New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-03
Propagandists Aided
By Socialist Leaders
But Efforts to Make Body
I'm American Have
Failed, He Asserts
By John J. Leary, Jr.

movement. II pcSaH '""' N
after the drive on Paris broke down
II isa little more adroit, that is all.
Nor is there anything new in the
fight the Socialist party, Germany 5
ally in this drive on organized labor
is making nothing new but the label
under which they are fighting
In securing the aid Of the Socialists
Germany secured an ally with expert
enee. for the Socialists have been Try
ing 10 capture the American LABOR
movement for more than thirty years
Tb.v b.v. merely wrapped themselves
in new cloak.
So the one man who more than any
body else has blocked both Germany
and the Socialist declared in two
hour talk covering the efforts OF the
American Federation Of Labor TO thor
oughly Americanize the labor move
nent in America. He is Samuel Com
pers. the veteran head of the Fedora
ton, who since the outbreak OF war IN
Europe has been constantly engaged IN
combating Germany's endeavors,
In the early days Of the war | saw
him in Bridgeport blocking the efforts
Of agitators in Germany's employ 70
tie UP the great munitions factories IN
,bet section. l saw him on Thursday
-. an route 70 the West TO stifen
IN. fight on foes within in that section
~ the country. He was as full OF fight
as in Bridgeport three years oeI0re'
and as confident.
Tells of Bride of Millions
He smoke Of Bridgeport as burnt
Notwithstanding that is gone OF
the bride Of millions offered O'Connor'
Of the Tongshoremen, TO tie up the At
Iantic seaboard as merely one OF those
things that failed, one Of the many
,b;ngs that died a-borning because
Germany. home of modern psychology,
did not and could not understand the
psychology of the American working
man."
~ sneak Of Bridgeport" he said,
because you know Of 1t. l can men
ton the longshoremen's affair be-
cause it ia all a matter Of public court
record. cannot speak o. other cases,
for such information as has come to
me direct has been given to the gov
eminent. II is its property. The De
partment Of Justice has it. 1t is not
for me to give publicity TO anything
that might in any way interfere with
it's plans. This is the more essential
because all Of these schemes and plots
are interviewer to a great extent.
"As a boy you probably few kites,
and you got your string SO badly tan
gled you had TO cut it in forty places
10 straighten it out. So with these
German plots and schemes, tangled
and interviewer with each other. And
If you dig into one you soon find you
are digging into others.
Since the beginning of the war
Germany has been trying TO capture
the labor movement. The testimony of
Captain Won Rintelen in his trial and
efforts made by the German govern
ment 10 betray the American labor
movement into the service of Ger
many. And his activity was only a
part Of the greater scheme of Ger
many's representatives TO suborn the
American labor movement in the in
terest Of Germany against the Allies
and 10 involve our Republic into un-
neutral acts in favor of Germany and
against the Allies
There is not the slightest doubt in
my mind that since the United States
has entered the war the same infu-
ences have been at work under an.
other cloak and bit more adroitly.
"Of course, we have natural paci-
fists in America, but the Socialist
party is not pacifst. 1t is pro-Ger-
man and snti-American. As il is anti
patriotic, it cares nothing for the free
dom and democracy enjoyed under our
Republic and stigmatizes il as being
worse than even the conditions which
existed in Russia under the rule of
'he Cars.
Says Socialists Oppose Labor
The Socialist party for more than
thirty years has undertaken TO domi-
nate and control the American Fedora
ton of Labor, and when il failed TO
make the Federation a tail to the So
cialist political party kite il undertook
20 bring about its undoing That party
was sure 10 oppose every act of our
Federation 70 achieve any given object
in the interest of the whole people IL
denounced the trade union movement
and its achievements for labor. for, as
its leaders reasoned, if the trade union
movement could bring about improve
ments of the toilers' lot this would
be a clear refutation of the Socialist
party doctrine, which is that the con
ditions Of the workers will become
worse as time goes on and that cata-
clysm will result and bring about a
realization of their day dreams. or,
more properly speaking, their night
mares.
when the Socialist party was IN
able 10 subjugate the American trade
union movement it undertook 10 defeat
its purposes, and, failing in that, began
to set up rival organizations and en-
courage secession movements in the
ranks Of the unions. There has not
been a secession movement from any
one Of our unions which the Socialist
party did not organize and support
cit organized the so-called Western
Labor Union, then the American Labor
Union, the Socialist Trade and Labor
Alliance. and its latest is the piratical
Industrial Workers of the World. We
know now what exists of the latter. All
80 the former have gone by the board.
TAc American Federation Of Labor row
t.. after all these efforts 20 destroy