWOC cause as much as possible before the arrival of the guard.²1

Troops began arriving in the strike zone early Tuesday morning, June 22, but

advanced preparations had been going on all night. General Light, who had been

in the Mahoning-Trumbull county area for nearly three weeks, must have re-

ceived advanced word of the governor's plan, for by 7:00 p.m. Monday evening,

hours before Davey issued his proclamation, he had instructed his staff to locate

suitable billeting areas for the guardsmen that were being sent into the strike

zone. By morning, June 22, his staff had completed the organization of the Youngs-

town Military District, comprising both of the labor-troubled counties.²² The 73rd

Brigade, consisting of the 145th Infantry from northern Ohio, was ordered into

Trumbull County, while the 74th Brigade, made up of the 147th Infantry from

Cincinnati and the 166th Infantry from the Columbus area, was deployed in Ma-

honing County. Units of the 112th Engineer Regiment from Cleveland augmented

both brigades on June 25.23

A problem immediately arose for the guardsmen deployed into Trumbull

County. Their job, as spelled out in the proclamation and orders of Governor

Davey, was to assist the local law enforcement agencies and help maintain the

status quo. On Monday evening, June 21, however, Judge Lynn Griffith of the

Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas granted an injunction to representa-

tives of Republic Steel. The injunction, giving Republic license to resume normal

operations in all of its Trumbull County plants, restrained pickets from arming,

obstructing streets, making threats, hindering deliveries to the plants, damaging

company property, and, further, set a limit on the number of pickets that could

 

 

20. William E. Baldwin, ed., Throckmorton's Ohio Code (Cleveland, 1936), Sections 5202, 5270;

Sofchalk, "Little Steel Strike," 333-334; Letter, Ralph E. Elser to Gilson D. Light, June 22, 1937,

Folder 3, Box 1, Strike File.

21. Mary Heaton Vorse, "The Tories Attack Through Steel," New Republic, July 7, 1937, pp.

246-248.

22. General Orders #1, Youngstown Military District, June 22, 1937, Folder 7, Box 1, Strike File.

23. Field Orders #1, June 22, 1937; Station List, June 22, 1937; Field Orders #4, June 25, 1937,

Folder 7, Box 1, Strike File. Also see (Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 22, 1937.

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188                                                                OHIO HISTORY

 

 

be present at any one location. On June 22, as the National Guard was arriving,

Sheriff Roy Hardman of Trumbull County issued a proclamation implementing

the court order. The guard had been sent to assist the sheriff, but now the sheriff

was enforcing a court order that was contrary to Davey's policy of maintaining

the status quo.²⁴

Davey quickly resolved the problem. He directed the guardsmen in Trumbull

County to cooperate with Sheriff Hardman in enforcing the injunction as long as

no new workers were introduced into the mills. But under no circumstances were

the troops to hinder local officials carrying out the provisions of Judge Griffith's

decree. The guard was to allow free entry and exit for those workers who had

been besieged inside the plants and provide protection for those workers on their

way to and from work. The guard was also to guarantee free movement of goods

in and out of the mills.²⁵ In this manner Davey attempted to reconcile his posi-

tion with that of the injunction.

Because of these circumstances the troops were not well received in Trumbull

County. Although violence subsided on their arrival, the strikers were bitter at

what they believed to be a double-cross by the governor. Sheriff Hardman or-

dered all pickets to lay down their weapons and retire in favor of the National

Guard. The county SWOC grudgingly complied with this directive. With the

guard's support, Hardman put into effect his plan for keeping the peace and en-

forcing the court order. Ingredients of that plan included designating the areas

around the Warren and Niles plants as restricted zones, allowing only a limited

number of pickets within those zones, imposing a curfew in the restricted areas

from 9:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m., and arresting any groups that congregated near

those areas.²⁶

On June 23, General L. S. Conelly, guard commander in Trumbull County,

ordered his troops to protect the workers still within the Warren and Niles plants

who wanted to return to their homes after working hours. The gates to the two

mills were then cleared, and the non-union workers left after having spent four

weeks inside.²⁷ Later in the day the guard escorted rolling stock into the Warren

plant. No problems were encountered.^2S This did not mean that the strikers were

giving up, for labor leaders quickly organized a general strike to protest the court

