Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-16

UuCTOWueQ h1uR.
there. At the noon recess / went to the
largest union cigar factory in the world,
which was not far from the convention
hall. One of the men asked me the same
question you have asked. In reply I took
off my coat sat down at the bench and
made three cigars. l have son who has
cigar factory near here and if You wish /
will go there and make you one now"
1 did wish, and Mr.. Gompers went with
me to the factory. sat down at one of the
benches and rapidly rolled out choice Ha-
vana. 1t took him less than two minutes
by my watch to put the tobacco into shape
and the cigar which lies before me as I
write this is as good-looking an article as
any cigar sold anywhere in the United
States. 1t is big, fat cigar and contains
a good, honest smoke. After this Mr.. Com
pers rolled a cigar for himself and smoked
this while we talked. He told me that he
still retained his membership in the cigar
makers union, and showed me his union
book, with the stamps of his dues paid to
date. He has been members of that
union for thirty-nine years, and pays his
regular dues of 80 cents a week to keep I'D
his membership.
The Evolution of a Unionist.
when did you first become interested in
the labor movement" l asked.
When was fourteen years DID, was the
reply. my father had been member of
the union, and at that age joined. l have
been a union man ever since"
nave YOU ever been In Strike?'
Many times. Sometimes when l approy-
ed of the strike. and again when did not
Some of the strikes were hard ones. and |
have actually suffered from hunger dur
Ing such times, but l never regretted
them. When went on strike consider
ed the shop door closed as far as / was
concerned, until that strike was settled, aud
for that reason l did not want to strike
without due cause"
DO you think strikes pay the working
man
.They most certainly do, although they
should be avoided If possible. Still l hope
the tire will never come when we shall so
lose our manhood as to refuse to strike
Strikes are an element of civilization In
barbarous. times and barbarous countries
the people do not strike. There are no
strikes in China. The wages there are 10
cents a day and the workmen live in mud
huts and feed upon rice and an occasional
rodent
When has the laboring man the right to
striker
He has the right to do so at any time
and for any reason or for no reason at ALL
Strikes are an evidence of liberty and free
dom, and we laboring men claim the right
to strike at any time. ! am not discussing
the policy. We have the right
What is the present outlook to labor,
Mr.. GomperS? Times have been good. There
have been many strikes and wages have
gone up. 1t is now said that times are be-
coming bad; will they not go DOWN.
las to the times" said the president of
the American Federation, my informa ton
shows me that there is a change for the
worse. We have number of unions, which
pay benefits to their unemployed and there
fore keep track of those out of work. These
unions embrace different branches of trade
In many parts of the country and their re-
ports form an excellent barometer of in
dustrial conditions From them l can see
clouds in the industrial sky, and l look for
a period of depression during the next few
years 1t will not be as bad as in 1857, in
1873 or in 1894. but it will be felt more or
less all over the country
Workmen Advised to Resist Reductions
Now as to the second part of your
question: Mr.. Gompers went on. Il don't
think wages ought to be reduced in conse--
quence and 1 have advised our unions TO
resist all attempts at such reductions. l
advise them to strike against any cut in
wages and ! think the employers sb2ald
see that such cuts will increase the bad
times rather than lessen them.
Prosperity depends upon the markets., .
continued Mr.. Gompers, "and they depend
upon the consuming power of the people.
If you cut wages you lessen the consum-
ing power. The men viii have less to spend.
The factories must make still less, result
ing in more discharges and more cuts and
making the tines worse than ever. l be-
lieve it is better to strike in such cases
even If We are defeated. Every strike in a
time of decreased prosperity prevents fur
Their attempts to reduce wages. If we do
not soDJSel 10 TeuucllOHS- tfey Will DE IOl-
lowed by further reductions. 1t is only by
fighting that we car hone to hold our own.
l would like to see our workmen have such
q system of dues as would create a fund
sufficient to enable them to engage in a
strike at any time without fear. The en-
ployer who knows his workmen can sue
cessfully fight will not impose unfair ex-
actions upon Them,
Wages Not Too High.
"Isut Mr.. Gompers. are not wages too /
high In many branches of industry?''
No." was the reply. THE higher they