The Portland daily press., 1898-12-19
eoMPERs' Ideas.
No Short Cut to the Observation-Disclosures
Emancipation VIII Soon Come.

Kansas City, Mo-, December 1.-THE
morning session of the American Fedora
ton OF Labor was devoted to hearing
delegates from the Socialist party IN ad-
Yocacy of their theories of government
While the speechmnking was at Its
height. Mr.. Gompers took hand and
denounced the efforts of the Socialists to
infuse their doctrines into that of the
trades unions. He said:
This question involves the integrity
of the labor movement of our country.
Either the trade union movement is right
or it is wrong. We must either declare
for the union movement without frills
or follies, or make an admission that II
is wrong. The very men who advocate
and ask us to commit ourselves to this
movement have in the past done all
that man can do to disrupt trades unions.
They have besmirched the name of labor.
They have attacked the integrity of the
men who tried to better the conditions OF
labor. They have attacked conservatism
and everything that is good for our cause.
"Rather than take our unions into
ward clubs, we are working on the line
that will better our interests before the
whole country / know that progress is
necessarily slow, and there ID no such
thing as short cut to the millennium.
| am sure that we are on the path OF
progress which we are following; the day
of labor is at the end of that lane. We
should be broad and comprehensive in all
that we do and the day of labor's emanci-
patton will soon come. /"
Great applause followed Mr.. Gompers s
remarks.
Henry Lloyd OF Boston then took the
floor. 1t was the sense of his remarks
that if the Federation tied itself to any
s'isln,' - it would be useless for it to ask
for legislation at the hands of Congress
CT the state legislatures.
The debate ON social conditions and
proposed remedies of so-called evils, was
resumed at the afternoon session. The
result was an utter rout of the Socialists,
both resolutions being carried by vote
of 1-2 to 1.
The report of the resolutions commit ee
embodying the resolution offered as sub
stitute for the Socialist resolutions was
then lai1 before the convention
1907 to 20.
The resolution was finally adopted as
follows:
sWe are against the Endorsement or in
PRODUCTION of partisan politics, religious
differences or race prejudices. We hold
it to be the duty of trades unions to
study and discuss all questions that
have any bearing upon their industrial
or political liberty. but we declared that
it is not in the province of the American
Federation of Labor to designate to which
political party a member shall belong OF
for which political party he shall vote. "
The convention then listened to an ad
dress by Clarence Darrow, the Chicago
LAWYER. who defended Dsbs in the Fed
eral courts on ssThe Courts and the
Nottingham.
The convention adopted the following
resolutions: Endorsing the bill before
Congress which prohibits the employment
of enlisted soldiers of the army in COM
petition with civilians in any capacity
ienouncing the shooting down of the
striking miners at Virden, ILL.,, by ''the
armed guards of monopoly" urging
trade unionists everywhere to work ano
agitate against this "inhuman practice
of compelling men to labor seven days
week. !"