The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-16
Federation Of Labor Adopts An En-
phatic Resolution.
FIVE HOURS OF DEBATE
DELEGATES WAxED ELOQUENT
AND WERE APPLAUDED.
Resolution Opposes a Large Standing
Army and the Spirit of Imperial
isn-Federation Should Serve No
tice On the Politicians-organizer
For the Southern States.

Kansas City, Dec. 15-At it's annual
convention today the American Fedora
ton of Labor declared by almost an
unanimous vote, against a, standing
army in the United States, which is in
reality recognized as a protest against
expansion, or the spirit of imperialism,
as it was termed by the delegates. This
action was taken after five hours of de-
bate on every phase of the question. At
times many of the speakers became elo-
quent in their utteranceS, and received
unstinted applause from the delegates.
The issue came to the hands of the
convention through a resolution which
grew out of suggestions in President
Samuel Gompers annual report. The
debate opened when the committee, of
which Mr.. Henry Lloyd of Boston is
chairman, offered this resolution:
Whereas, As a result of the recent
war with Spain, a new and far-reaching
policy, known as imperialism or expan-
sion, is about to thrust upon US a large
and standing army and an autocraGc
navy, this convention offers it protest
and calls upon it's officers to use all
power to defeat it,
Samuel B. DonnelIy of New York,
president of the American Typograph-
zeal Union, was the first speaker, and
practically the only delegate who in any
way defended the cause of expansion.
'EXpansionists have always won"
said he, in the course of his remarks,
because it is in the interest of a
higher civilization. 1 don't believe that
the 60, 000,0 600 people who do not belong
to trades unions in this country are go
ing to bow down to a system of i'm
perialism or pay homage to a crown. /
know [ am in the minority here, but if
we adopt this policy against expansion,
I want to go farther and declare against
| this peace alliance with Great Brit
aim"
Delegate Lloyd of Boston followed in
a strong speech against expansion. Mr..
Lloyd declared he would have the Fed
Grafton Of Labor servie notice upon
every politician in the country that any
American voting for expansion would
place himself in deadly enmity to or
gained labor, and that organized labor
would work for his defeat at the polls
The Federation of Labor, he went on,
should not be drawn away into politi-
| cal questions-they should attend to
their own business.
Delegate John Kirby likewise spoke
against expansion.
S. j. Kent, labor commissioner of Ne
braska, spoke along the same lines as
did Mr. Lloyd, arraying himself direct
ly against expansion.
Isaac Cohen of Cleveland a socialist
leader, said it was the business of
trades unions to protest against and
| fight a colonial policy that would in
jure the cause of labor to such am ex-
tent as the Importation of contract la
Dor would.
Andrew Furuseth, representative of
the Seamens union, characterized the
result that would follow expansion as
similar to the importation Of the negro
to this country.
President Gompers made remarks that
embodied the same ideas against ex-
pansion that he set forth in his annual
address.
George F. Mcneil of Massachusetts
said: IF the trades unionists had sent
up a concerted protest against expan-
sion at its very inception it would have
been defeated
Stewart Read of the machinists of
Chicago declared that his union was
onnosed to an increase of the army or
navy.
When vote was finally taken the
resolution was adopted with but three
or four dissenting votes.
Other work accomplished by the con-
vention was the adoption of a resolu-
ton to send an organizer into the
southern states during the coming year
When a measure was brought before
the convention asking congress to grant
an annual leave of absence of thirty
days to the employees of the navy
yards, President Gompers spoke against
it. He declared that he was in favor
of these employees, as we'll as all other
! employees, receiving a leave of absence
from their work, but he feared the de-
mand at this time would only serve to
| burden the eight-hour bill now pending
before congress. The resolution was
referred to the executive council of the
federatiO