Arizona republican., 1917-11-22
POLICY IF BURLESON
 |S AUTOCRAT|C SAY
 MEN IF FEDERATION
Republican A. p. Leased wire1

BUFFALO, N. Y, Nov. 21-The con- vention of the American Federation of Labor today adopted a resolution con demning Postmaster General Burleson for his "autocratic policy toward pos tai employees" and instructed the exc cutive council of the federation to ob- tain an audience with President Will son and place before him facts con corning the oppressive labor policy of the postmaster general
 The resolution was introduced by Thomas E. F'laherty, of the National Federation of Postal Employes, and Edward J Gainer of the National As sociation of Letter Carriers. Approxi- mately a quarter of a million workers in the postal service, the resolution said are forced to accept without protest the unsatisfactory working conditions imposed by an autocrat.'
 The whole tendency of the day Flaherty said, was toward government control in many branches of industry and public utilities and we should be- gin now to demOcratize government selvice.''
 Some delegates seem to think that government control solves all their problems" Flaherty added. As mat ter of fact, the government can be as harsh and unreasonable as any em- ployer. Postmaster General Burleson has invaded every right we have fought for in the last quarter of a century"
 Vice President Duncan protested against the adoption of the resolution without hearing the other side.
 I've are asked to condemn the post master general and then proceed to try him." he said. The committee pro-
 
 bring the best resulto.~
 Gainer was against further delay Government ownership, he said. may bring the most tyraun1cal system yet devised so far as labor is concerned. Men had been dismissed from the pos- tai service for organization activities he declared and he was compelled to resign from the federal service to at- | tend the convention.
 l It was the second defeat of the day 1 of reports from the resolutions con- mittee, the convention refusing to con- cur in the committek-s favorable ac- 1 tion oh a resolution recommending to all affiliated organizations that citizen ship or a declaration of intention tc | become a citizen be made requisite to union membership. The opposition came principally from organizations which delegates said need to embrace aliens to keep up their fighting strength.
 At the next session there was an- other long and at times acrimonious debate on resolution favoring the conscription of citizens of allied na- tions now living in the United States Thomas Black, a Canadian dele gate, brought a storm upon his head by referring to all conscription laws as 'dastardly," a remark which result ed in a demand for retraction from several delegates.
 President Gompers temporarily re- linquished the chair to reply to Black and Delegate Carr of Toronto declared that Blacks remark did not reflect the sentiment of union labor in Canada. i The demand for a retraction from | Black was not put in the form of a resolution and nothing further was said about it after the adoption of the conscription resolution.
 An opportunity to open the guns of oratory against the United States Stee corporation, the Bethlehem Steel cor 1 poration. the National Erectors' As l sOciation and teh Lackawanna Bridge company came when the resolutions committee recommended the adoption i of a resolution submitted by the h. 1 ternational Association of Bridge and | Structural Iron Workers. i A large amount of material furnished i for war purposes was coming from 1 these corporations, the resolution stated, and it was suggested as an act 1 of cooperation in the prosecution of 1 the war that the worlmen in their em- ploy be given the same consideration accorded other men employed on gov ernment work.