Evening star., 1915-12-15
May Be Named by President
as Army and Navy
ConsuIter.
PROMISES Mr.. GOMPERS
TO CONSIDER SUGGESTION
Head of American Federation and
Secretary Wilson Make Request
of Chief Executive.

Whenever President Wilson selects
an advisory board to confer with the
directing officers of the army and navy
on questions of national defense he
probably will place upon that board a
representative of labor. In his recent
address 10 Congress. President Wilson
spoke of the necessity of utilizing and
co-ord mating all the forces and ener-
gies of the nation in preparation for
the future, these to include the
transportation, manufactures, business,
banking. technical skill and whatever
other elements of the nations strength
ought to be assembled, and suggested
to Congress that if he should find it
feasible to constitute such a board to
consult with the War and Navy branches
of the government he trusted Congress
would be willing to vote a sum OF
money to defray the expenses.
The President today received visit
from Samuel Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor, and
Secretary Wilson of the Department of
Labor, who urged that when he Sc
lected the proposed board he give con-
sideration to the human equation of
preparedness as represented by the
wofkingmen of the country.
In Interest of Seaman's Law.
: The President promised to give con-
sideration to the suggestion.
Mr. Gompers, Frank Morrison of the
federation and Andrew Fureseth of the
Seamen's Union, presented to the Pres
ideut a unique pictorial history of the
efforts of the seamen to obtain their
freedom from contract servitude," as
they term it. There were the pictures
of men who have for years shown
themselves friendly to the seamen, be-
ginning twenty-three years ago when
the first committee of seamen drafted
seamen's law that gave greater free
dom to the men.
The photographs included those of the
President, Speaker Clark and others.
AS framework there was a novel
weaving and splicing of fishing line in
another frame of wood.
Receives Many Callers.
President Wilson had an unusually
large number of callers, among them
Vice President Marshall, who paid his
respects and thanked the President, in
behalf of Mrs. Marshall, for a beautiful
bouquet of flowers dispatched to her
since her arrival in Washington. He
reported that Mrs Marshall is slowly
recovering from her illness.
The President received the officers of
the Armenian National Defense Union
of America, headed by Rt. Rev. Arsene
Vehooni, prelate of the Armenian
Church of America. They thanked him
for what he has done to alleviate the
sufferings of the Armenians in Turkey.
The committee went from the White
House to the State Department for a
conference with Secretary Lansing.
Railway Men at White House.
Val Fitzpatrick. P. ]. Mcnamara, Will
liam Clark and II. Z. Wills. vice presi-
dents of the four great organizations Of
railway employees. constituting the legis-
lative representatives Of these organiza-
tions, called on TIE President today to
talk with him about safety appliance
legislation. The railroad representatives
are framing rev legislation providing for
additional safeguards Oil railways. and
eNpI essed the hope that the President
would be able 20 give his approval. They
told him OF the good results that have
followed past legislation in the conserva-