The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1894-08-27
DEBS And GOMPERS
They Appear Before the
Strike Commission.
THE LABOR LEADERS TESTIMONY
The President OF the Federated Trade,
Olives His OpiniOn OF strikes
in General.


CHICAGO, Aug. 25.- President Debs
was called again today by the strike
commission. In reply to questions, he
stated he did not favor compulsory arbi-
tration in settling labor troubles. He
did not believe such a method would
prove universally satisfactory. Debs
said before the strike he had been among
the telegraphers, and the statement that
there were not more than 200 American
Railway Union men on the Rock Island
road witness said was absurd.
Samuel Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor, was the
next witness. He prefaced his testi-
mony with an outline of the aims and
principles of the federution and gave
figures showing the membership.
Gompers reviewed the proceedings of
the conference. President Cleveland,
he said, had paid not the slightest at
tention to message asking his aid in a
settlement of the strike.
Gompers told of the conference of the
heads of labor organizations in Chicago.
He said that after deliberations they de-
cided to request President Cleveland to
settle the strike.
''We thought" Mr.. Gompers said,
'tthat if Mr.. Gladstone could do SO in
the English strike, such an attempt
would not be beneath the dignity of the
, president of the United States. Accord
ingly, telegram was sent to Mr.. Cleve-
land asking his aid. To that he did not
deign to reply. In fact, he took not the
slightest notice of it.
sWe consIdered the strike carefully,
and finally decided that we could not
order general strike; that it would be
an usurpation of power, and would for
many reasons be unwise. The delegates
expressed their sympathies with the
movement, and we soon afterward ad-
journed."
Mr.. Gompers then read from the sec-
retary's report detailed statement of
the proceedings of the conference. Com
pers implied that in the event of gen.
eral strike of all unions, all must agree
on the action, and he said it would have
been impossible for the conference to
have declared sympathetic strike. He
was asked his opinion as to the methods
of preventing strikes.
~ do not condemn strikes, heartily as
do some men, he said. SCI believe that
so long as the present conditions exist
they are necessary, and / believe that
all strikes do good in calling attention to
the fact that the laboring men will not
be driven further down into poverty. 1
think the action of the strikers in par
alyzing the railroads of the country was
justiiable."
The witness rather frank and uncom-
plimentary regarding the strike COM
mission.
81 think this thing is rather late in
the day. he said. This examination by
the commissioners Is rather in the
nature of an inquest on dead body.
do not anticipate good from the present
investigation"
= The witness had something he wanted
to say about the injunctions issued by
the court. He held these injunctions
were not rightly based on the interstate
/ commerce law; that the law was not in.
tended to apply to labor organizations.
He said the injunctions were based up
On court maue IaWSs upon oeclslons given
in the absence of law. When Gompers
finished, the commission adjourned un-
til Monday.
An error crept into last nights report
of the proceedings before the commission
investigating the Pullman strike. The
statement was made that Mr.. st. John,
general manager of the Rock Island, tes-
tilted that list of names had been pre-
pared for the General Managers Asso-
citation containing the.names of the most
active strikers. Mr.. st. John made no
such statement, but testified that neither
the Rock Island or the association had
ever kept blacklist, or had such at the
present time.
H;-ka.. I,f all L, aa.ran;z,e. D..