The labor advocate. [volume] (Cincinnati, Ohio) 1912-1937, 1916-12-16
A. F. OF L. FULFILLING ITS
MISSION
BY john O'NEILL, Editor Trinidad
(Col.) Free Press.

The annual convention of the Amer
ican Federation of Labor is the great
national congress in which the represen-
tatives of the workers meet to deal with
every problem that affects the veal or
woe of laboring humanity. 1t is looked
upon as the most democratic body in
America and recognized as congress
whose deliberations are based upon the
earnest desire to lift humanity closer
to the sunlight of civilization, that will
dispcl the darkness of that adversely
that has come to us down the centuries
from the brutal reign of the mailed fist
upon the throne of authority.
There are many, even among the
ranks of the working class, who have
severely criticised and censured the So
called snail-ike pace of the American
Federation of Labor and impetuously
demanded that its officials adopt pol
icy that would quicken the onward
march of the labor movement towards
the ultimate goal-labor's emancipation
1t is true that the American Fedora
ton of Labor, like all other large bodies,
has moved slowly, but its slow but sure
tread has been secure in that intelligence
which has cautiously investigated every
grave and serious problem and surveyed
with a clear vision every situation that
confronted the workers of continent
Men of ripe experience have reached
the conclusion that it is dangerous to
speed up" for the history of the past
with its countless wrecks, has demon
stratcd that wisdom is seldom found in
aggressive policies that are pushed by
the passionate impulses of the over
jealous, who have not learned that "the
brave, impetuous heart yields every
where to the subtle, contriving head.
During thirty-siX years of the life of
the American Federation of Labor,
mary so-called aggressive organizations
have been launched, and, the founders
of such organizations have made rosy
predictions as to the glorious battles
that would be fought and the victories
that would be achieved to lessen the
burdens of labor, but these impatient
promoters of dual unions, who Haunted
the flag of rebellion against the slow but
sure policies of the American Fedora
ton of Labor, were forced to write the
obituaries over the dissolution of or
ganzations that were built on impulse
instead of intelligence.
Samuel Gompers, the president of the
!hIlcIlNdll IctcIdllOIl Ol l-dDOI, Has Dcc1l
shclled by the grape and canister of the
advocates of aggressveness but he has
bravely stood his ground, bearing the
brunt of the scvcrest ccnsurc rather
than to preciptate the labor movement
into q gallop, that might overwhelm it
with disaster.
The great minority who once repri-
manded the slow but sure methods of
Gompers, no longer dip their pens in
vitriolic verbiagc in criticism of his lack
of haste to reach the coveted summit of
labor's ambition, but this minority which
once differed with him, relative to poll
cies and tactics, are now impressed with
the conviction that it is far better to be
! slow and sure than to cndangcr the l;fe
and power of movement, that has
wrapped within it the hopes and aspra
, tions of the laboring millions Of a ma
| ton.
The American Federation of Labor,
| in its great mission, is spreading the
gospel of unionism throughout the land,
is breaking the fctters of economic slav
cry, and Gompcrs, whose wisdom, en-
crgy and devotion have been consc
Grated to the great cause that pleads for
social justice merits the tribute of his
| fellow workers Grand Old Man of
the Labor Movement"