The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-12-08

, that with few exceptions the International
trade unions. more than l2u in number.
are and have usually been in normal business
relations with the employers Of their mem
| bers Many of them have for years ar
ranged their differences and their working
conditions with employers through trade
agreements or other methods resulting IN a
minimum uf loss through suspension Of
work. Violence in cases Of dispute are
not common TO them. Trade unionists
have been made aware by experience that
/ stories OF disorder by unionists during
strikes or lock outs have been Systematically
exaggerated
Therefore. aware Of the necessity of trade
union organizations. Of the incalcuable
amount OF good In various forms done by
and through their Unions every year of the
| long and Bitter campaign carried on By
Otis. Kirby. Post and others to destroy
trade unionism. and perceiving the inten-
tion of these plotters and their detectives
to ignore the apparent and 10 their minds
| proven cause of the Times disaster and to
/ turn that terrible event solely to account
n n means of di>crediting trade unionism.
the unions cncrsetcsy stated their side Of
the case TO the American public as they saw
! IL At that time
When after six months the McNamaras
were arrested it was in Russian style, not
American. Holding the members OF the
executive board Of the structural Iron
Workers in confinement without warrant.
hurrying !. \. Mcnamara away from
indianapolis in an automobile and by cir
cuitous routes taken 10 California what
we're these brt features Of high handed
IRREGULARITIES ard tyranniCal lawlesSness
known in arrests in Russia that preCede
transportation Of prosecuted citizens to
49, lu
throughout been doubted by 80 great n part
of the American public II has been largely
the fault of his proceedings at this point
and of his own bcfouling the reputation
Of his craft. for has he not said: Private
detectives ~ a class are the worst 10y Of
hlackmailing scoundrels that live outside
of prisons; See page AZ. Nc, lures
Mugusuc August. 1917
! j. Mcnamara had not been OF sufficient
prominence among labor men TO he the
subject Of discussion as leading figure
but what was generally known of him was
To his credit "" was seen AZ conventions
as man Of pleasing appearance aud Of
mild manner He was spoken Of as self
educated and a faithful secretary Of his
organization His speech and his writings
for his magazine were reputed to be con-
servative. when placed under arrest and
throughout his imprisonment his bearing
was undcmunstra'ive. His letters and
kilograms 90 officials Of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor and the Atlanta convention
were concise and without suspicious char
acteristics In novise to common OBJ
| servancn had he shown abnormal trait-
Did organized labor properly eXpross
its condemnation Of violence on hearing G
OF the Los Angeles disaster u did Ivy
| interviews addresses and publication The
hundreds of union labor papers in their
| issues succeeding tho event contained what
taken together would make volume, de-
c.aratlva Of tho sentiments of their editors
| and of tho rank and file Of union member
! ship on IN" subject All recognized the
| case as one Of mystery, the feeling shown
being that Of horror at the possibility of
| any union man being implicated in IL
! Unions framed resolutions in meetings
declaring that trade unionism was not 10
be advanced by murderous acts Union
labor officials and many others were quoted
to similar effect
Here the statement quotes from All
interview with President Gompers. pub
! lshcd in 81 Louis paper Just after the
| blowing up of the Times building In
! this interview Mr. Gompers expressed
doubt that any one connected with union
labor had anything TO do with the eSplO-
sion. and added. And vet il it is found
that union man hos done il unionism
cannot be blamed by fair minded men
| for the deed of mnn devoid ofsny human
feeling, rs the perpetrator of this horrible
catastrophe must have been. II was the
! act of madmEn.
| Other statements by Gompers and other
| labor leaders are quoted 10 show that
they were Mortified az the thought Of r.
union men having had anything TO do with
| the explosion
The statement refers 10 published
! L. ~.
! in which he charged that Gompers had
! been conducting an investigation of his
own az Indianapolis that had convinced
/ him that there WAS no frameup and no
! plants in the arrests Of the McNsmarGs
and McManigal Then the statement
| proceeds.
Since the McNamaras' confession Burns
has been reiteratinE this charge. The only
| investigation in which President Gompers
anticipated i'll Indiana polls was the meet
| ing of the prominent trade unionists on
May 10 to IL called by officials OF the eight
| International unions which have their head
quarters in that city and the meeting Of
! the officials of q large number Of trade
unions called by authority of the executive
council Of the American Federation of
| Labor and held in Indianapolis on June 20.
1911 What President Gompers learned
there was precisely what every one attend
lng the conference learned, and that was
nothing that helped TO solve the mystery
of the Los Angeles disaster or of criminality
of any kind,
Indeed tho unlawful and unamerican
kidnapping OF Mcnamara formed one of
the chief factors of fixing in the minds of
the working people of our country that he
was innocent They reasoned, as they had
a right TO reason that If there existed eyi-
dence of McNamara's guilt of the crime
charged every protection would and should
have been accorded him TO demonstrate
before the courts OF Indiana that he WAS
innocent OF the crime with which he was
charged. His protestations OF innocence.
his demands 20 be represented by counsel.
were all ruthlessly ignored.
Violence. brutality. destruction OF life or
property are foreign to the aims and
| methods of organized labor Of America
and no interest is more severely injured
by the employment Of such methods than