The National tribune., 1910-05-19
LABOR IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.

A contribution of unusual Importance
to our discussion of the present condi-
tions of life is made by Samuel Comp
ers, President of the American Fedora
ton of Labor. Last year he went abroad
as representative of the Federation
to attend a number of National and
international labor conventions and to
study the conditions in Europe in COM
parison with those in his own country.
Mr.. Gompers seems to have gone about
his work with praiseworthy thoroness
and imparIality, and brought high
intelligence to bear upon the study.
This makes his conclusions Of particu-
lar interest at this time, when the labor
problem is constantly. so near the sur
face in all our political discussions.
Mr.. Gompers has published his con-
clusions in a volume from Harper's, en-
titled Labor in Europe and America. 8"
Much if not all of what Mr. Gompers
says will come home at once to the
American people, for he seems to have
looked at everything with thoroly
American eyes. His first striking state
ment is that the workingmen are get
ting rapidly away from the so-called
"intcllectuaIs;" that is, the mere book
ish theorists. such as Socialists. An
Iarchists. labor politicians, etc, and are
! following more distinctly the leadership
of their own people; that is, men who
work or have worked with their own
hands and who have had the invaluable
education of learning a trade and fol-
lowing it successfully. Many things
have contributed to this. and none
more than the democratic system of
Government and institutions in the
| United States. The influence of the
American workingmen, educated up ac-
cording to our political ideas and prac-
tees, has had a strong influence upon
their political fellows in Europe The
American workinsmcn especially real
ize that they must not have loaded on
their movement the Socialistic and An
archistic theories of the European lead
ers rs to women, church. property and
Ethiopian Government. The working
men in this country are disposed to ac-
quirc property Of their own, they suf-
fer from no ecclesiastical tyranny, and
consequently have no quarrels with the
Church.
Mr.. Gompers finds that wages are ad-
: work are being lessened. He is fair
enough to say that this is not wholly
due to the activity OF trades unions A
large part of it is due to the immigra-
ton. to America which has relieved the
congestion in the labor districts, and
the better wages obtained here have
acted upon those obtained in Europe.
This is especially marked in the south
ern part of Italy, where there are no
labor unions. and wages have risen be-
cause of the great migration to the bet
ter-paid fields of America The use of
labor-saving machinery also increases
wages by calling for higher character
There is everywhere a larger, freer
and more just view of the rights of the
working classes and their privileges,
and what aston;shed Mr.. Gompers pos
sibly more than anything else was to
find how successfully the official efforts
to better the condition of the working
classes had resulted. He went into
IL
surprised at the changes that had been
brought about in few years in the
slum districts. In some of t..e cities
these have been completely wiped out.
In Hamburg the dirty, narrow streets
have been replaced by fine, open boule-
wards, the houses are models and the
apartments are equipped with all the
latest conveniences. The people have
taken increased heart from this. and
pleasant sight was the custom of win
dow-g gardening which made block after
block appear like tiers of flowers. The
official activities in the way of fighting
disease improving the school system by
the evening classes. manual training
and special courses and sanitary better
lHciitS IS illdThSu anu all
thru Germany. with a lesser degree in
Italy, France and Switzerland and still
less in Austria, Holland and Belgium.
Mr.. Gompers is particularly i'm
pressed with the benefits of co-opera-
ton. and found this working very sue
cessfully in Germany and Great Brit
ain. In Hamburg there is an imposing
series of structures containing butch
cries, bakeries, warehouses, admins
tration offices, a hotel and block of
apartment houses. all of which are sup
ported by wageworkers.
One illustration that he gives of the
advantage of machine work was in the
case of the Cologne Zeitung. 1t is set
up by 131 hand compositors. without
the use of a single composing machine.
These men only make an average of
s12.50 a week, where the operators of
machines in the New York offices make
$31 a week, but the machine compost
tors in New York will turn out more
than four times as much as q hand
compositor in Cologne.
Mr.. Gompers finds that the trades
unions are, as a rule, better organized
in America than in Great Britain. The
American Federation of Labor has
adopted the American political system