Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-03-26
A NEW DEPARTMENT
CONSIDERATION RESUMED BY
HOUSE COMMITTEE TODAY.
The Objections to It's Including the
Bureau of Labor Set
Forth.

Consideration of the department of COM
merce proposition was resumed by the
House committee on commerce this morn
ing. William L. Bass of New York was
heard first. His talk was rather an echo of
| the recent reciprocity convention in this
city. He declared that the advantage of the
new department would simply be a negative
one. 1T will simply be a place where
every industry in the country can keep on
file a standing protest against any reci-
procity treaty which touched any one of
these industries"
Mr.. Bass declared that at the reciprocity
convention such protests were filed, but
that the convention made a broad indorse-
ment of reciprocity and had concluded its
work by an Endorsement of the department
of commerce proposition.
Against Including Bureau of Labor.
Thomas F. Tracey, representing the
American Federation of Labor asked the
committee to eliminate from all of the
pending bills the proposition to include
the bureau of labor in the proposed depart
ment of commerce. He read a letter from
President Samuel Gompers to~Senator Frye
giving reasons why a department of COM
merce should not include labor.
Mr.. Tracey was asked many questions by
members of the committee regarding the
views of labor on this question, and also as
TO the numerical strength of the Federation
of Labor as compared with the knights of
Labor.
The reply of Mr. Tracey to this latter
question was that while at one time several
years ago the Knights of Labor was very
strong organization, it had dwindled down
to something like 10000 members. The Fed
Grafton of Labor he said had member
ship of a million and quarter.
Representing Railway Employees.
H. r. Fuller, representing five national
organizations Of railway employees, partially
gave the committee his reasons for oppos-
ing the present proposition to include labor
In the proposed new department. He will
conclude his argument tomorrow.
Mr.. Fuller said he did not wish to be un-
derstood as opposing the establishment of
a department of commerce Labor had no
objection to the establishment Of such a de-
partment, but organized labor had for
thirty-five years been working to secure the
establishment of a department of labor,
with cabinet officer at its head.
The reasons why labor and commerce
should not be combined, he said, were
many. In the first place, the interests of
the two were not identical. Commerce, he
said, was headed by men who were univer-
sally the employers Of labor; commercial
men were, too. the prime movers In the
present proposition. If this movement was
successful 1t would be only natural and
right that commerce, and not labor, should
be represented in the man who should be
selected 10 head this department. 1t was
an impossibility Mr.. Fuller said, for a man
who had the interests of the EMPLOYING
classes at heart to also have the employed
equally at heart, no matter how honest
might be the man selected for the position
1t was impossible to reconcile the two in
terests, he said, and to be entirely fair in
his argument he would concede the same
argument for the other side. A man who
would be a representative laboring man
would be incapable of representing CONNER
cial interests In a single-hearted manner.