The Saint Paul globe., 1900-12-09
Union LABOR IN SESSION
THE DAYS WORK AT LOUISVILLE
OF THE AMERICAN FED
GRAFTON
THE FRATERNAL DELEGATES
From the Trades Unions of Great
Britain and Canada Welcomed
Dispute Between Printers
and Machinists.

IL C4O LILLE, NY, 1(CCst O.--AC IOQaY 8
session of the American, Federation of
Labor considerable business was trans
acted, but committee reports were not
all forthcoming. The principal b1ls;i.ess
of the morning was the reading Of the
executive committees report A lett, r
was received from Porto Rico asking for
freedom of speech, 9asseal9i- AMI
press" and that q committee he sent
to the island for The purpose cf COM
pleting organization.
A telegram was read from the w c.
T. U. at Washington, asking assistance
in putting down the liquor traffic.
Second Vice Presid ant Duncan read the
report of the executive council Whic h
was quite lengthy. 1t reviewed the ac-
ton Of national and International unions
for the past year, criticized the treat
ment of the street railway employees Of
st. Louis during the street railway
strike in that city; the action of La Re
sistancia, cigarmakers of Tampa, Fla.
and reaffirmed the right of American
citizens to work without hindrance; :;
cited the reduction of the working hours
of granitecutters to eight hours and in
creased average wages is 2-3 per cent in
the United States and Canada. The re-
port was referred.
resolution was adopted instructing
the Federation of Labor to assist the
bringing about a change in the depart
ment rules whereby there shall be but
one class under which machinists are
employed, who shall receive the standard
rate of wages.
A resolution was also adopted, instruct
ing the executive council to ask for like
amendments to the federal constitution.
Recess was then taken until o'clock.
FRATERNAL DELEGATES.
The greater portion of the afternoon
session was taken up by the formal pres
entation of - Fraternal Delegates John
Wier, general secretary of the Fifeshire
Miners association, of Scotland; Pete
Curran, chairman of the General Fedora
ton of Trade Unions of Great Britain,
and David A Carr, of the Canadian
Trades Union Council, and a short re-
sponse by President Gompers.
Walter Vrooman, founder of Ruskin
Hall. in Oxford, England, and Trenton.
Mo. made an address in behalf of the
movement in which he is engaged.
A resolution was adopted in response
to the greeting of the W. Z. L. u, at
Washington, that the Federation accept
the good will of that body and 'eXtend
hearty cooperation in the good work in
which they are engaged and asking
that the w. c. T. q. manifest SYM
pathy with organized labor by giving
patronage to union labels in every trade.
John A. Hunter, who was one OF the
fraternal delegates to-. the last British
trades union congress-, tonight read his
paper as such delegate. Under suspen-
sion of the rules adjournment was then
taken until Monday morning.
Just before adjournment number OF
resolutions were presented by title and
referred among them being one against
the anti-scalping bill, one to encourage
the establishment of local unions of the
Retail Clerks International Protective
associat ton, one for government de-
partment of labor, the head of which
shall have a place in the cabinet; one to
secure the passage by congress of a Dill
to restrict immi igra ton with a view to
preventing tile growth of the sweating
system, and one reafffning adherence
by the Federation to the principle of
self-government by each craft or trade,
and a number recommending boycotts
against specified firms.
NEXT. WEEKS PROGRAMME.
The consideration of and passage upon
these resolutions and other business vii
occupy the attention of the convention
all next week, ME-. Gompers tonight stat
ing to the Associated Press representa-
tive that final adjournment will be taken
one week from tonight. Asbanquet was
given tonight by the Central Labor Union
of Louis Vile to the delegates and their
friends and the press representatives.
4 lively fight will take place Monday
in the contention between the machinists
and printers Some time since the In
ternational Machinists union asked the
machinists who work at the linotype
machines to resign from the Interna-
tional Typographical union and join the
machinists. The typographical union had
in the meantime passed a law compelling
the machnists, as we'll as the operators,
10 join their union. They resisted the
request of the machinists. The latter
have now introduced@a 5fesolution de-
manding that machinists' affiliate with
the regular machinistS2s union.