Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-01-10
BUCHANAN'S LETTER,
NOTES ON THE RECENT MEETING OF
THE CIVIC FEDERATION.
The Cold Facts Concerning Labor
Unions and the Militia-The Great
| Danger That Turks In the Juris-
, dict1on Quarrel.

Danger That Turks In the Juris-
diction Quarrel.
The daily newspapers of the country
contained daily accounts of the pro-
ceedings Of the National Civic fedora
ton during it's recent session in New
York, but it may be interesting to the
workingman to take peep at this
unique organization through the spec
;tacles of the labor editor" Well, l at
tended during all of one days session
of the federation and part of another
day. frankly confess at the beginning
that now have better impression of
the society, it's aims and possibilities
than l had a year ago. The change
may be due to the fact that this year
there was less palaver and love feast
ing and more real hard knocks, the
champions of labor speaking right out
in meetin'" and the opposition showing
why it opposed trades unions.
AS to the personnel Of the asscmblage,
there was undoubtedly top heavy per
lcentage of representatives Of the three
Ep's-prea cheers, professors and poli!i-
|cians-though, fortunately, the latter
were not so numerous as either Of the
other members of the irresponsible tri-
.umvirate. There was noticeable in
crease over last year in the number OF
business men in attendance.
Mr.. Grover Cleveland was present,
but all he did was to sit up near the
front, look wise Tor sleepy couldn't
make out which it WaS) and shake
hands with the professors, preachers,
etc.
Mr.. Alfred Moseley of England was
there-very much there. If there was
any subject, division or subdivision OF
a subject before the federation dur
ing it's three days session upon which
Mr.. Moseley didn't have something
to say, usually under the guise of a
question, the records are wrong. II
will be remembered that Mr.. Nose
ley is the English capitalist who came
over to this country, accompanied by
twenty mechanics, representing many
trades, to investigate our industries
with view to introducing in
English mills and factories any meth
DDS of ours which impressed him
as superior to English ways of doing
the same things. What he learned
along these lines Mr.. Moseley didn'1
tell US before he sailed for home, bu1
lin several interviews he took occasion
Ito speak strongly of the industrial
great ness of the United States and tt
predict a future for US exceeding il
industrial and commercial greatness
anything ever achieved by any people
in the past or possible to any othel
country than this in the future. Mr.
Moseley tied little string to his ros!
hued prophecy, however. All this mag
nifcence was contingent upon ICON
tinued confidence" I asked the gentle
man what he meant by the use of tina
term. 1t had given me many sor
headaches in recent political cam
paigns in this country. His answe
was that if there were no more fire
silver scares'' or too serious labor dis
turbances or things Of that kind t
brighten the men Of money bushes
would continue to boom and we woul
fulfill his prediction. OF course W
argued, for. whether right or wrong
I have always had an impression tina
confidence was3.anse effect land not !
cause that is, that when things ar
booming men have conf ence and nc
I that thinps h1lnYn hfsfa use 4 here rs kcOi
fidence, but l have been a little ret
cent on this point since the successe
of confidence" in politics.. H..
To return to Mr.. Moseley at the Civ
ic federation: Whatever may hav
been the real object of the gentlema,
/ there Haa 4 strong impression anon