The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-30

Washington, Dec. 29.-Samuel Com
pers, president Of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor, has replied in an open
letter to Secretary Cages recent letter
taking exceptions to the resolutions
passed by the Federation, with refer
ence to the Gage financial bill. Mr..
Gompers says, in part:
you take exception both to the po-
sition which our organization mas taken
upon your bill, as we'll as the language
employed. Even if you are justified in
the one, you certainly misapprehend
the other. l submit that you will seek
in vain for a single denunciatory word,
either IN regard to your motives, your
plan, or your bill We realize that de-
nunciation is not argument, but to de-
clare our position and the statement
of a fact in regard to a most important
and far-reaching measure, affecting the
changing Of the financial system OF our
country, can by no means be construed
as denunciation.
"Those resolutions declare against
your plan for more thoroughly commit
ting our country to the gold standard:
a plan, in fact, for weakening the con-
troll of the national government over
that most important of all measures,
the measure of values, and strength
ening the banks; a plan aiming at what
you call currency REFORM and which
we call bank monopoly
a SACRED RIGHT.
THAT you should take offense at
these resolutions regret for the right
TO express disapproval Of the act OF
their servants is one of the rights held
sacred by the American people, and
one you will freely accord. We do not
charge you with ignorance, relative or
absolute or allege any evil purpose
or a 'perversity of motive on your
part, as implied in your letter, nor upon
re-reading the resolutions will you
find them either -condemnatory or de-
mandatory, as, you say they are. The
resolutions are declaratory Of the views
of the American Federation of Labor,
and are entirely imDersonal, for of all
men in public life we have the greatest
respect for your probity and integ-
rity.
AGAINST LABOR'S INTEREST.
1.-THE wage-earners of America, rep
resented in the American Federation
of Labor, believe that the position
taken in regard to the retirement of
the greenback currency is antagonistic
to their interests, and they are opposed
to your plan for more thoroughly COM
hitting this country of ours to the
gold standard.
You ask what evils have resulted
from our adherence to the gold stand
ard. I answer that the evils are those
that have grown, and ever must grow,
from a dishonest measure of values; a
measure of values that interferes with
the just distribution of wealth; that
deprives some men of a part of their
earnings that is rightly theirs, and
confers it upon others who have earned
it not Any measure of values that
thus forces an unjust distribution of
the products of labor, that deorives
the producer Of the fruits of his toll,
cuts down wages and profits, and there
by destroys the incentive to enterprise,
leads to industrial stagnation, enforced
idleness, distress and public suffering.
PRODUCTS OF LABOR.
1.-THE products of labor are divided
into three general shares. One share
goes as interest and rents to the
money lender and landlord, to capital
lists who do not productivity use their
own capital, who seek to avoid the
risks of production. A second share
goes as profits to employers. A third
share goes as wages to wage earners