injunction and the seemingly anti-union activities of the guard. Many industrial

plants were closed, and rumors began to circulate that a large number of CIO

miners were enroute to the district to lend their support to the strikers. Although

this rumor turned out to be untrue, it did serve to generate much excitement in

the strike area.²⁹ Troops had to be employed in large numbers throughout the

evening to disperse the crowds, and, in the opinion of the Ohio National Guard

G-2 (Intelligence) section, the situation might soon become "threatening."³⁰

June 24 was relatively quiet in Warren. Workers left and re-entered the Re-

public plant without incident, and freight also moved smoothly. The general

strike had come to an end almost as fast as it had begun. Now that reinforcements

had arrived from Youngstown, General Conelly believed the situation was well

in hand.³¹

 

24. Sheriffs Proclamation by Roy S. Hardman (Trumbull County), June 22, 1937, Folder 3, Box

1, Strike File.

25. Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 23, 1937.

26. Letter, Hardman to Light, June 22, 1937, Folder 3, Box 1, Strike File.

27. Youngstown Vindicator, June 23, 1937.

28. Statement of General Gilson Light, June 23, 1937, Folder 4, Box 1, Strike File.

29. Statement of General Gilson Light, 3:45 p.m., June 23, 1937, Folder 4, Box 1, Strike File.

30. G-2 Summary, Youngstown Military District, June 23, 1937, Folder 9, Box 1, Strike File.

31. Statement of General Gilson Light, Evening, June 23, 1937 and June 24, 1937, Folder 4, Box 1,

Strike File.

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1937 Steel Strike                                                        189

 

 

The reaction to the National Guard's arrival in Mahoning County was radically

different from that in Trumbull, for the Mahoning strikers welcomed the troops

as liberators rather than oppressors. None of the mills belonging to Republic or

Youngstown Sheet and Tube were still in operation in this region; "status quo"

consequently meant the troops would keep the mills closed. After the weekend

violence and tension and the reopening threat on Monday, almost the entire

citizenry breathed sighs of relief Tuesday morning as the troops started arriving

by rail and motor convoy. When the first contingent arrived in Struthers, a few

miles distant from Youngstown, they were greeted with cheers from both factions

in the dispute. The SWOC, when asked by General Light to withdraw from the

areas around the mills, immediately complied, disbanding their picket lines in

Youngstown, Campbell, and Struthers. Violence had been averted, for the arrival

of the National Guard had halted the proposed reopenings.³² The strikers be-

lieved that "...with soldiers there to do pickets work, the union would win in no

time at all."33

Philip Murray, Director of the SWOC, was overjoyed with Davey's position

and the activation of the guard, primarily because it kept the steel companies

from reopening. Purnell, Girdler, and the back-to-work groups, however, pro-

tested vigorously. They wanted to know what right the governor had to keep peo-

ple from working who desired to do so.³⁴

General Light specifically instructed his forces to give all assistance possible

to the county sheriffs in carrying out the provisions of the governor's program for

maintaining law and order and in enforcing the lawful proclamations issued by

the local sheriffs department.³⁵ Sheriff Ralph Elser of Mahoning County had

issued a proclamation the day the guard arrived, reiterating Davey's position and

initiating a plan to maintain peace. Elser's proclamation designated the area

around all struck steel mills as "dangerous strike zones" and banned all gather-

ings within these areas. Pickets could still operate within the "dangerous strike

zones," but no more than ten could be at any one location and the names of these

individuals had to be registered at the sheriffs office. Further, mass meetings

without a sheriffs permit were prohibited throughout the county.³⁶ As in the case

of Sheriff Hardman's proclamation in Trumbull County, the National Guard be-

came the primary enforcement agency for Sheriff Elser's edict.

The day after Governor Davey activated the guard he issued a follow-up state-

ment extending military operations into Stark County. The governor took this

action to insure that the status quo would be maintained throughout all strike

areas within Ohio. The Republic plant in Canton had continued operations dur-

ing the strike, and Davey believed the presence of guardsmen was necessary for

it to continue to function. This was interpreted to mean that although no increased

work force would be allowed, those workers besieged in the plant in question

would be guaranteed the right to enter and leave the mill unobstructed. Accord-

ingly, Adjutant General Marx dispatched to Stark County a number of units

which had been mobilized and held in reserve in Zanesville, Mansfield, and Mar-

ion.³⁷ Shortly thereafter, General William Marlin, Light's chief of staff in the

 

 

32. Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 22. 1937.

