Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-09-03
PRESIDENT SCORES
NATIONS |SCAR|0TS
Denounces "DisIoyaIty Hidden
Behind Screen of Spacious
and Evasive Phrases"
WRITES TO Mr.. GoMPERs

Hearty approval OF the conference or
the American Alliance for Labor and
Democracy to be held at Minneapolis
tomorrow and the task 1t will UNDER
take of suppressing disloyalty has been
given by President Wilson in letter
! to Samuel Gompers. president OF the
American Federation Of Labor and
chairman Of the alliance.
The letter. made public here today.
denounces those who seek to ignore
and insist that a nation whose citizens
have been foully murdered under their
own flag. whose neighbors have been
invited to Join in making conquest Of
its territority and whose patience in
pressing the claims of Justice and hu-
manity has been met with the most
shameful policy Of turbulence and
treachery. does not know its own mind
and has no comprehensive reason for
defending itself"
while our soldiers and sailors are
doing their manful work to hold back
reaction in its most brutal and ag-
gressive FORM" the President wrote.
lied and individual efforts of those
dangerous elements who hide disloy-
atty behind a screen of specious and
evastve phrases"
Text Of the Presidents Letter.
The letter follows:
MY Dear Mr.. Gompers:
'T am sure that you understand that
my inability to accept the invitation
to address the Minneapolis conference
of the American Alliance for Labor
and Democracy is due only to official
necessity. and not in any degree Of lack
of appreciation of the Importance of
the occasion. The cause you and your
fellow patriots uphold is one with the
cause we are defending with arms.
While our soldiers and sailors are do
ing their manful work to hold back
reaction in its most brutal and ag-
gressive form, we must oppose at home
the organized and individual efforts of
those dangerous elements who hide
disloyalty behind a screen Of specious
and evasive phrases.
II have read with real pride the
names Of the men and women who are
to take part in the Minneapolis con-
ference. Not one but has a record of
devoted service to fundamental democ-
racy; not one but has fought the long,
hard fight for equal Justice. Drawing
every bitterness, that the humblest
life might know a larger measure of
happiness.
with all my heart I want them
to feel that their devotion to country
is in no wise a betrayal of principle
and that in serving America today they
are serving their cause no less faith
fully than in the past. 1 myself have
had sympathy with the fears of the
workers of the United States: for the
tendency of war is toward reaction, and
too often military necessities have been
made an excuse for destruction of la
boriously erected industrial and social
standards. These fears. happily, have
proved to be baseless. With quickened
sympathies and appreciation. with a
new sense of invasive and fnsidious
dangers Of oppression. our people have
not only held every inch of ground that
has been won by years of struggle, but
have added to the gains of the TWEEN
tieth century along every line of human
bettermept. Questions of wages and
hours Of labor and industrial read
justment have found a solution which
gives to the toiler a new dignity and
a new sense of social and economic Sc
curity. 1 beg you to feel that my sup
port has not been lacking and that
the government has not failed at any
point in granting every just re-
quest advanced by you and your asso-
ciates in the name of the American