Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-01
IN LABOR CIRCLES
c.
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President Samuel GomperS Of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor is one of the
busiest men in Washington, and Mr. Frank
Morrison, secretary of the organization, is
also an incessant worker. Visitors TO the
Federation headquarters in Typographical
Temple have marveled at the dispatch
with which the duties of there leaders or
organized labor are discharged Thousands
of communications are received each week
from labor bodies scattered over the land
from Milne to California, and away down
south to Key West. Fla. Numerous queries
have to be answered; tangled skeins have
to be untangled, jurisdictional disputes ad-
justed. and a hundred and one cher mat
tiers attended to. nearly all of which re-
quire the personal attention OF either Pres
ident Gompers or Secretary Morrison
With all this hurly-burly of organization
matters Mr.. Gompers somehow finds time
when urgently solicited and the good OF
the Federation demands, to steal away to
other cities and address labor gatherings
He was in Richmond, Va, Monday night
and delivered what described as a
rnasterful address before the central
Trade and Labor Council of the former
confederate capital on the ioii 10 ing
II ght he at Norfolk, where ne ue
livered another address.
His life is a strenuous one, indeed ana
he recently said to a Star reporter that
he cOmpeleu " SPtiu no
leisure or idleness he reared II "ouid oe
the ending of his llfe
President Gompers will preside at the
fortbcomjne meeting of the executive
council of the American Federation Oh La
Dor to be held at headquarterS mere IN
the week beginning Marcn 10. ~ Is an AN
that several matters of Importance VIII
he considered by this body. which has peeh
termed, President Gompers' cabinet
no
tional Laborers' Union, with headquarters
at Davton Ohio is endeavorng to extend
the organization through the eastern states.
Circular letters have been sent to many OF
the unions of the building trades soliciting
thar interest in organizing local laborers
unions in utilization with that organization.
Special effort is beng made TO secure those
unions which are allied with the Hod Car
riers and Building Laborers National
Union which is affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, and. it is said, fee
is nromised any who succeeds in
bringing such an organization INTO the iolo
of the International Laborers Union.
II is also said that since the organization
of the Laborers' Union. in affiiation with
the American Federation of Labor, re-
lentless war has been waged for supremacy.
In the circular letter referred to. w. q.
Critchlow, general president, in abiding to
the situation says:
1--WE were organized at Chicago May !,
10 and were first in the field We tried
Federation of Labor. but we were turned
down three different times. since then the
American Federation of Labor has fought
us all they could. but they have failed to
stop our movement The American FEEDER
alton of Labor even went so far as TO start
a dual organization to us In April. 1903, or
Just eleven months after we were organ
lied and turned down by ,nem. This GaaI
movement has its headquarters in Chicago.
but we are pleased to say that 1t has also
failed to break us up. although they ex-
pected to do It,"
1t Is stated that the organization is basel
upon the principle of industrial union
ism," which is defined as an organization
composed of members of the general la
boring class, regardless of sex, creed, color.
or nationality" The organization has been
principally confined to the western and
northwestern states. put during the past
year it is said, that number of unions
have been formed in the eastern cities
there being three in Philadelphia 1t is re-
ported that the national body has 220 local
unions in afiiiiatcn. with a total member
ship of FL ,576.
The thirty-ninth annual convention of the
Bricklayers and Masons' International
Union, which recently met at San Fran
cisco. CAL. decided by a unanimous vote to