33. Nesweek ... July 3, 1937, p. 5.

34. Ibil., pp. 5-7.

35. General Orders of General Gilson Light, #1-A, Youngstown Military District, June 22, 1937.

Folder 7, Box 1, Strike File.

36. Proclamation of Ralph E. Elser, Sheriff of Mahoning County, June 22. 1937, Folder 3. Box 1,

Strike File.

37. Youngstown Vindicator, June 23, 1937.

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190                                                                 OHIO HISTORY

 

 

Youngstown Military District, was ordered to Canton to take command.³⁸ Thus,

by June 22, the guard was involved in a three-county commitment.

The operations of the Ohio National Guard throughout the entire strike zone

were well organized and effective. Once the Youngstown Military District had

been created with responsibility for all activated troops in Mahoning and Trum-

bull Counties, the guardsmen rapidly placed an effective intelligence system   in

operation. Deploying agents in surrounding counties and plain clothes operators

within the strike zones, the intelligence officers quickly instituted a well-

functioning reporting system in order that all information of value could be fun-

neled into the G-2 section at the headquarters in Youngstown. In this manner

General Light was able to gauge the feelings of the strikers and often gain vital

information about planned activity. A similar system produced like results in the

Canton Military District (Stark County).³⁹

The guard communications system was another example of good organization,

for a wireless radio linkup as well as commercial telephone lines connected each

of the major headquarters in Youngstown, Warren, and Canton with each other

and the Adjutant General's office in Columbus.⁴⁰ Likewise, responsible staff and

noncommissioned officers established and operated an extremely adequate sup-

ply system. Further, the guard established a public relations office to distribute

official news in the strike zones and to regulate information given to the press.

Aerial mapping, a relatively new technique, was also employed by General Light

in an effort to provide his units with a better understanding of the geographic

situation. All things considered, the citizen-soldier did a quite remarkable job of

establishing an effective military operation.⁴¹

The actual field operations of the troops consisted primarily of roving patrols

with some fixed post duty in "sensitive" locations. Each guardsman was usually

employed on a twice daily basis for one and one-half to two hours. A reserve

force was constantly kept in a "ready" posture for possible use in each of the

major strike areas.⁴² Troops worked closely with local peace officers and were

required to turn over all captured lawbreakers to local authorities immediately.

Guard activities were effective in keeping the peace, yet during the first days of

duty there were but few real confrontations involving the troops. In almost every

instance the National Guard was respected by both sides.

The situation in the strike areas, although calm for the present, could not be

expected to remain that way. The back-to-work groups were becoming stronger

in both numbers and prestige as many prominent citizens and officials in the

various strike towns began actively to support reopenings. Davey's original status

quo proclamation had made it clear the Federal Mediation Board would be given

only a limited time to settle the dispute, for he had said that the plants were to

"...remain closed during the deliberations..., provided this period of time is rea-

sonably limited."⁴³ Consequently, the Board had been feverishly working for an

acceptable solution, but the steel companies would not budge. By evening of June

24 it was clear that the Mediation Board had failed.

 

 

 

38. Special Order of General Gilson Light, #4, Youngstown Military District, June 25, 1937, Folder

7. Box 1, Strike File.

39. See Annex #1 to Field Order #1 (5b Special Reports), June 22, 1937, Youngstown Military Dis-

trict. Folder 7, Box 1; G-2 reports in Folder 9, Box 1, Strike File.

40. Signal Annex #1 to Field Order #1, June 22, 1937, Youngstown Military District, Folder 7, Box

1. Strike File.

41. General Orders #3, June 23, 1937, Youngstown Military District, Folder 7, Box 1, and Folders

12-15, Box 2, Strike File.

