Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-11-15
MAKE REPORT ON
RECENT Campaign
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TELLS
POSITION OF ORGANIZED
LABOR IN POLITICS.
Does Not Deal With the Details of
Efforts to Defeat congressman
Samuel Gompers Makes His Annual
Report to the Federation.

Minneapolis, Nov. 12.-The recent
political activity Of the American
Federation of Labor occupied prom
inent place in the report of the execu-
tive council of the twenty-sixth annual
convention of the federation In session
here, which was read today by Vice
President James Duncan. While the
report did not go into the details of the
recent campaign for the defeat OF
congressional candidates, it defined
clearly the attitude of organized labor
toward politics and gave summary
of the receipts and disbursements OF
the campaign fund, subscribed by af-
filiated unions of the federation. The
total sum received for compaign pur-
poses was $S,O56. The expenditures
were 1884.
There was lively discussion over
the hours of business for the conven-
ton. The committee on rules recon-
mended half holiday Saturday. At
once there was storm of protest.
One faction wished to stick to business
the entire six days. The other stood
for half holiday, while another small
er crowd favored no business on Sat
urday The report Of the committee
was finally adopted after poll of the
house. Unless business presses, the
entire delegate body will have the
leisure to witness the Minnesota-Car-
Isle football game. There was a
mass Of resolutions on various sub
iects presented, but all were referred
to the committee on resolutions with
out reading.
Gonpers Makes Report.
The feature Of the opening session
was the exhaustive annual report OF
President Samuel Gompers, in which,
in detailed manner, he outlined the
progress of the labor movement
throughout the country.
He reviewed the labor movement in
the United States, Canada and Porto
Rico, related the details Of the print
ers' eight hour contest, and the gains
made by the textile workers. He then
discussed at length the anti-injunction
bills in congress, the Panama Canal
and Chinese exclusion. On Injunction
he said:
while no federal statute corrective
Of judicial excuses in the use of the
injunctive process can be reported.
yet there can be no doubt that pro-
gress has been made toward that de.
sirable contamination. Most of the
state courts and some of the United
States courts are now giving more at.
tenton to the emphatic protests of
organized labor and weighing more
carefully the arguments presented by
attorneys representing labor, as well
as those of publieists, against the dis
position to interfere by a resort to
this extraordinary process in trade
disputes"
Takes Issue With Roosevelt.
President Gompers took issue with
President Roosevelt's Chinese exclu-
sion policy, saying:
"The existing Chinese exclusion law
provides that all Chinese shall be ex-
Guided from the United States. Then
| the law proceeds to specify those who
are exempt from the operations of the
law, those who may come to OuI
shores
"The recommendation of the presi.
dent would, if enacted into law, In
general terms, specify that all Chinese
shall be admitted to the United States
and its possessions, and then specifies
those who would be exempt, and those
who may not come. That is, the Chi
nese coolies.
"The burden of proof now devolves
upon the Chinese of the exemp classes
to legally show their right to come
to the United States, it's territories OF
its possessions.
IF the policy were reversed by the
enactment Of the Presidents recon
mendation, it would devolve upon the
United States to show that all Chinese
laborers, no matter how great the
numbers, and no matter how deer
their deception, who would swarm te
our country or its possessions, would
not be legally entitled to enter.
| Labor on Panama Canal.
Mr.. Gompers repeated his vel
known arguments against the employ
ment of Chinese labor on the Panama
canal and criticised the governmen,
for trying to evade the eight hour Law
in the canal zone.
| He took strong grounds against the
ship subsidy bill, declaring that at
drawn it enforces compulsory nava
service of seaman as condition o.
their employment on privately owned
vessels.
He reviewed labor's political cam
paign and said he believed as a re
suit enough congressman friendly K
labor had been elected to prevent
'hostile Indifferent" congress from
T. ~ D. ! = 49,