Omaha daily bee., 1898-12-21
COMPERS CHOSEN ONCE MORE
Federation Delegates Unanimously Endorse
Their Leader.
CLOSING SESSION OF THE LABOR coUNcI
Resolution Favoring . Bill TO Tax
Factories Employing Women
and Children IL Killed
In Assembly.

j
was today reelected president Of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor, by a practically
unanimous vote. at the closing session Of
the eighteenth annual convention OF that
organization. The convention. which had
/ been in session for eight days. adjourned
sine die at o'clock. Detroit. Mich, was
decided upon as the next place Of meeting.
During the election Of President William
j. O'Brien OF New York was in the chair.
George T. Mcneil Of Boston placed Mr..
/ Gompers in nomination. He said he might
never again attend a convention Of the fed
| Grafton and he wanted the honor OF naming
Mr. Gompers for the place. He said:
"Mr. Gompers has been tried and found
true. He cannot be corrupted. When we
get a good man in a place we should keep
him there"
Great applause followed Mr.. McNeill's re-
marks. John Kirby of Ouray, Col, said
the miners of the west were looking more
to Mr. tiompers' to aid them in their strug-
gles than anybody else.
There were no other nominees and Henry
Lloyd Of Massachusetts, moved that the vote
Of the convention be cast for Mr.. Gompers.
| This was done amid great cheering. Isaac
| Cowan. the socialist OF Cleveland, objected
and his vote was recorded against Mr.. Com
pers. Mr.. Gompers declined to make any
remarks upon his reelection.
| With the exception OF the fourth, fftn
and sixth vice president and the three fra
ternal delegates. the rest OF the old officers
were reelected without any opposition.
Ticket Elected.
The remainder Of the ticket follows First
vice president, P. J. MCGUIRE, Philadelphia;
second vice president James Duncan, Balti-
| ia ,,lo-
nell. Chicago; fourth vice president, John F.
Mitchell. Indianapolis; nth vice president.
Max Morris Denver; sixth vice president,
Thomas l. Kidd, Chicago secretary, Frank
Morrison. Chicago; treasurer. John B. Len
non. Bloomington, ILL.,; fraternal delegates
| to the union congress Of Great Britain,
Thomas F. Tracy Of New York Of the Cigar
Makers union. and James O'Connell, Chi
cago, Of the Machinists union; to the trades
and labor congress Of Canada. John r..
O'Suliivan of Boston. Of the Massachusetts
state branch
The convention spent most Of the day in
amending its constitution and providing
means for widening the scope OF its work
The federation increased the per capita tax
J upon members Of trades union organizations
from e-fourths of 1 per cent to cents
per month, the money to be used to support
the federation. President Gompers himself
objected to this, but the delegates were
strongly In favor Of 1t. On every hand they
declared that an increased revenue was
needed to carry on the work OF organiza.
tion so as to strengthen the labor cause.
The resolution Of ]. F. OSullivan Of Bos.
: ton. looking to a bill in congress to impose
an internal revenue tax against all factories
J employing women and children overtime
| lad no NIT 4
against the measure on the ground that
it would legalize the employment Of children
as laborers ts-.
| In support Of his measure Mr.. O'Sullivan
said that he had been before the legislature
Of Massachusetts, when lawyers argued the
constitutionality OF an act to tax factories
which employed children. He said that
these lawyers all agreed that such a tax
was constitutional and that 1t was generally
| agreed that the only way to stop factory
keepers from hiring children was to tax them
out of existence. Mr.. O'Sullivan proposed
that such factories be made to pay an in
ternal revenue tax Of so per cent Of their
gross products.
Law Not EmcaciOus.
George e. McNeill said he had some doubts
as to the efficacy Of such law. And
| Sdlu ue, IL Will license tn0
employment Of children. We will be put in
the light Of recognizing what we know to
| be an evil"
Mr.. O'Sullivan said he believed that the
employment Of children could never be
| checked until the women workers of the
land identified themselves with the trades
unions. He was certain, too, that women
themselves would never receive equal pay
with men until thew showed strength
united enough to force 1t upon their en-
ployers
Isaac Cowan's resolution asking that the
| discussion by affiliated unions Of the King
Blachford and Eyer plans Of financial feder.
alton be recommended by the American Fed
eration was killed without discussion and
number OF measures not Of general interest
were disposed Of.
Before adjourning the convention listened
to farewell addresses by the British dele
| 1afes william, Inskin and William Thorn