42. Youngstown Vindicator, June 23, 1937.

43. Proclamation #2 of Governor Davey, June 21, 1937, Folder 2, Box 1, Strike File.

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1937 Steel Strike                                                         191

 

Davey was now faced with the momentous decision of what to do next. Secre-

tary of Labor Perkins, never at a loss for ideas, phoned the governor and sug-

gested a plan she believed would finally resolve the dispute. Her proposal called

for Davey to subpoena Girdler and Purnell, bring them to Columbus, and using

the powers of the Ohio Industrial Commission, hold them in the state capital until

they were willing to sign contracts with the SWOC.⁴⁴ The governor would have

no part of this plan, for in his words, "to carry out Secretary Perkins' suggestion

would be, in my judgment, the exercise of the most autocratic and dictatorial

powers ever attempted."⁴⁵

Putting Perkins' suggestion aside, Davey still had to decide on a course of ac-

tion that would serve the best interests of the people of Ohio during the remain-

der of the strike. Continuing the present policy would be highly unfair to those

workers desiring to return to their jobs. Using the National Guard to force the

reopening of the plants would be equally unfair to the strikers. Withdrawing the

guard altogether would be disastrous for the whole citizenry. Acting in the best

interests of all the people of the state, late in the evening of June 24, Davey issued

the following orders to the National Guard:

 

In view of the failure of the peace negotiations in connection with the steel strike under

the auspices of the Federal Mediation Board, we are confronted immediately with the

problem of maintaining law and order....The rights of all the citizens must be protected....

Government must not abdicate its sovereign powers and responsibilities to any who chal-

lenge its existence.

The right to work is sacred. The right to strike is equally valid. Those who want to return

to their employment shall enjoy the privilege without being molested. Those who wish to

remain on strike certainly are entitled to do so, and continue any and all lawful practices.⁴⁶

The governor, eager to maintain a neutral course, had found this to be no

longer possible. The mills were to be allowed to reopen under National Guard

protection. General Light was immediately instructed to take steps to see to it

that this was carried out in an orderly manner. The next day Light passed the

governor's orders to the military commanders in the three affected counties, and

by the afternoon of June 25, reopening plans were being formulated.⁴⁷

In order to coordinate the impending reopenings, General Light conducted a

meeting on June 25 with the sheriffs of Mahoning and Trumbull Counties, the

mayors of the principal cities involved, and their chiefs of police. The group

adopted a plan for gradual reopening based on strict law enforcement. Light em-

phasized to all present that the guard would, under the direction of the county

sheriffs, provide complete support in maintaining order. Crowds were to be dis-

persed and a constant vigil maintained to prevent invasion of the area by out-

siders. Peaceful picketing, however, was not to be disrupted.⁴8 With the plans for

reopening formulated, implementation was immediately to follow.

After conferring with representatives of Republic and Youngstown Sheet and

Tube and settling on which plants they desired to put into operation first, Light

proceeded with the business of reopening. Threats of invasion by an army of

CIO coal miners coupled with discoveries of quantities of explosives hidden near

various steel plants in the Youngstown Military District caused him to request

more troops, establish roadblocks in cooperation with the civil authorities, and

 

 

 

44. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 28, 1937.

45. Youngstown Vindicator, June 27, 1937.

46. Letter, Davey to the Adjutant General, June 24, 1937, Folder 2, Box 1, Strike File.

47. Cleveland Plain Dealer. June 25, 1937.

48. Statement of General Gilson Light, June 25, 1937, Folder 4, Box 1, Strike File.

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192                                                                 OHIO HISTORY

 

 

temporarily to take over control of the Youngstown Vindicator, the primary local

newspaper in the strike zone.⁴⁹ The arrival of the additional guardsmen (bringing

the total in the three-county area to approximately 5800),50 coupled with Light's

other measures, greatly enhanced the operation's security; for neither was there

an invasion nor any other extremely serious trouble in the two-county area as the

plants advanced toward full operation.

Official union reaction in the Mahoning Valley tended to discourage violence.

Union members were exhorted to continue the strike and were promised victory.

