Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-12-09
BRITISH DAY CROWD
H00T, HISS G0MPERS
Pause at Wrong Place in Speech
Sounded Like Praise for
Ireland.
From Today's New York Sun.

EIOUl lOuhf . 1NCW 1oiN bou'
A short, thickset, elderly man IN
a froek coat and white waistcoat,
known to the breadwinners OF Amer
lea as Samuel Gompers nearly. broke
up the grand and glorious celebration
that John Bull, Miss Britannia and
Uncle Sam staged yesterday afternoon IN
the Hippodrome.
Not that the old gentleman meant
to insult the British who invited hun
to the largest meeting of its kind IN the
country but he unfortunately slipped on
the peel of Ireland, and forthwith was
smothered in a flock of boohoos and Kisses
and ta,Ints hv the distinguished British
folk who iammed the vast theatre. What
the labor chief meant to say sounded all
right after he had finished saying 1T,
but somehow the mention of Ireland at n
British meeting is signal for the same
iubiation and applause that an eulogy
of old John Bull always gets at a Sim
Fem party.
81 stand IN protest against wrong
and injustice committed against any
nation, any group of people or any in
dividual man or woman "a woman asked
whether he thought it was Gompers
day instead of Britain day., "and | have
not always stood in accord with the
NbtiCt Hlftll NiitStt iblftsaih f'bObNH-
There was a hush suddenly in the house,
which had been restless during the speech.
Kisses HALT GoMPERs' SPEECH.
I'm the dealings with Ireland the deal
ings OF the government of England toward
Ireland In the past, ! was on the side OF
Ireland against England Mr..
Gonpers said after that he was drowned
by the hoarse yell OF a Tommy up In the
topmost gallery, tralled by the kissing OF n
thousand Had the hisses been steam it
would have blown Sam over the well
known murals Of the Hip. When the
audience had finally given vent TO its dis
pleasure the labor leader continued:
TO hold England responsible today
for the mistakes which have been made
fifty and more years ago is of course
wrongful and unjust IN itself"
The statement should have got Sam
back into the good graces of the Irish
loving Britishers, only he batted out
another foul when he added:
Il have not been N sympathy with
the course which Great Britain pursued
in the Boerland in South Africa"
Well, to make a long speech short.
Guest Gompers spent the healthiest part
of an hour telling of his trip abroad, how
he had the very great privilege of lunch
ing right on the grass with Marshal Haig;
and furthermore the distinguished honor
and privilege Of standing right on the coast
of Scotland and seeing the ship upon
which was Nice-Admiral Sims, and not
only that, but actually meeting Admiral
B. 4. T.; how proud he was of his Anglo
nativity, how nc could not be accused Of
being an Anglomaniac nor an Anglo
phobian, how he believed he is "a man
imbued with some understanding and
some degree of independence TO express
the Judgment formulated by the light
that IS gwen me, not forgetting the
Interallied Labor Conference held in Lon
don September II, Is, l9 and 20 and so
on, the audience keeping right up with
him until he relented and said he would
sentence or two" of an attack q scurvy
individual named Karl Lcgen wrote about
HIM In Baden, the land OF good baths
GoMPERs CHEEEED AT END.
Right here Sam got the biggest hand
of Gompers day. He was also applauded
when he had finished.
But Gompers aside, yesterdays gath
ering in the Hippodrome really epitomizcd
the exultant feeling Of triumph that IS in
the hearts of the British IN America since
the victory OF the united arms against
Germany. With the foremost orators Of
the land paving eloquent tribute to Bri-
tannia's great part in the war cables from,
King George, Premier Clemenceau, Presi-
dent Wilson and notsbles of both henis-
pheres and the presence of the crew of
II. NJ. s. Berwick, who helped bottle
Zeebrugge, sea of British flags bobbing
from wall to wall, the occasion was
memorable one.