New Britain herald., 1917-09-05
LAB0R'S ROLE AS
 SEEN BY G0MPERS
Workingman Must Combat All
 Influences Hostile to Nation

Minneapolis Sept. 5. Samuel 1 Gompers. president of the American Federation of Labor and chairman of l the American Alliance for Labor and Democracy. which opened it's national conference here today, outlined the purpose of the organization as the assembling for the support of the government "all the moral and ma terial power of the working class of the nation.''
 Tt shall be our task" he said, Ito interpret Americas democratic spirit and purpose in this conflict to our fellow workers, especially those of foreign birth, and to combat every form of propaganda, no matter by whom 1t may be carried on, which tends to weaken the loyalty and de- Vot1on of the masses and their vii llingness to strive and sacrifice for the nation and its high purpose
 Declaration of Principles.
 The complete declaration of prin- clples as announced by MT. Gompers Is as follows:
 AS believers in the great and splen- did vision of democracy and interna- t1onalism the /aternalism and soli- darity of all peoples, we assert at this
 
 Republic of the United States of America and our determination to do all that lies in our power to win the war in which 1t is engaged.
 Loyalty to the ideals of freedom, democracy and internationalism re- Quires loyalty to America.
 'Disloyalty to America in this crisis is disloyalty to the cause of freedom, democracy and internation- alism.
 No national selhshness impelled this Republic to enter the war. The impelling motive was the consuming idealism born with the establishment of this Republc itself to preserve freedom not only for tself but for all nations. great and small. and the body of international law which all the free democratic nations of the world respect and observe and only the brutal autocracies seek to dis honor and destroy. Tn such a con- flict real standard bearers of democ- racy and true internationalists can have no hesitation in supporting our Republic which has made it's own the cause and interests of f,all free peo- pies. It istherefore in truth not Capitalists war;, but a Freemen's war.
 Fully impressed by these facts, realizing that a noble international ism is implicit in our Amercan con- ception cf national existence, 1t shall be our purpose to bring to the sup and material power of the working class of the nation It shall be our task to interpret Americas democrat ic spirit and purpose in this conflict to our fellow workers, especially those of foreign birth. and to combat every form of propaganda. no matter by whom 1t may be carried on. which tends to weaken the loyalty and de- votion of the masses and their will lingness to strive and sacrifice for the nation and its high purposes.
 We shall strip the mask from those who in the name of democracy anti militarism, and peace are engaged in the nefarious propaganda of trech- cry to all that these noble words rep- resent We indignantly repudiate the claim that this propaganda-which. be 1t remembered. brings joy and comfort to- German autocracy-has the support of the labor movement of America. Not even at the behest of the so-called peoples council will
  prostitute the labor movement to serve the brutal power responsible for the infamous rape of Relgium- the power that would subject Russia to a worse despotism than that of the 
 "Democracy will not be served by the victory of autocracy, by letting the Declaration of Independence be by the Kaiser's fiat.
 "Militarism will ndt be checked by 1 surrender to the power which has 1 all the resources of civiliza- ton to the end of imposing its brutal 1 iron rule on the world.
 Peace will not be secured to the ! world through the subjection of the 1 free and democratic nations
 we shall be as loyal to the strug- l gle for freedom and democracy at l home as to the struggle for freedom l and democracy in international rela- l tions.
 ITO the men and women of the | American labor movement, and to all ! sincere friends of democracy and in l we call for loyal sup 1 port to America and her allies in this l great struggle. Let us make our be- l loved Republic strong and victorious l for the sake of humanity, and thus insure for our children and their l children the priceless heritage of nb- 1 erty and democracy. Let us. at the l same time, stand shoulder to should ] CT, in the fight against the foes of l dem ocracy within our own borders, 1 resolved never to rest until the goal l of democracy industrial. political