3 Faiths Form Unit to Handle Labor Disputes

The beginning of what may develop into a national movement for allaying industrial disputes by the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish clergy and laity has been started here with the organization of the Scranton Good Will Committee. The purpose of the committee is to “preserve and maintain industrial peace, keep people at work, increase the number of workers, and help to provide adequate wages in accordance with the different codes and the other NRA principles.” Its creation has been motivated by the conviction that many industrial disputes which ordinarily lead to a suspension of employment and to adverse economic conditions, can be avoided by a tactful and non-partisan mediation on the part of a group of citizens representing the manifold elements of the community.

One of the major aims of the committee is to make contacts with similar committees in other communities and to stimulate the formation of similar bodies in other communities. Regular meetings of the committee will be held every three months, with open forums to give opportunity for the submission of claims by individuals attending them. The committee will also be available at all times for service in helping to adjust industrial disputes.

The chairman of the committee is A. B. Cohen, local insurance man. The Scranton Ministerial Association is represented by Dr. Robert P. Kreitler of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Dr. T. Teifion Richards of First Welsh Baptist Church and Rev. D. Ervin Sheets of First Christian Church. Members of the Catholic clergy include Rev. Eugene P. Caulfield, director of Catholic Charities; Rev. John J. Featherstone, superintendent of parochial schools, and Dr. William J. Walsh. The rabbinate is represented by Rabbi H. Guterman, Linden Street Temple; Dr. Max Arzt, Temple Israel, and Rabbi Victor Epstein, Madison Avenue Temple.