The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-18
GENERAL STRIKE BEGINNING JULY 4
 IS DECIDED UPON
Labor Congress Decides Up on Means of Securing Re lease of Mooney if
 Other Methods Fail
Bv Associated Press

Chicago, January IA general
 strike of organized labor designed
 to paralyxe every industry in the
 country, beginning the fourth of
 next July. was decided upon today
 by the National Labor congress n,
 a means of obtaining new trial
 for Thomas J. Mooney and Warren
 Billings, if federal intervention
 and every other means adopted to
 procure the desired relief fail.
 The convention authorized the rais- ing of fund of $1.000.000 to carry on campaign of education to liberate the labor leaders and to promote Tho proposed general strike. It is planned to finance the movement by 1evylng an assessment of 50 cents on each member of organized labor in the country.
 The convention which concluded its four-day session tonight and adjourned also adopted a resolution embodying declaration of national policies af- fecting labor which demands that the people of Russia and Germany be per mitted to work out their own destiny that American troops be withdrawn from Russia. that all political and in- dustrial prisoners receive the same consideration as prisoners of war and piOtidifnlHS lHe QdWD 0I d new u0rs for true democracy in which the right g of labor shall be fully recognized
 COMMITTEE NAMED
 The convention adopted the programme recommended by the International Work CTS Defense league to secure the libera- tion of Mooney and Billings, which was presented to the delegates in the final report of the committee on resolutions It provided that committee of five labor representatives be named to go to Washington and ask President Wilson and members of Congress for federal in- tervention.
 Chairman Edward D. Nolan named the following committee to undertake this " ork:
 John Fitzpatrick. president of the Chi cago Federation of Labor.
 Alexander Howatt, president of the Kansas district United Mine Workers of America
 Martin J. Flyzik, president of the Washington district United Mine Work CTS of America.
 J. r. Anderson, Washington. D. C.. vice president of the International As sociation of Machinists
 Andrew Furuseth, San Francisco. pres ident of the International Seamen's un- ion.
 The committee will ask that a spe- ( ial assistant United States attorney gen eral be appointed to obtain the release of Mooney and Billings by habeas cor pus or other means in order that they may have new trials in a court outside of California.
 The legislature of California will be asked to pass a law which will enable the courts of that state to grant new trials in cases where convictions are ob- tained by perjured evidence or other fraudulent means.
 STRIKE LAST RESORT
 If these means fail then organized labor will be asked to call the general strike The plan of the International Workers Defense league is that the general strike will not be called unless every other means to secure the labor leaders release has failed.
 The report of the discussion on the Mooney case read in part:
 Your committee realizes at this time that the grave industrial and economic power of labor may in the last analysis have to be invoked in order to demon strate to the hostile and anti-labor i'm terests that the labor movement of America is determined that real and sub- stantial justice shall finally prevail in the Mooney case.
 Your committee takes the position that the programme should he worked out anI exhausted step by step until there is no other solution left. and that solution will then lie in the use of the strike weapon.
 "We, therefore, submit that no sporadic strikes not properly organized will be of value.
 Your committee recommends that the takng of a strike vote commence at the earliest possible date and that the vote sha-l be in-and tabu'ated on or before June and that the date for the general strike be set for July 1, 1sls the day of American independence" TO ASK ENDORSEMENT
 The American Federation of Labor will be asked to indorse the general strike at it's next annual convention. The Mooney case programme resulted in fiery debate lasting five hours. in the course of which radical delegates opposed the sending of a committee to Washing ton to ask federal intervention and de-
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