The back-to-work movement was labeled a sham, as were the figures of rising

employment released daily by the steel companies. Morale of the strikers was

quite low, yet the SWOC refused to give in.51 The SWOC sent formal protests

concerning Davey's change in policy to the governor and the President, but

Roosevelt by this time had grown sick of the dispute and refused to have any-

thing more to do with it. The governor, however, answered the protestors, ex-

plaining publicly that he had taken the action with the best interests of the state

in mind and would not withdraw the troops until such time as civil authorities

had complete command of the situation. This did little to ease organized labor's

ill feeling, and on June 26, a delegation of seven hundred CIO members from

throughout the state descended on Columbus in an effort to convince Davey to

change his mind.⁵²

Confronted by this group Davey remained firm in his position, so the repre-

sentatives resorted to a different plan to gain the withdrawal of the guard. They

filed a civil suit in the United States District Court in Columbus naming Davey,

the National Guard commanders in the strike zone, the Adjutant General, and

various police and civil officials in Trumbull and Mahoning counties as co-de-

fendants in a case which alleged violations of the civil rights of the members of

the SWOC and demanding the withdrawal of the Ohio National Guard.⁵³ Be-

cause of the question of legal jurisdiction in this litigation, the case was subjected

to postponement after postponement until it no longer had a bearing on the out-

come of the strike.⁵⁴ The governor's position could not be altered by the SWOC.

In the steel towns, plant reopenings started as soon as the National Guard and

local officials could make preparations. Peace prevailed in Youngstown and sur-

rounding Mahoning County on June 26 as Youngstown Sheet and Tube and Re-

public reopened their gates for the first time since May 26. The National Guard

and local officials continued to turn back outsiders venturing into the county. Be-

cause of persisting threats of invasion by Pennsylvania coal miners, the guard

instituted constant aerial observation of the state border. The troops continued

their patrols and dispersed the few small groups that gathered to hinder move-

ment in and out of the mills.⁵⁵ Violence was threatened by the radical element

 

 

 

 

 

49. Minutes of General Gilson Light's meeting with Steel Representatives, June 25, 1937, Folder

9, Box 1; G-2 Information from Brier Hill Section, 12:00 noon, June 24, 1937, Youngstown Military

District, Folder 9, Box 1, Strike File.

50. Statement of General Gilson Light, June 26, 1937, Folder 4, Box 1, Strike File. While General

Light mentions the presence of upwards of 6000 troops, other sources consistently set the maximum

figure at approximately 4800. See Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 28, 1937 and Youngstown Vindicator,

July 14, 1937.

51. G-2 Summary, night of June 24, 1937, and S-2 Periodic Report, June 25, 1937, Youngstown

Military District, Folder 9, Box 1, Strike File; Sofchalk, "Little Steel Strike," 338.

52. Sofchalk, "Little Steel Strike," 353; Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 27, 1937.

53. Mayo, et. al. v. Davey, et. al., U.S. District Court, June 26, 1937, Folder 11, Box 1, Strike File.

54. Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 2, 1937.

55. Ibid., June 26, 1937.

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1937 Steel Strike                                                        193

 

within the union, but careful surveillance and continuing searches for weapons

generally deterred lawlessness.⁵⁶

Only passive picketing remained as the workers continued to enter the plants

in growing numbers. The SWOC leaders in Mahoning County refused to admit

defeat, but their hold on the workers had been lost. By the end of June, 19,600

out of the 22,700 employees in the Youngstown area were back at their jobs in

the mills.⁵⁷ The union exhorted its members to continue the battle "against en-

trenched greed and dangerous reactionary 'rugged individualism' of men like

Girdler,"⁵⁸ but for all intents and purposes the strike was over in that area. The

first guard units began departing Mahoning County on June 30.⁵⁹

Reopening was not as peaceful in Trumbull County. Instances of terrorism and

mob action commenced soon after Governor Davey issued his June 24 procla-

mation and continued into the second week in July in both Warren and Niles.

Threats of violence and invasion caused the guard to take steps similar to those

employed in the Youngstown area. Heavy patrols coupled with large forces sta-

tioned at plant entrances allowed the mills to reopen on schedule, but scattered

disorders continued.⁶0

The back-to-work movement was gaining ground, but it lagged slightly behind

its counterpart in Mahoning County. Time, however, was now on the side of the

companies, and by early July the mills in Warren and Niles were beginning to

approach their pre-strike employment figures. Niles remained the last stronghold

of the SWOC in the county, but by the end of the second week of July, its steel-

workers were also going back to work in daily increasing numbers.⁶¹

As the mill operations approached normalcy and the atmosphere became more

peaceful, the National Guard began its gradual withdrawal, demobilizing some

of its units, and sending others into the Canton-Massillon area (Stark County) or

to Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), where the four Republic mills were reopened

