The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-11-14
LABOR UNIONS
IN CONVENTION
Thirty-First Annual Meeting of the
American Federation Of Labor Is
Being HeId In Atlanta.
Georgia.
GoMPERS MAKES REPORT
Says He Is Willing to go to jail II
Guilty of Contempt Of Court
But Objects to an
Injunction.

ATLANTA, Ga, Nov. 14.-President
Gompers, formally opening the thirty
first annual convention Of the Ameri-
can Federation Of Labor, declared he
and the two other labor leaders SEM
fenced to jail for contempt of court
were ready and willing to serve their
sentences II they must.
The subject of the Gompers-Morri-
son-Mitchell contempt case was
brought up in the course Of welcom-
ing address to the delegates.
II any man Of labor is guilty Of vi
olating the law" said Mr.. Gompers.
In responding to the welcome, 'he
should be indicted and then tried by
a jury Of his countrymen. But l de-
ny the right of Judge to issue an
injunction depriving me of my consti-
tutional rights 1t is not so much
the assumption Of power as the as
sumption of jurisdiction that we OBJ
| ject to-
Gov. Hoke Smith, who was intro
duced as member of the Black
smiths union, Mayor Courtland s.
i w ILL VI tllc DitShidyGTb ullOu anu
Congressman William Schley Howard
of the Farmers union,' were amcng
those who helped welcome the visiting
delegates.
j President Gompers, in his annual re-
port gave to the referendum, initia-
tive and the recall the unqualified in
dorsement Of organized labor and de-
clared that real representative dem
ocracy had never been known In the
United States because of the general
absence of those provisions.
This semideification of Judges he
said in defense of his Endorsements,
this sanctimonious cant about mob
rule some of which was in Presi-
dent Taft's message vetoing the Arizo-
, ma statehood bill, Is mere drives.
In the main the report declared for
i and says organized labor demands;
, The referendum, the initiative and
the recall
Passage of the so-called anti-injunc-
ton bills at the next session of con-
gress.
) Restriction of immigration.
Further restriction of convct labor
Legislation to relieve civil service
y employees from the executive orders
prompting them to petition congress
Uniform laws for protection of life
and health In factory buildings.
A department of labor in the feder
q al government.
e Employers liability and workmen's
Z compensation acts throughout tho
: states.
u Separate political action by labol
is discouraged and the concentration
of efforts within present party line'
recommended as follows:
= We may not for some time be en-
:, tirely rid of the rule of parties.
= they be an evil they are such as ar
: incident to all governments based o1
. popular suffrage. | deem 1t unWise
. or, rather, impolite, to waste our Ell
: ergies now in efforts to abolish pol
;, tical parties. Perhaps they are inst
. tutional in all free governments. Blu
= if we can not now destroy them W
!, may, by more assiduous and reguia
:, exercise of our privileges and right
y of citizenship, do much in the way c
;, controlling them.
To the subject of immigration
= much of the report is addressed Se7
= eral plans are proposed for bringin
- :. the migratory laborer into the rank
!. of organized labor
~ Further restriction of immigration
!. deemed necessary and schemes {
- distribution of immigrants are di
cussed Looking ahead, Presidel
Gompers says:
The early completion of the Panan
canal, however, wIll without dout
~ bring about total change in the lab
situation of the Pacific coast, both i
re ternally and with relation to 9th
countries. 1t has already been c;
culated that immigrants from Eurol
may be landed via the Panama can
IN at Pacific coast seaports for a lie
ne sum that it is required to pay the pa
CT sage to inland points in states OF Il
III middle west 1t is TO be remember
ar that the enormous fleets of foreil
Is vessels which are in the immigrati'
re- trade are seeking business I
world over, In a single year, aid
no by the climate, the present trans-t
nls lantic fleet could carry 100000 was
lat workers from the southeast of Euro
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