Workmen's advocate., 1890-12-20
ae,u gork, Saturday, lerembsr 2n, 1890

and prestige. When and where did you ever see the Republican party, or the Democratic party, or for that matter any other political party, engaged in such work
 l don't suppose that you are ready to deny any organization in the American Federation-whether 1t be a central body or a local union--the right to take po- lltiCal action of an independent labor character; and trust that, on the other hand, you would Slmmarily repudiate any organization that woud take pOliti- cal action III alliance with either the Republican or the Democratic party. Now, the $. l.. F., as have explained, Is essentially dOlt0 fde labor Organiza- ton, which is not more political than any of the unions affiliated with you have right to be under your constitu- tiOn has merely seen it to dpClare-hy the aImlssiOn of the delegates of the American Section of the $, l.. F., and by sending tO this Convention. as its representative, one of those very dele gates-lts right to take independent political action with this economic labor uarty, which the members of its COnsti. tuUng organizations own and control; and III taking this step, deliberately and untlinChngly, it has at the same time virtually announced that the tune Is coming when Organized Labor in all parts of the country must and vii! rtCOgnZe the absolute necessity of taking Independent political action. It Is for you to decide whether, as work ingmen and representatives of working men, you can sustain Mr, GOmpers in his judgment that this is crime which units the Central Labor Federation for atliiation with the American Federation of Labor"
 A glance at the distribution of, and disparity between the intellectual forces that took part in the contest which this address preIuded may be gathered from the
 INCIDENTS OF TIE DEBATE
 that followed, and of which last week s issue of the WORK MEMS ADVOCATE con tained nasty synopsis,
 While in New York, Mr. Gompers had officially declared that the matter was out of his hand since 1t had been referred to the Convention. Furthermore, he had stated the case, from his own standpoint, in his annual report, and after Delegate Sanial had been permitted to explain the position of his constituents it was gener- ally believed that Mr Gompers would make a brief reply and let tie Corven. tiOn settle the questions involved, con lining himself, as President, to an inn partial conduct of the debate. It was therefore, d surprise to many, that he repeatedly took the floor and made lengthy and bitter speeches, one of which consumed ever an hour and was by no means free from personal attacks. In one instance he deliberately mIsquOted the written statement of Sanial, and Wllfully, for OratoriCal effect, distorted its meaning. SaniaI had said that before the Socialists of Austria and Switzerland had undertaken to organize labor the length Of the wOrkday was unlimited in those two countries, but that the result of their efforts had been the passage of law reducing the hours of labor, not only for women and children, as in England, but also for men. Re ferring to this, Mr. G0mpers reclaimed: : "Nlr. Sanial has told you of the excel lent condition of the working people in Austria. This is his ideal. Austria! will say to anybody who boasts of what has been done there: Why don't you go and live in Austria Y
 "Oh pshaw" interrupted Delegate Morgan.
 President Gompers looked at him aghast
 Such nonsense makes me tired" ob- served again MT. Morgan.
 Mir Gompers stared at him for d while, then blurted out:
 Il stand on this floor a man and a gentleman. MT. Morgan is neither one nor tn other The latter reserved his reply and Gompers continued his lenghty speech, declaring that there was not one thing the Socialists wanted which he did not want also; but he was opposed to Socialist methods and to the Socialist Labor party. Trade Unionism, pure and simple, was good enough and broad enough for him Socialists could come into the A. F. of l.. as did Anarchists. Land laxists, etc, but as Trade Union ists, not as Socialists.
 When Delegate Morgan took the floor the interest of the tired Convention sud denly revived. He begged to be excused for having interruptel MT. Gompers and regretted that the President had seen fit to make political and personal attacks against Socialists and foreigners. Not being gentleman" he said. but one of those born as near hell as il is possible to get on earth, when the Presi- dent made that absurd statement I said: Such nonsense makes me tired" 1 was foreigner. came here to save my hft, not from the hangman. but from the industrial system. What did tind here: Why, thousands of you are 50 thoroughly subjugated that you have to