with only minor disturbances on July 8. The last units were withdrawn from

Trumbull County by July 13 after the local authorities had become convinced

they had the situation well in hand.⁶²

The guard encountered the most violent reaction to Davey's second procla-

mation in Stark County where the strike was to persist the longest. In response

to the governor's original status quo policy, a limited number of troops had been

deployed to Canton and Massillon. No attempt was made, however, to provide

workers besieged in the Republic plant in Canton free exit and entry. The situ-

ation remained peaceful until June 25. On that date Judge George N. Graham of

the Stark County Court of Common Pleas issued a court order restricting strikers

from interfering with the movements of men and goods in and out of all of the

struck mills in the county.⁶³ This, coupled with Davey's "right to work" procla-

mation, was more than the strikers could bear. As Republic Steel made prepara-

tions to resume operations, violence flared.

On June 26, Sheriff Joseph Nist of Stark County attempted to enforce Judge

Graham's court order without use of the guardsmen, but soon found the situation

 

 

 

56. G-2 Summary. Youngstown Military District, June 26, 1937, Folder 9, Box 1, Strike File.

57. G-2 Summary, Youngstown Military District, June 30, 1937, Folder 9. Box 1, Strike File.

58. CIO Bulletin, Republic Lodge No. 1331. June 28, 1937. Folder 1, Box 1, Strike File.

59. Field Order #7, Youngstown Military District, June 30, 1937, Folder 8, Box 1, Strike File.

60. Field Order #11, Youngstown Military District, July 4, 1937, Folder 8, Box 1, Strike File.

61.  Youngstown Vindicator, July  11, 1937.

62. Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 5, 1937; Field Order #11, July 4, 1937, Folder 8, Box 1, Strike

File. Also see Youngstown Vindicator, July  13, 14, 1937 for the disposition of troops still on strike

duty.

63. Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 26, 1937.

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194                                                                 OHIO HISTORY

 

out of hand. Unable to keep the peace, Nist called upon General Marlin, the Na-

tional Guard commander of the newly created Canton Military District, for as-

sistance.⁶⁴ General Marlin received similar requests that same day from the

mayors of Canton and Massillon.

On June 27, with the help of the limited number of guardsmen available, local

authorities finally took steps to relieve the workers still inside the Republic

Canton plant. Violence erupted in the ensuing encounter, but the area was even-

tually cleared of strikers, and the "interned" workers were set at liberty to exit

and return to work later. Ninety-six union sympathizers and pickets were ar-

rested, and one man died, apparently of a heart attack. The SWOC membership,

however, quickly spread the word he had been clubbed to death by the guard.⁶⁵

With the situation heating up in Canton, General Marlin requested additional

troops to augment his small force of two hundred guardsmen. The commander of

the Youngstown Military District responded by sending six hundred members

of the 112th Engineer Regiment to Canton on June 29. This, however, did not

have an immediate calming effect on the strikers, for during the evening of the

29th and the early morning hours of the 30th troops came under attack in the

streets, a water main was blown up in the vicinity of the Republic plant, and the

telephone lines leading to the newly established headquarters of the 112th Engi-

neers were cut.⁶⁶

In spite of the disturbances, Republic Steel decided to go ahead with its plan

to reopen all of its mills in Canton on June 30. Amid rock throwing, name calling,

and general melees involving strikers and the guard, the plants resumed oper-

ations. Troops escorted returning workers into the mills and gave them protec-

tion on the way home at the end of the work shift. In carrying out the operation,

the guard resorted to the use of clubs, tear gas, and bayonets in order to drive

strike sympathizers from the vicinity of the reopened plants. Newspaper corre-

spondents present generally agreed the troops had overreacted and employed

force far in excess of what was necessary.⁶⁷ During the days following, the Na-

tional Guardsmen and local law enforcement officials continued to escort the re-

turning workers as the back-to-work movement began to grow.

The ranks of organized labor were enraged by the National Guard's behavior

to the extent that the local AF of L and CIO representatives joined together in

demanding that Sheriff Nist have the troops withdrawn from the county. In a

proclamation issued by the group, they protested the "brutality of the National

Guard. They have taken over our civil liberties from us, chased our women and

children from the streets and their homes, and terrorized the community....Peace

prevailed until the Guard's arrival, and they will continue to cause trouble until

they are removed."⁶⁸ Nist refused to request withdrawal.

