The San Francisco call., 1904-11-23

has been assigned for the severance OF that
fraternal relation
/ am sure that 1 express the hope Of every
delegate to this convention and of every union
man and union woman that we represent when
Federation of Miners may soon become mem
Der OF the family of trades unions under the
banner OF the American Federation of Labor
And. in any event, we wish you godspeed and
success
A daily journal Of the proceedings of
the convention of the American FEEDER
alton of Labor is published and circu-
lated in the convention hall. In this
are resolutions that were reported to
committees, the resolutions now num-
bering something like 200. They are in
small type, and so it is possible to get
number of resolutions on one page.
The Socialists have been prolific in res
olutions and they are sown broadcast
through the pages of the convention s
journal, and look where one will at
least one resolution-as prolific in trou-
BILE as dragons teeth to those opposed
to Socialism-is found on each and
every page.
Two such were the first to be consid-
cred yesterday both of which were in
troduced by Victor L. Berger.
DISCUSS THE MILITIA.
The first of these resolutions recon-
mended that workingmen shall not join
the militia, Berger said that "as long
as the capitalist can hire one part of
the working people to shoot down an
other part they are safe in the posses
sion of this country" Berger said that
he preferred the system of Switzerland,
where there is no militia, except that
every able-bodied man in Switzerland
belongs to the fighting force and has a
gun to keep at home" He said:
In America things are different. Most Of
the men IN America do not know how to use
weapons. and the militia are not afraid of the
men shooting back In Switzerland the work.
In Switzerland they settled the strike by buy
ing up the railroads and granting the de-
mands OF organized labor.
Now, / don't say that the Swiss system is
exactly the proper system but l say that II
the Socialists would get control Of the State
regiments of militia made UP OF dudes and
bank clerks. and organized workers,
some trades union men who think that they are
better than the others because they
fifty cents more a day-instead of being made
up Of people OF that % kind people who are
would have four hundred regiments in
stead Of four in Wisconsin, and probably 1000
ably 500 regiments In the State of Pennsyl-
yania, and 800 in the State of Massachusetts.
In such case i would be in favor of the
militia. In other words If the militia were
what the United States constitution intended
It to be. then I would be In favor of the
militia
Delegate Earring said:
think that organized labor in America
ought to take some stand that our members
should not belong to the militia. / contend
that the very existence Of the militia makes
the militia necessary and that if there was no
such thing as the militia then the large en-
ploying classes, who ready to oppress
the working men, would be ready to
grant fair conditions to the working men.
drawn up which would indicate the disapproval
OF this convention to members of organized
labor belonging to the militia
Delegate Brown, one of the Social
istic delegates, said:
When a man in this convention has received
a brand from the bayonet of the United
States soldier he does not feel friendly to the
militia I believe that If most of us had
been through a similar experience that we
would also be in favor of the adoption of
resolution. When you recall the fact of the
State militia Of Colorado being used as
positive weapon in the hands of the Citizens
Alliance against organized labor, 1 think II is
about time that put ourselves on record
as being opposed to such OF the judicial
powers.
Delegate Guerin said that member
Of the federation should be urged to
join the State Militia