Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-11-05
Mr.. NUDD ON DEFENSIVE
DECLINES TO ACCEDE TO ANY
DEMANDS"
Made BY The Local Labor Repre-
sentatives - Mechanics
Requests Are
Respected.

Mr.. Mudu makes reply TO President
Gompers attack on him here at the
Court House Friday night, and among
other things Mr.. Mudd says:
There is nothing much in~the
speech of Gompers at Annapolis that
calls for reply. in my Judgment,
though there are some statements that
he made. the utter untruthfulness of,
which, perhaps. l might call attention
TO. He says l have done nothing to
readjust the scale of wages of lahorers
and mechanics at the Naval Academy.
The facts are as / have stated
them. Last winter / received letter
and personal visit from gentle
mani viii not now name him-who
claimed to represent the mechanics
AT the Academy. He requested me
rather should say that he demanded
of me-that | should go to the Sec
eretary of the Navy and have the mat
ter readiusted and coupled his demand
with threat that if / did not do ii
] would get the opposition of these
people at the polls. l declined TO do
it then, as | always decline to accede
To demands made in that manner.
Later on, during the early fall,
the matter was presented TO me in
quite a different shape. Ii was said to
me--and | think the statement was
correct that the person who spoke to
me in the manner that | have set forth
was unauthorized To speak in that
manner, and that the people interested
at the Academy, in whose behalf !
had interested myself whenever called
upon and, in fact, whether called
upon or not-had no disposition and
no desire to put the matter up 10 me,
so To speak, in that shape.
II then took the whole matter To
the department and followed il sup
from time to time by personal visits.
| can submit letter from Secretary
Bonaparte.
The Secretary wrote To me as the re-
suit of his Investigations, in response
TO personal requests made to him by
me in person, and the letter clearly in-
dicates that. A perusal of the letter
viii show that the various contention
that | have been making, to the effect
that these people were not receiving
" hat they were entitled to, had struck
home with Secretary Bonaparte, and
the letter further shows that the con
tentiOn that has been made as to the
specific matter relating TO the mechan
les at the Academy for several months
Is III Il lair way III DtlHS Sttlitus
and, settled, | think, | have right
TO say, satisfactorily
Mr. Gompers spends much of his
effort in seeking To disencumber him
self of the charge that he is Demo-
crat. | have no doubt that conserva-
tive, fair-minded Democrats generally
would cordially unite with him in an
active effort to get out of their ranks.
But he tells of his enthusiasm for
Hearst, of New York, for whom he
will vote. His whole speech shows
that, rs have charged, he is making
the effort of his life to elect Demo
cratic Congressman, as he is generally
to disparage and Indignantly to villify
the administration of President Roose-
welt.
'sIe puts me down as saying in
recent speech that / was going to try
to defeat Hirsch for reelection as
president of the Federation of Labor
in Baltimore. 1t makes no difference
to him that the fact is that / have
never even mentioned a thing of that
kind in any speech or talk, public or
private. in my life. 1 shall leave
that to the Federation of Labor. He
speaks of my having claimed credit
for the passage of the National Arbi-
tration law of 1898. AS a matter of
fact, did vote for it, and he will
not discredit me for that. | have never
mentioned the subject-matter in any
speech that / have made.
"He admitted he stands for free sill
yer. He says / charge him with being
free-trader, and then proceeds to
say that the Federation of Labor has
decided to take no stand upon tariff
questions. lie omits to state that the
constitution of the Federation of Labor
forbids political party action generally
Just that kind of political party ac-
ton which he is now undertaking to
have the Federation take.