Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1903-10-08
Miller Case Finally
Settled By President
Issues a Statement After Confer
enee with Labor Leaders

Washington; An important confer
ence took place at the White House
Tuesday night between President
Roosevelt and fYe members of the ex.
ecutive council OF the American Fed.
Grafton Of Labor. including President
Gompers and Mr. Mitchell, head Of the
miners, union, during which the case
of Foreman w. A. Miller Of the Gov
eminent printing ONCE, who was dis
missed because he had been expelled
from the local bookbinders' union, and
afterward was reinstated by direction
of the President. was the principal
topic of discussion.
The conference was granted at the
request Of the labor leaders. The MIL
Ter case was very fully presented by
the members Of the executive council,
at the close of which the President
made a statement, in which he an.
nounced that his decision not TO dis
miss Miller was final and that the
question Of his personal fitness must
be settled in the regular routine of
administration. The statement ip full
IS as follows.
The conference broke UP about 1880
o'clock, and shortly thereafter the fol-
lowing statement was given to the
press at the White House:
Pursuant to the request of Samuel
Gompers, president of the American
Federation of Labor, the President
granted an interview this evening to
the members Of the executive council
Of that body--Mr. Samuel Gompers,
Mr.. James Duncan. Mr., John Mitchell,
Mr.. James O'Connell and Mr.. Frank
Morrison, at which various subjects of
legislation in the interests of labor, as
well as executive action, were dis
cussed. Concerning the case of VIII
liam A. Miller the President made the
following statement:
II thank you and your committee for
your courtesy, and appreciate the op-
portunity to meet with you. 1t will
always be pleasure to see you or any
representatives of your organizations
or your federal as a whole.
GAS regards the Miller case l have
little to add to what have already
said
In dealing with it ask you to re-
member that am dealing purely with
the relation of the Government or Its
employees. l must govern my action
by the laws of the land, which I am
sworn to administer, and which differ.
entiate any case in which the Govern
ment of the United States is a party
from all other cases whatsoever
These laws are enacted for the benefit
of the whole people and can not and
must not be construed as permitting
discrimination against some of the
people. / am President Of all the PEG
pie of the United States. without re
gard to creed, color birthplace, occu
patton or social conditions. My ain
rs to do equal and exact justice as
among them all In the employment
and dismissal of men in the Govern
ment service can no more recognize
the fact that man does OF does moi
belong to a union as being for OF
fact that he is a Protestant or Cath
Ollie, Jew or a Gentle, as being fol
or against him.
"In the communications sent me by
various labor organizations. protesting
against the retention Of Miller in tbs
Government printing once, the
grounds alleged are twofold: ~ That
he is non-union man; (2) that he /:
not personally fit. The question Of his
personal fitness is one to be settled in
the routine Of administrative detail
and cannot be allowed to conflict with
or to complicate the larger question o.
governmental discrimination for Of
against him or any other man because
he is or is not a member of union
This is the only question now before
me for decision; and as to this my de
cision is final"