The Sentinel=record., 1911-12-21
STATEMENT
 BY GOMPERS
SAYS FEDERATION OF LABOR COURTS ANY INVESTIGATION
 GOVERNMENT MAY MAKE.
"We Are Ready, He Says --Los An- eeIes investigation Takes New Turn and McManigaI Figures
 Prominently.

Washiuston. D. C., Dec. 20.--"We have nothing to hide. We are ready at any time for the agents of the l law to begin Investigating declared President Samuel Gompers of ;ahe American Federation of Labor in an editorial on labors position lawful and progressiye'. which will appear in the January issue of the American Federationst. Mir. Gompers pledges his full cooperation in any inyest- tion which may be made.
 The forthcoming numbes of the official organ of the federation will be the first to appear since organ ized laber's defense of the McNam- ara brothers collapsed in their con fession. In his editorial MT. Comp 1 CTS confines himself to a discussion of the issues raised by the McNam. ara case saying of the case itself that he and his colleagues will stand by the statement which they author ized soon after the confession of the brothers.
 l continuing his declaration that or l ganized labor is ready for the agents of tine law to begin the investigation MT. Gompers says:
 Files, records of all kinds, account books-everything in documentary shape-is open to them. Anything that has been printed or spoken, or writ. ten to our correspondents is subject to their inquiries. Every act of every official may be freely looked into No one is going to dodge or run away Whatever can be done to aid the law will be done at these offices.
 "This is our reply at headquarters Of the American Federation of Labor to the clamor to get stat the men higher up' to the repeated announce ments in the press of "a nationwide 1 investigation by federal officials to the assertions that behind the Mc- Namaras were men standing high in the councils of labor"
 MT. Gompers then propounds the 1 question Chow Is trade unionism to be affected"? and in answering that his search for light has brought noth. Ing new. goes osn to discuss the labor problem.
 "What has happened he says, 'shas been deplorable incident, misfor- tune an exceptional course of action. but which does not touch the essen tials of trade unonism."
 1 He finds that amidst the clamor raised by 'financial interests, by partisan prejudice; by sensation mon- gers. or through mere shallowness and base trucking to the noisemak- CTS. the country is being compelled | to hear "the voice of sanity and mor- al force". he says the demands of part of the daily press for immediate change of officers Is sworth no at- tention '
 Asserting that the American Fed eration of Labor is administrated through the fairest procedures of a perfectly democratic organization he asserts it's history is the story Of the will and wish of it's majorities, and queries. "how can it be other than what 1t is?'
 He repeats that the methods of the federation stop short of injurious at tacks on persons and property while they unfailingly uphold every rigiht of labor and of the wage workers lin their movements on the highways, in their purchases, in their choice of work fellows and in their orEaniza. ton"
 In conclusion Mr. Gompers speaks ! of the concentrated effort and bitter : animosity of the enemies of organ ized labor Ito crush out the spirit of the toilers" and leaves as a parting } admonition to his constituents: |