The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-08-31
Mr.. GOMPERs ON BOHEMIAN SOCIAL CONDITIONS
A Man Now Sent to The. Parliament OF Austria for the Same Sent-
ment That Would Have Sent Him to Prison Twenty Years Ago.
Trades Unions and the Social Democratic Party.
Copyright, 1909, by p. S. Rid5dale
for Samuel Gompers.)

Journey during the last week was a
visit to Pilsen. The name Of this town
brings a smile to the American con-
noisseur in light liquid refreshment,
but [ shall hereafter during my life re-
emb Pilsen, not for it's beer, but
for the quickcning into life OF a great
peoples movement that has supplant-
ed the conventional methods Of both
Institutional philanthrophy and old es-
tablished political parties in helping
the masses From Berlin l travelled
to Dresden and hen to Prague, de-
voting two days to each city.
1t came about unexpectedly, that
visit to Pilsen, through my being
thrown much into the company of a
labor member of the Austrian Reich
stag in Prague A word as to his
personality and life story will serve to
illustrate the social changes which are
nowadays so rapidly succeeding one
another in Austria. In Prague, on the
day of my arrival. a conference was
being held by the Bohemian social
democratic membe Of the ReiChStaS
at the labor headquarters for the pro-
vince. They made me and my party
welcome. and showed us about the
city. which with its u has now
a population of more than 100000. OF
course, the public developments due
to the efforts of organized labor took
up most of my attention. If l do not
dwell upon such features as the newly
acquired headquarters, an immense
three-story double building, each wing
more than 2 hundred feet in length,
situated in the heart of the town, or
the large printing office in another
art Of the city. it is because nave IN
mind the story Of Herr Gustav Haber-
man and PilSen. which will serve TO
impart to my d n L herein
seek to convey. l may say, however,
that the Bohemian national trade
unions and the Social Democratic
party together have paid $3O,OOO on
the headquarters, leaving a mortgage
of 100000, that it has been in their
possession for two years, and that It's
restaurant, with a large q Is
a favorite gathering place daily for
the working people; the garden seTV-
ing for concerts and also for large
open-air mass meetings. A visit to
the suites of officers of the various
national unions gave me an Opportun-
ity to see that business in each was
conducted with the system of a large
corporation. In fact. the secretaries,
bookkeepers, typewriters, and others
had much Of the bearing and manner
of busy. disciplined public function
aries, so numerous everywhere [ have
been on the European continent.
On the way to Pi1sen Herr Haber-
man, in reply to inquiries, old US his
story. Twenty odd years ago he spent
three years in prison. On being liber-
ated he went to the United States.
where he worked for eight years as a
wood turner, mostly in New York and
Chicago. Twenty years he re-
turned to Bohemia, settling in his
home city, PilSen. His term of i'm
prisOnment spent in solitary cOnhne-
-
the publication Of political sentiments
"But," he said, the things | then said
and printed and for which I was i'm
prisoned are now being published with
impunity every day in the party and
trade union papers,. The last twenty
years has seen the greatest progress
in political liberty that Austria has
ever known" Not being given work
in prison, Herr -Haberman studied
French and English. His sentence was
for four years, but as three days OF
good conduct counted four. he was re
smiled and replied: ITO wait" I
asked what else he had learned. He
smiled and REPLIED: 'To wait" I
could well imagine that during those
months and years of waiting his
character developed and his face grad
ually took on it's patient, kind, firm,
manly expression. His seat in parlia-
ment, said he. was due largely to the
vote Of farmers. In one village he
a received $50 out of 400 votes.
Asked IL he favored the social revo-
luton, he answered that he regarded
sending q man to the parliament of
Austria for the same sentiments that
sent him to prison twenty years before
had already marked a revolution. The
Social Democratic party had been very
little representation in the ReichStag
even six years ago: now it has 80
members out Of nearly 600.
And now that they were in the
House, what were they doing?
Well" was the reply, they were
a part Of the opposition."
"Opposition to the Emperor, to es-
tab1ish a denocracy?"
NO he could not say the party
was actively opposing the Emperor
as such, but it favored the people,"
"What was the foremost measure