The age-herald., 1900-12-14
THE LABOR LEADERS
 HAVE WARM DEBATE
Conservative Element inaIIy Pre-
 vaiIS by Large Majority
A MILD TRUST RESOLUTION
It Now Seems That Gompers Will Again be President and Morrison Sec retary-Interesting Resolution
 on Cooperative Government.

Louisville, Ky, December 13.-The con-
 servative element in the American Fedora
 ton of Labor was dominant throughout
 the days proceedings of the convention.
 Two resolutions championed by the radical
 element were voted down by overwhelming
 majorities. One was bitter pronounce
 ment against trusts and monopoles in
 general, and the other declaration in fa-
 vor of the cooperation commonwealth or
 government ownership and control of all
 means of production and distribution. For
 both of them much more moderate substi-
 tutes were adopted after long debate.
 At the opening session the following ap
 peared to be the most popular list of new
 officers to be elected the last day of the
 conventions:
 President-Samuel Gompers, New York.
 Secretary-Frank Morrison, Washington,
 D. c.
 Treasurer-John B. Lennon, Blooming ton, Ill.
 First observation-disclosures Duncan,
 Boston.
 Second vice-President-John Mitchell.
 Indianapolis.
 Third observation-disclosures OConnell, Washington, D. C..
 Fourth observation-disclosures Kidd, Chicago.
 The above, if elected, will constitute the new Executive Council There is not like ly to be any considerable opposition to the reelection of President Gompers. Resolutions Adopted. ba olutions:
 Favoring shorter hours for barbers, ex- tending sympathy and moral support to the Iron Workers Union of North America. resolution against trusts was offered by Max Hayes of Cleveland, and was amended by the committee and reported to the con vention, as follows:
 Resolved, That this, the twentieth con vention of the American Federation of La bor, reaffirm its position upon the trust question by urging the unorganized working | people to organize in their respective trades 1 as the best means of resisting the encroach- l ments of trusts and monopolies. And we also renew the recommendation that trade working men generally study the oeVeiop ment of trusts and monopolies MT Hayes took the floor to protest against | the change in his resolution. He made | bitter attack on trusts in general, ana was | replied to by Treasurer Duncan, who said the committee had deemed moderate reso- lution along practical lines much wiser than | a radical illumination against trusts Mir Hayes position was condemned by number of delegates as tending to transform | the meeting into political organizaton, Delegate Agard of St. Louis said he did not | believe trusts should be denounced lndls- | criminately, but the question should De ] studied carefully and the truth sitted out. Mitchell Hits Socialists. John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Workers resented a statement by MT Hayes to the effect that if the mine workers would strike again they could secure sllli further advance of their wages. Ihere mas not been an important step taken py mine workers" said MT. Mitchell, that mas not been bitterly opposed by the Socialist La bor party in Pennsylvania. Today our peo- pie earn as good wages as any or the crafts; during the past twenty yeafs-We have increased our wages 40 per cent, ana
 this has been done through efforts Of trades
 unions If the believers in socialism can
 point to a practical solution of the indus
 trial problem, am not so biased as not 10
 be ready to join them."
 Upon a roll call the resolution as amenoeu
 by the committee was adopted by large majority.
 The Substitute. The substitute for the three resolutions favoring the cooperative coinhoh"eaieh was as follows:
 We cheerfully accept and desire all the assistance and usefulness which may or can be given the trade union movement py all reform forces The aspirations. hopes and aims of the trades union members are very similar to the expressed wishes of the greater body of socialists, namely, that the burdens of toll may be lighter and that each worker shall enjoy the complete s.t. 1.@ Tfnt men and women shall receive greater amount of liberty; that the years 10 come may be made brighter than the past or present, are the ideals of us all. But We take the position nevertheless that because of personal, local, national or other req sons the workers of cur country reach different conclusions as to the method of reaching the desired end, even though there may be little difference amorg us as to the desrability of reaching that end We assert as forcibly as we are capable Of asserting that the trade union movement is the true and legitimate channel through
 which the tolers should seek not only
 present amelioration but tt-ure emancipa-
 tion We hold that the trade unions
 throughout our country and Canada do
 not know nor do we believe they will in
 the future declare against the discussion
 of any question in their meetings, either
 of an economic or of a political nature;
 but they are, and we think justly commit
 ted against the endorsement or introduc-
 ton of race prejudces, religious differ
 ences or partisan politics. We declare it
 to be the inherent duty of our several
 unions to publish in their journals, to dis
 cuss in their meetings and the members
 thereof to study in their homes all ques-
 tions of a public nature which have ref
 erence to their industrial political lib-
 erty; but we as firmly declare that 1t is
 not within the constitutional or any other
 power of the American Federation of La
 bor to legislate, resolve or specify to
 which political party members of
 unions shall belong or for which party
 they shall vote."
 Upon concurrence in this substitute debate
 was long and acrimonious.
 President Gompers closed the debate, speaking for the conservatives, those who
 were opposed to the original resolutions. If the resolutions were to be passed In their
 most radical form, he said 1t would not accelerate the progress of the labor cause, tic