The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-17
Brunnell Characterizes State Federation's President as Grossly Careless and
 Incompetent.
LEADER ANSWERS ATTACK
In Address Full of Ginger He Hurls Defiance at Opponents and ROuses Delegates to En-
 thusiasm.

Bridgeport Jan. 16, President
 Charles J. Donahue of the Connecticut
 Federation of Labor at this after
 noon's session of it's convention. was
 called upon to defend, himself against
 a personal attack made upon him by
 Emil Brunnell of the Hartford Central
 Labor union. who questioned his com
 potency, characterized him as grossly
 careless and asked the delegates to
 turn him out of office for the good of
 the organization.
 President Donahue, after the con-
 vention had had a very warm debate
 of more than two hours, during which
 he was praised by some and con
 demned by others, arose in his own
 defense and In an address full of gin
 ger and of defiance to his opponents
 he apparently won the appreciation of
 majority of the delegates, whom he
 reused to great enthusiasm. It was
 one of the most notable contests that
 the Federation has ever had.
 The delegates went into session at
 1:30 o'clock, expecting to be able to reach the election of officers in very short time. A report was received from
 the committee on officers reports, in
 which the annual message of President Donahue, read the previous day, was . commented upon fayorably, and Pres ident Donahue referred to as the best
 legislative agent that the Federation ever had. Upon the acceptance of this report the entire afternoon was con- sulned and the body adjourned at 4;S0 D. m. after voting to elect officers to- morrow morning. Even then the re- port of, the officers committee was not accepted in full sections having been left for future consideration.
 Delegate Brunnell of Hartford spoke X for more than half an hour on the report He attacked President Dona- < hue as legislative agent and read from | the records of the preceding conven- E ton in adopting four measures and < ordering the presentation of bills on the subjects in the legislature of that A year. They were the employers lia- { bility act, trial by jury in damage cases, modification of the conspiracy law, and the legalizing of union but \ tons and punishmet for their use by < unauthorized persons. He accused MT. D5nahue of being grossly careless and 2, Incompetent and the worst instead of ], the best legislative agent the Fedora jtion has ever had.
 Al Delegate Crosby of New Haven said < that with all the shortcomings of the x president he had succeeded in gather X ing around him as fine a set of dele- z3gates as the convention ever had and #he for one did not consider him a #fiat failure, but the most progressive, Jbrightest and most capable man that I4ever occupied the place.
 sl President Donahue took the floor Ahimsef after there had been a great sddeal of discussion, and in the course of lg'his address he said:
 # II was the first president of this or Examination to bring to it's attention the 'sanenace and unfair features of the 'sconspiracy law, We have tried to get
 a modification of it for the past three gEvears. Last year we had two hear Fings I was informed by members of sthA committee that had it under con
 siheration that there was no possible
 scihance of getting it through and that ssfhe best thing to do was to bring some of the employers under the pale of il Band then we would have no trouble l. lin getting the modification. I have re-
 Exported and recommended that the ef- |&fect of this law be directed against B those which it seems to favor. E Of the four measures that you voted La year ago to have submitted to the Elegislature, two of them-trial by jury and the legalizing of union buttons are laws to-day, and why the other two have not become laws you know ENC interest at Hartford gets all the Elegislation it seeks.
 ts "I want to say in regard to the em- ployers liability act that had you want N ssd an act in name only you could have |Eshad it, but if you wanted an effectiv | law the best course has been pursued kEI am a member of a commission ap pointed by Governor Woodruff to take lp this matter and knowing that il would be useless to try to get an eff sective act passed, we waited for the purpose of educating the various locals 1pn the extent of this measure, let then iecide whether they wanted law like ehe English Compensation Law or g liability act. Then, when they decided Do send their representatives to Hart ford and make a strong fight for it. "Gentlemen, if my motives as youl agent do not commend themselves to you, the remedy is 1T {{Fyour hands.
 E In the morning session, the commit. tee on resolutions reported favora blS on the resolution providing that the ~ote of censure taken four years agc hgainst Edwin s. Thomas of New Ha ven. secretary of the democratic statt central committee be stricken iron the record.
 Es Delegate Bunnel1 of Hartford, win was president of the federation whel MT. Thomas was c'nsured, said tha ! he recalled very clearly what MI {Thomas had done, but in view of tn
 ract that he had repented his actiol
 he was satisfied to eliminate the actiol
 rom the records.