The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-11-21
FEDERATION OF LABOR.
Many Problems Before the Body.
Faction Against GomPcra Cannot
Fix on Any Candidate.

New Orleans. November 19.-The
special committee appointed to consid-
er the charges made by President
ShaTer, OF the Amalgamated Associa-
ton of Steel, Iron and Tin Workers
against President Gompers Of the
American Federation OF Labor. will re-
port tomorrow. 1t @.iI terminate in tn.
exoneration Of President GompeTs. Mr..
Shaffer has not on.y failed to substan-
tiate his charges. but the members OF
the committee are authority fora the
statement hat ne has never made any,
TO that body at least. He mas appeared
before the committee and when he
came away, declared he a presented
his charge. The committee says he
did not formulate them. In his alb
sence o. direct accusation there can
be out o. end to the Investigation.
n today Wrestled with
the subject of the autonomy Of trades
councils, End the latter was not ex-
hausted when the adjournment was
X at 6 O'Clock. The chief fight Of
the day came in the old struggle he
tween the United States Brotherhood
or Carpenters and JoinerS and the
Amalgamated Association of Carpen-
tiers. The former organization asked
for the revocation of the charter OF
the latter, because of alleged practices
contrary to the interest Of the trade
union movement, its avOwed object be-
ing to force the other organization into
its own ranks. After several hours of
debate, the matter was referred to a
commission of eleven, five from each
organization and an umpire to be mu.
tually selected. The commission is to
meet on or before March l, 1903, n
~endeaVor to bring bou an amalgama-
ton of the W organizations.
The faction in the convention which
IS opposed to the reelection OF Presi.
dent GOmpers has as yet been unable
to fix upon a rival candidate.
Vice-President James Duncan has
refused to commit himself in either
direction and President James NJ
Lynch of Photographed Union is now
spoken of as a candidate.
A resolution condemning the reported
utterances of President Elliot, of Har-
ward college in favor of "Scab' work
ing men was reported upon faVOrably
by the committee on resolutions and its
action was endorsed by the convention.
The first paragraph of the resolution
as originally introduced cOmmencci
Whereas. the head of the foremost
American university. President Charles
w. Eliot, of Harvard. etc." Secretary
Agard. of the resolution committee
called attention Of the convention to the
word ''formOst," saying that the COM
mittee had changed n word to prom
inent" as the members of the resolution
committee did not believe that an insti-
tuition which would retain at its head
a man capable of such expressions as
those credited to President Eliot, could
by any possibility be the foremost
university of the country.
ZI--1 l.
clared that President Harper, of Chica-
the founder of the institution, We're
both opposed to union movement and
that they were trying to secure control
of the public schools in that city and
that the labOring men were ~endeavor-
ing to counteract the movement by or
ganizino the teachers into unions.
The McComaS bill now pending be-
fore the United States mate providing
for increased pay for all overtime M
government works was endorsed by the
committee and a resolution was adopted
by the convention.
James nj. Lynch, president of 4 In
ternationaI Typographical Union, at
midnight, gave out the following state
ment in relation to his candidacy for
president of the American Federation
Of Labor:
81 have declined to accept anything
that will separate me from the typo
graphical union, which has recently
honOred me by reelection for another
term Of two years as its president"