Sporadic violence continued, but the plants were kept open and the law strictly

enforced. By July 2, confrontations between guardsmen and strikers had de-

creased considerably in the Canton area, and three out of five Republic employees

were back on the job.⁶9

 

 

64. Letter, Sheriff Joseph T. Nist to General William L. Marlin, June 26, 1937; James Seccombe to

Marlin, June 26, 1937; Henry W. Kries to Marlin, June 26, 1937, Folder 3, Box 1, Strike File.

65. Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 28, 1937.

66. S-2 Report, Canton Military District, 6:00 p.m., June 28 to 12:00 noon, June 30, 1937, Folder

6, Box 2; G-2 Summary, Youngstown Military District, June 30, 1937, Folder 9, Box 1; Field Order

#6, Youngstown Military District, June 29, 1937, Folder 8, Box 1, Strike File; Sofchalk, "Little Steel

Strike," 357; Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 30, 1937.

67. Akron Times, July 1, 1937; Cleveland Press, July 1, 1937.

68. Statement of "Joint Defense Committee of Canton Federation of Labor and Stark County

CIO Council," Folder 1, Box 1, Strike File.

69. S-2 Report, Canton Military District, July 2, 1937, Folder 6, Box 2, Strike File.

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1937 Steel Strike                                                       195

 

On July 3, the local authorities allowed the Massillon mills to reopen after a

sizable force of guardsmen had been shifted there from Mahoning County. Pickets

had promised violence and bloodshed, but little actually occurred. Consequent-

ly, the troops were withdrawn a few days later. On the evening of July 11, how-

ever, violence did flare up in a clash between strikers and Massillon city police.

One man was killed and six others wounded when the police opened fire after

coming under attack by strikers using rocks and clubs. A National Guard com-

pany rushed in from Canton and remained in Massillon until order could be re-

stored.70

In Stark County, as in Mahoning and Trumbull before it, the strike finally col-

lapsed, but it took a number of days before local police officials in Canton and

Massillon were able to assume complete control. Gradually, as violence subsided

and as increasing numbers of workers returned to their jobs, the guard was with-

drawn. The last of the troops were relieved from duty by July 25 after having

spent more than a month in the strike zone.71 The use of the National Guard had

produced a temporary defeat for organized labor.

 

It is beyond the scope of this article to determine who was ultimately respon-

sible for the violence associated with the 1937 steel strike. However, violence did

erupt and challenge law and order. Because it was initiated by the advocates of

organized labor, it caused the local law enforcement agencies to become hostile

to the SWOC. This in itself was productive of more and increased disorder, for

the police could no longer be regarded by the strikers as a respected neutral

force working for the good of all. The law officers, in return, could no longer look

upon the strikers as innocent citizens whose rights they were sworn to protect.

Without a doubt, the steel companies did all in their power to foster this alien-

ation between union sympathizers and police, for they had everything to gain

from it.

With the existence of a neutral force removed and confrontation constantly

occurring, it was not long until the situation was completely out of control. It was

essential to introduce a new neutral force into the dispute both in the interest of

peace and in order to give negotiations a chance to succeed. Governor Davey, as

chief executive of the State of Ohio, had National Guardsmen at his disposal and

finally decided to use them in the best interests of all of the state's citizens. Inter-

posing the guard between the two warring factions in northeastern Ohio was the

only action possible that would avert further violence and allow negotiations a

chance to achieve a lasting solution.

When negotiations no longer promised to provide a workable settlement, Gov-

ernor Davey felt compelled to alter his policy in the strike zone. In an effort to be

as fair as possible to all parties concerned, he directed the National Guard to

maintain peace and enforce the law while at the same time allowing both the

union and the steel companies to continue all lawful activity. In doing so, the

governor deprived the SWOC of its most effective weapon--the illegal siege of

the mills. He thereby delivered victory into the hands of the companies. In order

to keep the peace Davey unintentionally employed the guard as a strikebreaking

force, and the overwhelming majority of the people of the state supported him in

that action.⁷²

 

 

 

 

70. Cleveland Plain Dealer, July  12, 1937.

71. Ibid., July 28, 1937.

72. Cincinnati Enquirer, July  27, 1937; Business Week, July 3, 1937, p. 13; Nuckolls, "Davey  of

Ohio," 71.

• 14