Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-12-10
TRADE UNIONS GROW
RANKS OF ORGANIZED LABOR STEAD
 ny INCREASING.

PRObIemp That the unaonists Must
 solve In the Near Euture-wage
 Reduction Must Be Resisted.-Rights
 of Workers.
 Tn his address before the twenty fourth annual convention of the Amer Scan Federation of Labor President Samuel Gompers said in part:
 ''The immediate future is pregnant with good or i'll for the people of our country. It devolves upon the organ ixed labor movement to determine by its course the form which it shall as- sume. The constant improvement in machinery, the division, subdivision and specialization of labor, the wonder 9ul development in industry and the concentration of wealth, give to the wealth possessors most extraordinary power, which, when coupled with the cunning and greed for gain, unless in- telligently and comprehensively met by we'll organized labor movement will tend to the deterioration of our race, the destruction of all our achieve ments and the dissipation of all our hopes. 4-ls
 "On the<other hand, if we are faith. ful to the history and traditions of the struggling masses in the past, if we shall prove true to the interests and the welfare of the hosts of labor of our day, the power calculated to in- jure will be diverted to the common veal and thus open up vistas of larger opportunities and broader conception of human rights.
 ''Afuch gleeful speculation has been indulged in by our opponents in what they are pleased to characterize as q slump in the organization of wage earners in the trade union movement of our country. They would hail with joyous acclaim could they record the total extinction and destruction of our. movement. With them the wish is father to the thought that they might bring about what their chief spokes- man, Parry, lately declared their pur- pose to be, the annihilatlon of labor unions.' They take unction to their souls that the slight falling off in mem. bership In the trade union movement for a brief period within the past year was the beginning of the decline of the organized labor movement
 ''But despite the destructive purposes of labor's antagonists l am in a posi- ton to report that, with the exception of the slight recession already tndicat- ed, there has been a sum total of great gain in the membership of the organl- xations affiliated to tue American Fed seration of Labor The average mem Dership of our affiliated unions upon which per capita tax has been paid to the American Federation for the year ended Sept. 30, 1904, is 1,676, 900. The average membership of our affiliated unions upon which per capita tax was paid to the American Federation of La bor for the year ended Sept. 30, 1903, was 1,465,S00.
 "It Is science becoming more gener- ally understood by labor to know when fto strike and when dR dRqtt to dstrike4 toI know 0rawhatgto strike and for what not to strike 1t is said that 1t is not wise to strike on so called falling market It cannot. however, success fully be gainsaid that A strike or pre- paredness to strike in resisting an offer of wage reduction will prevent the market from falling still lower. It may not be and undoubtedly is not wise or prudent to strike for wage advance ment on a downward industrial trend, yet it is better that even this economic error be committed than a complacent acceptance of wage reductions.
 "May use the homely phrase of saying that we are not yet 'out of the woods and that the advice and watch. word should go forth from this conven- ton of the American Federation of La