Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-10
BRITISH LABOR LEADER
ON TRADE CONDITIONS
George H. Roberts, Member of
Parliament, to Attend A. F.
of L. Convention.

George III. Roberts, member of the Brit
ish house of commons from Norwich. a
justice of the peace. national organizer
| of the Typographical Association and
| active in politics and on the lecture plat
form to advocate measures for the ad-
vancement of labor conditions. is in
Washington on his way to Atlanta, Ga.
as the delegate Of the British Trade
Movement to the convention of the Amer
| lean Federation of Labor.
| The British trade movement represents
the affiliated trade unions Of Great Brit
aim 1t has become the custom for the
| two great national labor organizations
| of Great Britain and the United States
to be represented at each others conven-
tons.
Represents Textile Trades.
| With Mr.. Roberts is James Crinion of
Manchester, England, also on his way to
the Atlanta convention. representing the
textile trades. cotton operatives especial
~. of Lancashire county, the great cot
ton manufacturing section of England.
Mrs. Roberts accompanies her husband in
this visit to the United States.
These two British delegates. it is ex-
pected will be invited to address the con-
| compare the situation there and here.
II have not been long enough i'm Amer
ica,' said Mr. Roberts today, seated in
| the lobby of the Arlington Hotel where
/ the visitors are guests during their stay
| in Washington. ito make adequate COM
| parison of labor conditions at home and
| here. However. / am already led to the
conclusion that the problems are essen
| TALLY the same.
Perpetual Fraction of Unemployed,
| In England We have a perpetual frac-
| tion of unemployed labor. That charac-
| teristic seems absent in America. Due to
industrial crises in the United States.
| there are periods when great bodies of
| labor are without work and again in
| times of prosperity when no working
man seems to lack employment. This
| f1uctuating condition of unemployment is
| in contrast with the condition of perpet-
| ual unemployment in England. While the
unemployed are not constantly the same
| individuals they offer the same character
| istics at all times and are representative
| of the same class of labor.
I'm England one of our tasks is to find
| solution for the problem of occasional
employment. Some men find work to do
| for an hour or fractional part OF
a day. Employment of this character We
are attempting to assemble so that more
| men may have steady work at all times. >
| Mr.. Roberts and MIR. and Mrs. Robert
| Crinion will depart tonight for Atlanta.
| They will go with the officials of the
American Federation of Labor and dele
gates from trade organizations I'm Wash
| ington. who will leave in a party to at
| tend the convention.
Washingtonians in the Party.
The party will include Samuel Gompers.
president of the American Federation of
Labor; Vice President John Mitchell.
Frank Morrison, secretary. and delegates
of Washington labor organizations;
Charles T. Smith of the Central Labor
Union: s. Edward Beach, national labor
organizer: William Clark. president of
| the plate printers union; d. Frank Man.
| ming of the retail clerks union, and