Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-12-12
ANNUAL CONVENTION
OF the American Federation OF
Labor Meets.
Delegates Assemble In Historic rnde.
pendense Hall, Place Hallowed by
Sacred Memories.
Special to the Leaf. .Chronicle.l

dependence Hall to-day the tWetftl
annual convention of the American
Federation OF Labor begins, and IL
many respects 1t will be the mos
important labor gathering ever helt
In the United States. This lie due o
course to the fact that it Is the frs
national meeting OF trades union or
ganizations since the close of thu
great strikes of 1892. President Sam
uel Gompers, who will preside ovel
all the deliberations, has this to say
of the prospective work Of the organ
ization:
ave will have with US delegations
from all the organizations In which
strikes occurred and will be furnished
with complete reports concerning
them. Capt. John O'Brien, the or.
ganizer from Oregon, will be one OF
the notable characters at the gather.
ing. He comes armed with the
facts in the Occur D'Alene strikes,
and his report will astonish the coun-
try. AS far as / can learn 1t will
show that the Federal troops shot
down men who were acting in the
defensive all the time. But aside
from this strike we will have reports
from Buffalo, Tennessee and Home
stead, and all these cases will be
thoroughly discussed. Pinkerton-
ism will receive rebuke which it
will remember for years, and Con.
gress will of course be memorial.
lied to act decisively against further
reasonable action on the part OF
detective agencies or employes. Then
there are a number of important
questions to come up in addition to
these mentioned. Homestead day
will OF course be observed on Decem-
Der 10, tomorrow, and collections
will be taken up for the destitute at
Homestead, not alone in the conven.
ti0n, but in every trades union in the
country. Efforts will also be directed
tostrengthening all existing organiza.
tions who are affiliated with the Fed
Grafton, and we have hopes that the
great organizations of labor employees
will come into the fold this year.
AS we believe in the restriction OF
immigration to some extent, that
question will claim our attention very
soon after we meet. The reduction
OF the hours OF labor TO eight will Of
course be advocated again, but just
what steps the convention will take
in the way of forcing demands of this
kind remains for the delegates to see.
A decided change in the conspiracy
laws will be thoroughly discussed,
and brought to the attention of Leg
islators in no equivocal terms. The
prohibition OF child labor, the con-
vict contract system and the question
of the liability of employers for ac-
cidents to workmen occasioned by
defective machinery will all receive
the attention at the convention"
The representation in the conven-
tion is arranged on the following
basis: International and national
unions, with less than 4 1000 members
one delegate; for 1900 members or
more, two delegates; for 5000 mem.
bers or more, three delegates; for 49,
600 members or more; four delegates;
for $4,000 members or more, five
delegates; and 80 on. Local trade,
or federal labor unions, State fedora
tions, central labor unions, trades as
semblies or trades councils, one dele
gate each.
The headquarters are at the Girard
House and there the executive com.
mittee will hold its council meetings
The officers, all of whom will prob
ably be reelected. are Samuel Comp.
ers, president; P. J. MCGUIRE, first
vice. president; William A. Carney,
second vice-president: Chris Evans
secretary; John B. Lannon, treas
urer.
The guests will be royalty enter
tanned during their stay in Philadel'
phia and a reception committee, OF
which H. l.. Mines is secretary, will
escort the visitors to points OF inter
est In Philadelphia and will arrange
a banquet for them at the close
of the convention, II will indeed