Evening star., 1914-01-30
GOMPERS CHARGED
WITH BEING DRUNK
President of A. F. of [. Openly
Accused at Convention
of Miners.
LIAR AND 'SLANDERER.'
REPLIES LABOR LEADER
Allegations by Duncan Mcdonald,
Who Says Intoxication Occurred
at Meeting in Seattle.

at Meeting in Seattle.
INDIANAPOLIS. Ind. January 80
That Samuel Gompers. president OF the
American Federation of Labor. was
glorfouslv drunk al tho seattle con
vention of the federation was the charge
made by Duncan Mcdonald of Illinois at
the convention of the | nited Mine Work
ers of America today. During the pro-
lonsed cheers liar and ''slanderei''
We're hurled AT Mcdonald by Gompers.
who sat on the platform
y am glad Nr. Gompers Is here SO
tan say what want to- said McDon-
| old in beginning his reply to the speech
made Yesterday by Mr.. Gompers Il said
there were booze fighters in charge Of the
American Federation of Labor and III
prove it. Al the Seattle convention had
room with my wife at hotel next to
the room reserved by the resolutions com
mittee. The first Saturday night We
could not sleep for the noise made b.
bunch of drunks in the next room.
Appeals to Hotel Manager.
Il appealed to the clerk of the hotel
and the noise grew louder. Then ! went
down to the hotel office, and the night
| manager called Jim Duncan on the tele-
| phone and told him they would have to
get out of the room. that they We're dis
turbins all on the floor.
The noise grew fierce and I finally
knocked or the door of the room and
| was asked to come in and have a drink
| When the door was opened there sat Sam
| Gompers at the head of the table. glori-
ously drunk. with a bottle of booze in
| his hand
The statement threw the convention in
an uproar and it was some time before
order was restored. While the confusion
was at its height Gompers called Nc
| Donald a liza and slanderer
Gompers Denies Charge.
| Mr.. Gornpers followed Mcdonald and
denied absolutely the charge of drunk
enness. He declared the statement
libelous. untruthful. vicious. slander-
| Gus and without any form of honor.
Mr. Gompers left the hall to take a
train before Charles H. Meyer. presi-
dent of the Western Federation of Min
ers, could speak.
Despite the statements of Mr.. Comp
| ers, asserted Meyer, Il firmly believe
that the assessment for the Michigan
| strikers should have been levied and
| that he failed to give a satisfactory eX-
| planation why II was not done. 1 re-
j
will be due to the failure of the execu-
! tive council of the American Fedora
| tion of Labor to levy an assessment.
| for that would be the best way to get
1 funds for our strike
Says Gompers Maintains Machine"
| Mcdonald charged Gompers with main
tanning a machine to perpetuate himself
as the head of the federation and of
assisting the democratic party even
| against candidates of other parties who
are members of labor organizations. lie
ridiculed the idea that unions could not
| pay a two-cent assessment.
1 II union would not meet the assess
ment." declared Mcdonald. why l would
rather they would get outside the fedora
ton. Ii a 2-cent assessment can brea1
! up the American Federation OF La
Dor then it is mighty fimsy institu-
| ton.
Mcdonald charged Gompers With being
| a member of a chamber OF commerce at
| Washington and that he paid his dues our
of the funds of the federation. Gompers
! replied that in the Chamber of Commerce
! information of Importance TO the labor
| movement was impaired and that he Was
a member at the request Of the executive
council.
Says He Refused Offers.
Gompers denied that he maintained a
machine to Keep himself in office and as
an illustration said he had had two
offers Of positions from the. governor OF
a great state. one paving 5000 year
and the other Sluooo but had refused
both to continue in the la Dor movement
The labor movement is a part of my
life. he continued, and I'm going to
stick to it You may drive me out of
office but YOU can't drive me out of the
movement"
Mr.. Gompers reiterated his statement
that 10 levy an assessment would be dis
astrous TO organized labor, and that ii
could not he collected in time TO benefit
the copper strikers.
He denied that the democratic party
had any label on him But" he contili-
ued. the attack or the democratic
party comes with bad grace after the
demands made on the party for fed
eral investigation of III. two great
strikes have been granted.
II propose to use every power pos
sible-the church. business. Legislature
and Congress-to forward the labor
movement
Mr. Mcdonald has declared he would
rather vote for wooden Indian or a
yellow dog than for sam tiompers for
president of the American Federation
of Labor. That is his privilege. but I
ann perfectly willing to leave the fu-
ture to Judge between me and Mr.. Me-
Donald.
4NcpiiCa W AsC" Sl'al l'Cl xAthhNhs.
Taking newspapers reports
criterion. Mr.. ,;omp.rs began. in his
address yesterday afternoon. the most
important work this convention has
done has consisted of attacks on the
American Federation Of Labor and its
officers and discussing whether the
presidents salary shall he increa 4ed
81 900 a year. don't know if the
charges in the newspapers are true.
but it was printed that u Was de-
clared in the convention here that The
American Federation Of Labor is re-
actionarN fossiliZed.- worm eaten and
dead Is the newspaper statement
true
Amid loud cheers. Mcdonald said. II
made those statements and others like
them
only Mcdonald answers" Mr.. Com
pers continued .'Of the eleven men
who compose the executive council.
eight are teetotalers. who never touch
a drop of liquor. Two of the men are
as moderate drinkers any men who
ever take drink. For myself, l take
a glass of beer when the days work
is done | challenge any man to prove
otherwise than that ] am as good a
man mentally and physically, as ever
was and 4 reached my sixty-fourth
year last Tuesday.
n.--:r.x;,, Not nead