The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-19
sETH Low pIsCOURAGED.
GOmpera Would Not Agree With Him
 On BOyc0tts.

GOmpera Would Not Agree With Him
 On BOycOtts.
 Washington, March 1S.-Details Of the conference held yesterday between Seth Low of New York. President of the Civic Federation and Samuel Gompers, President of the American Federation of Labor which are slowly coming to light, indicate that labor is not yet committed to legislation about to be urged by President Roosevelt along the lines of recommendation by the civic federation.
 That there is a difference of opinion that threatens to overturn the pro- gram was learned tonight from an au- thoritatlve source. MT. Low is said to have returned to New York much dis couraged. He had expected to be able to harmonize the points on which the labor interests, represented by MT Gompers, failed to conform with the program of the Civic Federation.
 The officials of the American Fedora tion of Labor are said to be withhold ing their support from the program because the president feels he cannot endorse legislation which would legal ize trade boycotts by labor unions. The provisions of the proposed bill exempting labor organizations from the operations of the Sherman antitrust law was the medium through which 1t was intended to secure full endorse ment by the American Federation of Labor At the conference at the White Hous@. which MT. Gompers attended. 1t appeared that organized labor was in complete accord with the program of the Civic Federation. Later, how ever. MT. Gompers conferred with some of his associates in the American Fed eration, and the consensus of opinion was that the President in his message to congress should recognize the right of organized labor to withhold it's trade from q concern whose manner of conducting it's business was inimi- cal to organized labor
 It Is said that the President would not agree to this and in fact. he was disposed to urge that boycotts should be suppressed by legislation which oth- erwise was fair to the labor unions
 It was Mir. Lows mission in calling on President Gompers to show hina that the Presidents message if 1t was to have force must be couched in lam guage in juxtaposition to the decisions of the Supreme Court on this question. No agreement was reached. and in fact Mir Gompers indicated that he would prefer that the Sherman trust laws should continue to apply to labor unions rather than consent to program which might effectually stihe for all time the use of the boycott as a weapon.
 In the meantime the Presidents idea in regard to the message he plans to send to Congress urging a general re- lief measure. according to persons who have discussed the situation with him, have undergone a change. If mes sage is sent to Congress 1t will not be until after the Civic Federation's bin has been introduced. That measure has been prepared. although it's pro- visions are not yet public. and 1t is the plan to have 1t offered in the House early next week by Representative Hepburn of Iowa
 President Roosevelt has not found a Senator who approves the measure, up. m whom he is willing to place the re- sponsib:lity of championing the meas ure in the upper body. Therefore the bill will not be introduced simultane- ousIy in both branches of Congress. It will depend upon the fate of the bill fin the House whether it reaches the sanate at all.