Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1902-12-13
: UNIONS in DANGER.
LABOR IN FRATRlC!DAL STRIFE IS
COURTING DEATH.


ased Labor to BE Engulfed In a
TidalWave of Expansion Madness p
The following extract from President
Gompers' address at the opening of the
American Federation of Labor conven-
ton deals with the most vital question
which ever came before that organiza-
ton or any other representative body
Nf labor unionists in the United States:
Beyond doubt the greatest problem,
the danger which above all others most
threatens not only the success, but the
very existence, of the American Fedora
>tion of Labor, is the question of juris-
diction. l may truly record the fact
that never for one moment since the
formation of our federation have en-
tertained a doubt or misgiving as to the
growth, success and permanency OF the
American Federation Of Labor, and
would not now be apprehensive of it's
future were it not forced upon my de-
iberate Judgment, which has devel-
Oped into firm conviction, that unless
our affiliated national and international
unions radically and soon change their
course we shall at no distant day be in
the midst of an internecne contest un-
paralleled in any era of the Industrial
wOrld-aye, not even when workmen of
different trades were arrayed against
each other. behind barricades in the
streets over the question of trade
against trade. They mutually regarded
each with hatred and treated each
other as mortal enemies.
lis the great cause of labor to drift
into such dreadful and miserable
strife?
care all the sacrifices made to be
ruthlessly thrust into the gutter, as the
germ to fructify and destroy the yigor,
the very life, of our cause?
us organized labor, the only check to
rapacious greed and tyranny, the only
hope of labor for protection now or lib
erty for the future, to be engulfed in
tidal wave of expansion madness?
mo combination of labor's enemies
need cause us the apprehension which
this fratricidal strife does in the claims
made by unions for the extension Of
trade jurisdiction.
"There is scarcely an affiliated Or
ganization which is not engaged in a
dispute with another organizat ton, and
In some cases with several organiza-
tons, upon the question of jurisdic-
ton. 1t is not an uncommon occur
renee for an organization, and several
have done so quite recently, to so
change their laws and claims to juris-
diction as to cover trades never con-
templated by the organiza tons Off
GERS or members, never comprehended
by their title. trades of which there is
already in existence a national union,
and this without word of advice,
counsel or warning.
''Of course it is evident that in some
Instances there are two or more organ
lzations which should and could with
advantage be consolidated or amalga-
mated into one. and efforts by such
organizations should certainly be made,
assisted or initiated by the American
Federation of Labor. but l submit
that it is untenable and intolerable for
an organization to attempt to ride
tough shod over and trample under
loot the rights and jurisdiction of a
trade the jurisdiction of which is al
ready covered by an existing organiza.
ton.
'This contention for Jurisdiction has
grown into such proportions and is
fought with such intensity as to
arouse the most bitter feuds and trade
wars. In many instances employers
fairly inclined toward organized labor
have been made innocently to suffer
from causes entirely beyond their con-
troll, and other employers again have
taken advantage of the first inception
Of the fancy or notion for Expansion
of trade jurisdiction, famed it into q
dame and, taking advantage of the
excitement and hatred of and war
against each other, refused to recog-
hize either organization, pretending to
claim it war among labor organiza-
tons. with which they do not wish to
Interfere. On the surface the en-
ployers' claim appears tenable, but in
their hearts they enjoy the situation
by which their pockets are enriched.
Nevertheless the employers conten-
ton in regard to this question cannot
be disputed. But Of the organization
the same cannot be said. The inter-
ests of the wage earners Of the craft,
to promote and protect which the Or
7ganizations were primarily formed,
have no moral or lawful right, from
a trade union point of view, to be
5eopardized by pursuing a policy in an
attempt at trade invasion made with
out the knowledge or consent Of the
crafts invaded" -
~ v- Wages Too Low.
The purchasing power Of a good,
honest days labor In the New Eng
land mills, as measured by the necesst-