St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-03-28

growth, but with substantial. healthy
growth. LabOring men are coming to
realize more and more that they must
organize"
On the II. of l..
The conversation then drifted to the
knights of Labor, the power of which
seems to have descended in the past
three or four years to the federation.
MIR. GOmperS didn't want to say mnch
about The X. of L. I'VE have 10 quar-
rel with them" he said. ''Of course
the two organizations clash sometimes
when brought too closely together, but
we work independently" He thought
if that order had decayed its decadence
was due TO natural causes. He Wouldn't
say what the causes were.
This is our plan," said he, and 1t is
easy 20 read between the lines and dis
cover his opinion on the decadence of
the K. of L.. I'VE take UP the theoret-
ical side of the labor question in our
central organization and conventions.
We leave the emplOye to settle definite
questions with his own employer. To
illustrate: If you send bricklayer to
arbitrate differences between a tailor
and his employer, there viii be trouble.
The bricklayer may have general idea
of what is right, but he doesn't under
stand the smaller details of the differ
ence. And there is nothing which the
employer or Iperintendent tnds out
so quickly, and despiseS so thoroughly,
as the man who tries to talk about mat
tiers which he does not understand"
Ola Political Nature.
The conversation drifted upon politics.
There Mr.. GomperS was wary. 1t was
evident that he had opinions. But he
didn't want them published. As the
head of the greatest labor organization
in the world. he follows system Of tao
les carefully planned. He believes III
temperance, but disagreeS with the Pro-
hibtioniSts. Education, not legislation,
is the true reformer. He also believes
in female suffrage. There is no reason
why women should not be equal to men
in all things. He was asked his opinion
of the single tax theory. Mum" was
the word there. Not a syllable would
he utter for publication.
What are your ideas of tariff re-
form % he was asked.
TO that" said he. II must make the
same reply. We call that commercial
question. AS such we are willing to let
congress settle the question. each one
of US individually helping which ever
side he prefers. We have a body of
men in our organization who distinctly
demand protection-the iron workers.
We have just as many others who do
not need it, and who are opposed to it.
The protection which labOring man
needs is organization. The wage system
and the condition of the working man
is better in protected America than IN
free trade England, and the wage syS-
TEN and the condition of the worker is
better in free trade England than in
protected Germany. All of which
proves, as | said before. that OrganiZa-
ton is the protection which the work
ing man needs"
Further than this into politics Mr..
Gompers would not go, not even when
the Farmers Alliance movement was
preached. He believes in the severe
letting alone, by labor organizations, of
political questions. WOrkingmen, as
others, should act individually there.
Samuel Gompers is in many respects
a remarkable man. While not abso-
lutely the father of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor, he has been its wise
teacher and guide. The Federation was
born in 1881, and GOmpers was IFS first
vice president. Since the first year ne
has been its president. He has undoubt-
eddy worked hard to build 1t up to
its present standing. For six years he
was its president and worked without a
salary. He supported his family by
labOring at his trade, that of cigar
maker, devoting all of his spare time,
and more than he could really spare, to
the work of the Federation. Yet hard
work seems to agree with him and with
all his labor he looks not over thirty
five years old, although he must be ten
years older.
Tonight Mr.. Gompers will speak at
Dania hall on the general labor problem
in a general way. He makes no set
speeches. He talks what he feels.