The Oskaloosa herald., 1916-11-23
LABOR WILL FIGHT
FOR 8-H0UR DAY
RAIL MEMS CHIEF PREDICTS A
CHANGE FOR ALL CLASSES.
GOMPERS WOULD DEFY ROADS
Warns Capital and Says Labor Will
"ShoW ClaWs"-Stone Sees "Un-
finished Business" Unless
Law is Accepted.

J; Baltimore Md, Nov. 22.-Organizcd
, labor threw it's millions of workers in
to the scale against the railroads mil
, lions Of dollars here in one of the most
tumutuous days in labor's history.
!, Five hundred delegates to the
, American Federation of Labor cOnven-
ton yelled their approval when Samuel
Gompers declared the railroad EN-
ployees should strike January l If the
Adamson law was not put into effect
by the railroads.
Accepting the challenge" as he
termed ii, the federation pledged the
undivided and unqualified support of
every man and woman in the fedora
ton, whatever, may arise, whatever
may betide," to the four great railroad
brotheIhrods in the approaching crisis.
EacX Universal Eight Hours.
1t also threw its entire force behind
the movement for n universal eight
hour day. Mr. Gompers declared that
the eight-billiOn-dollar combination of
employers formed in New York to fight
labor SHOULD be shown that sometimes
1 hie "oIhiiS pcopiS hhu 'tth o'"
claws"
II am about anarchist enough to
say that we are going to work for the
eight-hour day for all classes. If we
can't get it peaceably we will fight
for it." --..
This challenge was thrown out in an
address by w. G. Lee, head of the
Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, be-
fore the convention. He was urging
utilization of the members of the fed
Grafton with the railroad brotherhOods
In the fight for an eight-hour law.
4 Delegates who crowded the hall
cheered Mr.. Lee and other speakers en-
Enthusiastically.
''We must hang together, or we will
hang separately" said Lee.
The strike declaration came after
the chief executives of the four broth
erhoods had addressed the convention.
Gompers Defies Roads.
No definite action was taken to-
ward consolidating the federation and
the brotherhOOds.
GOmpers' declaration of faith was
extremely dramatic. Quivering with
emotion and shouting at the top of his
voice, GOmpers declared:
"All | can say in answer to you men
of wealth (the railrOads) Is this: BE
careful-yOu are going too far. You
throw down the gauntlet to the work
ing classes and Wen accept the chat
lenge and fight We will say to you
In the strongest power we possess:
'"Lay on MacDuff, and damned be he
who first cries hold -"
Hint at Strike.
Little doubt was expressed by labor
leaders here that the railroad brother
hoods will strike on January l if the
AdamsOn law does not become opera
tive. Such was the inference drawn
from the actresses of Stone and Lee
to the federation.
Stone declared that "if the Adamson
law does not become operative on
the first day of January there will
be lot of unfinished business to at
tend do" He declined to amplify the
statement in any way, saying that lit
goes as it lays"
Were going to have universal
eight-hour law, and if the railroads
succeed in stopping us In what we al
ready have, then We'll fight" declared
Lee. And Wen fight so long as there
Is breath left in us to fight against
compulsory arbitration"
No Fear of Billions.
"You have heard of the $S,000,000,-
600 combination that intends to crush
labor" said Stone. II am not afraid
of it. If labor goes to pieces it will
be from inside treachery, not outside
opposition.
''We did not ask for the Adamson
law. We believe we would have done
better to have fought 1t out"
Arbitration, he asserted, has failed
because the railroads constituted
themselves the judge and jury in all
/ cases.
, The time has come, Stone said,
, when the railroads are on the de-
, fensive instead of labor, and he de-
J clared, 1--WE have great faith that the
. men in the White House will see that
/, we get what was given US voluntarily"
/ The policy of the brotherhoods in
the approaching legal battles over the
Adamson law was clearly stated by
Stone.
"The railroads." he said, "have tried
g to bankrupt the unions by starting
5000 injunction suits against us In
stead of playing fair and making one
Z a test case.
Lee Praises Wilson.
Lee told the delegates the history
: of the strike order last summer Ev-
cry one of the 600 delegates at Wash