The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-11-08
FederatiOn's Annual
Report Shows Progress.
"MOst MOmentOus in History of
Organized Labor.
SUPPORT PEACE CONFERENCE
War Has Had Its
Effects Throughout Nation.
First Decrease of Membership
i'm Last Seven Years.

San Francisco, Cal, Nov. S.-Presen-
tation of the annual report of the ex-
| ecutive council featured the opening
day of the thirty-fifth annual conven-
ton of the American Federation of
Labor which opened here today for a
| two weeks session. President Sam
uel Gompers presented the report
which pronounced the year past the
most momentous in the history of or
ganized labor and one of extraordinary
stress for the labor movement, testing
as it had its very existence
There is not a country. and there
is scarcely a relation in the common
life says the councils report, that
does not show some effect of the ter
rible war that is being waged in Eu-
rope"
Describing the effects of the war
upon organized labor and American
customs and institutions, the report
deals at length with attempts by in
tereSts of be1ligerent European ma
lions to interfere with the peaceful
pursuit of American industries.
High tribute was paid the working
men of the nation through whose pa
triotism, the report says, these plans
have persisted and the movements so
far have been futile.
Labor and Peace.
The holding of worlds labor con-
gress at the same time and place that
peace delegates meet when the war is
ended, is recommended in the report
as necessary in order to infuSe the
spirit of humanity and democracy into
this political conference" In order
that the position of the United States
working men in this regard may be
fully representative of the country's
unanimous voice of labor, the report
recommends that all international
unions be urged to give the plan their
support.
The report covers the recent inves-
tigation by labor leaders of the Dick
military law. In that connection it
says:
up to the present we have received
no complaint nor have we learned of
any act in which the military arm of
the government had misuSed the Dick
law to offset or curb the aspirations
of the working people of the land
We refer particularly to the
situation in Colorado last year.
The corporations had practically CO.
creed and intimidated the officials of
the state and had oVer-ridden the laws
of the state. There is not
nearly so grave a danger in the Dick
law as there is in the mena ce threat
ening our institutions through the pri-
vate detective agencies and the private
army of gun men,"
Attention is also called in the report
to the work of the United States COM
mission on Industrial relations. Chair
man Walsh and the labor representa-
tives, Messrs. O'Conne1l, Lemon and
Garretson, are praised for their "judg-
ment and determination which
brought to light many wrongs and in
justices that might otherwise been
concealed or overlooked"
Decrease in Membership.
Statistical reports were read show
ing the average membership for the
American Federation of Labor for the
year was 1,946,347, decrease of IA
324 members, the first decrease in to-
tai membership since 1908.
While the average membership for
the year shows a decrease of 74,324,
the September membership is 1894
Ill, a decrease of only $3.50. A
steady growth in membership is pre-
dicted to follow the REIMBURSEMENT of
conditions affected by the European
war. Expenditures for the year 1915
were $303,9 1855 and receipts $271,-
625.53 as compared with $265,737.21
and 1858, 166.97 in 1914.