The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-12-17
MONEY KINGS
BLAMED BY
GOMPERS
Warns Employers Against
Reducing Wages of
WOrkingmsn.

NEW YORK, Dec. l1.-Samuel G0n1-
oers, president of the American Fed
Of Labor, has served notice
upon employers that attempts to re-
luce wages at this time will be fought
TO the utmost. He delivered the ulti=
In an address at a dinner of
The Civic Federation attended by 500
persons at the Hotel Aston last night.
John Mitchell also included in his
speech a similar warning to employ
ers, although clothed in more tenn
perate language. Mr.. Gompers said:
''Since | ave been in New York to-
day ! have been approached a dozen
times by bankers hnanciers, capital
lists. IN open conversation, in written
communications n in whispers to the
effect that wages must come down,
that the laboring man must make up
his mind to bear his share of the hard
times.
And 1 turned to these men and |
asked them whether the SOIL OF our
country Is less fertile, the treasures
beneath the soil less valuable. mems
minds less active. the laboring men
less industrious. Wherefore, ! asked
them, is there reason or necessity to
thus attack the American standard of
our workingmen?
The history of industry demon
strates that every u ~reductlon OF
wages intended to meet such condl-
tons as now exist, has only aceen-
tuated the situation. made matters
worse. When you reduce the laborlng
mans earning capacity you reduce his
consuming power, and thereby intensl-
fy what was already bad enough.
$50 / say to the e~mployers-to the
bankers, the lawyers, the manufactur-
ers. the mine OPERATORS to all empoy-
ers-that If they now attempt TO re-
duce wages they are not going to lave
a.. ,aE.F gaflipF fhaV had a few YEATS
ago, nor the American workingman mas
come to the conclusion that II for any
reason the financial situation Is as IL Is
-andsI shall not suggest any reason
tonight-it was not, at any rate, due 10
any fault on the part OF the WORKING
people. They nave made up their minds
that they are not going TO be the cmei
sufferers because of an artincial panic:
or of one caused by the plumbers OF
those in charge of the finances OIL the
country
Speaking along the same line, Mr.
Mitchell said: lit is not going to maxi
matters any better to reduce wages. Sucf
have never failed to make mat
tiers worse, instead of BETTER
August Belmont, president of the Civil
Federation, whose presence was unex
pected at the dinner, as 1t was suppose,
he was in Chicago. sounded a somewha
similar note of warning when he said II
his introductory remarks, as temporar,
toastmaster, that the time may soon conn
when capital and labor will awe to under
stand each other or face a great crisis.
Late in the afternoon and before thu
banquet, after eminent f~lnanciers had beer
all day expounding the immediate neees
sity of a reform in the currency laws, ant
Andrew Carnegie, August Belmont, Jamei
Speyer and others notable in the financia
- - -.-.,w sl..G- ..Y. navfit.f
lar remedies for existing conditions. AM
the days sessions were about TO be closed
a stockily.bnilt man. whom few recog
nized. rose from his seat In a corner of TIN
room and insisted upon receiving recogni
ton from the presiding officer. The maj
was Alfred O.. Crozier, q. Wilmington
Del. lawyer, and he said:
Il hope you will all pardon me, but 1t
strikes me. after listening attentively
all day to many doctors OF finance,
that this discussion Is a mighty sight
too one-sided. Everybody has been
agreeing with everybody else and pat
ting each other on the back. Now |
10 say something for a few mill
ion people who are apparently not rep
resented here.
Il told the President that these cur
rency reform schemes were just another
Wall Street game to keep the interest
rate III It's none OF your business
what reply he made to me, but what he
said TO me wasn't In his message.
This scheme fol an elastic currency
which ] hav been hearing so much
about all day, is nothing more nor less
than n plausible deluslon. You gentle
men who are advocating Il appear to
overlook the fact that 1t would be I'M
constitutional. The Constitution con-
ferred upon Congress the sole right to
create money, and now you propose
TO confer upon the associated banking
Interests the right that belongs only
to Congress.
"Isn't 1t possible-I am asking for
infornatlon-that If we farmed out this
privilege to a syndicate of bankers
they might work that elasticity up and
down like a pump handle, so as to put
the prices Of stocks n bonds up n
down at the same time?
1.-THE proposition Is nothing except a
scheme to keep up the interest rate.
This panic is not a dispenshtion of
Providence, as Mr.. Carnegie would have
us believe, but was prearranged for
the purpose of doubling the interest
rate which the banking interests may
charge.
island you have a panic-manufactnr,ng
machine that can turn on a panic in
fifteen minutes and make bankers all
over the country hoard their cash. It
is nothing but n gambling machine, and
the strangest thing OF all is that you
gentlemen fail to realize that the rest
of the country is onto the game.'
MIR. Carnegie and the others listened Il
Mr.. Crozier's attack In dignihed silence
but Ex-Governor Herrick rushed TO theil
defense by smilingly asking MIR. Crozie
what remedy he had to suggest. Mr.
Crozler, nothing daunted, replied:
I'm glad you asked me that, for
the remedy is very simple. and quite
easily understood by the country out
side the Wall Street district. In the
first place l would make It a criminal
offense to charge usnry on call loans.
Then | would stop all gambling on
margins. which ties up millions Of dol
lars Of the peoples money. Do these
two things, and there would not be
any currency question to discuss; il
would solve Itself"
Strikes were the chief topic of discus
sion before the conference today. Various
methods Of strike prevention, including
Cancellation and compulsory arbitration
were considered AT length I'm addresses bN