The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-21

Of extraordinary courage and fearlessness, and well informed through knowledge ac- quired by wide travel in Europe" We have MT. Gompers' word for it that ne had the conventional beginnings of a ''self-made man." He records of himsel. | that AS boy, Samuel was anxious to learn, and he often neglected or forgot ! to eat, in his eagerness to master the les sons he had set for himself as a task. Being the oldest child Of a family of eight, he began to aid his father in their support as soon he could earn wages" He worked at his trade of cigarmaking from his tenth until his thirty-seventh year. Since that time he has been a writer on labor topics, an agitator, and an organizer of unions
 When he was 14 years old, and when he Lad been in this country only one year, he helped to organize the Cirgarmakers' International union, which he served as secretary and president for six years. He also edited its local paper in that period.
 MT. Gompers is the author of The Eight-Hour Work Day." "No Compulsory Arbitration" What Does Labor Want?" and Organized Labor: Its Struggles, Its Enemies, and Fool Friends
 These have all been issued in cheap pamphlet form: tracts rather than books" their author calls them.
 In one of his approved sketches he re- fers to himself as a persistent agitator," :" and says that even those who disagree with him in his fundamental principles, and do not approve the methods of organi- zation he represents, must admit that his efforts have resulted in much that Is of great and general benefit to workers ev- anywhere. Apparently that is to be taken as MT. Gompers own view of his work He organized the American Federation of Labor, and has been its president from the beginning QSSD, with the exception of two years. It is a saiaried office and enables MT. Gompers to live in comfort.
 What sort of man Is Gompers to look at?
 He Is short, heavily built, and there Is a sort of rigid erectness about him which you see in many professors who have con- scientiously avoided a stoop. His head IS massive, his long, grayish hair brushed austerely back from his temples. His spectacled eyes are keen, but friendly; his lips thin, precise. William Hard once said of him that he went out on a new idea as cautiously as an elephant going aver a impression-that he is testing every phrase before he utters it, to see if 1t will bear his weight.
 He is fond of luxury, wears silk shirts and smokes fine cigars-union made, of course. He is growing bald and has adopt ed Mir. Fairbanks expedient of wearing his hair long and combing it over the blank spots on his cranium.
 Gompers is a familiar figure around Washington during sessions of congress. He stays there to watch labor legislation and advise President Roosevelt He fre- | quently appears before a committee to
 argue for or against bills affecting the | interest of workingmen. He is a convinc- tnrr 1l ta1lx
 sort of ponderous solemnity that is not ineffective He can say commonplace things in an impressive way. The president of the American Federa-
 tion of Labor says that he is not rich
 man.
 Are you rich, MT. Gompers?' a friend | cnce asked him.
 The president of the federation seemed | SUI prised; then amused.
 ] Do you own any real estate?'
 Not a shovelful of sand" Any stocks, bonds or securiiies-any- ! thing from which you may clip coupons ?'' Not share of anything. have not an l investment. l have no estate; and when | I die, all l will leave to my family will
 be $55O, my Cigarmawers' union insur- | ance. I have no other property I have
 no ambition to have any; I do not care | for money. I believe l can get the few l things that I want-if not as president of ] the American Federation of Labor then | at my trade or some other work. I ar
 poor. am proud to say that I am poor ' MT. Gompers told his friend that 'sucf ] a thing as servant in the Gomper. household never had been known" | Radical labor union men like Debs ant
 Mover oppose Gompers. The head of tn, Federation of Labor does not believe 1T | socialism.
 | Economically, you are unsoud," he say. | to the socialists; socially, you are wrong | !ndustrially. you are an impossibility.'
 The radical labor union men have at ! tackled Gompers for going into the civic