Omaha daily bee., 1919-06-09
American Conservative Labor
From the New York Times

With health and strength restored and sa-
gacty and courage that have not failed him.
Mr.. Samuel Gompers has been presiding over
the meeting of the executive council of the
American Federation of Labor, whose founder
he is and for which he has worked intelgenty
and fruitfully for nearly 40 years. He has al
ways been a sound and loyal American, he has
steadily opposed the setting apart of working
men as class; he has sought. and most success
fully the amelioration of labor conditions by
means of both the great political parties, and
not by the formation of special party, divorc-
ing itself from the general interests of the
United States to follow the narrow path of
single interest. Against violence against ex
IRENE radicalism. against socialism, against all
the methods and notions foreign to the United
States, his face has always been set sternly. A
certain element, not large one, of hotheads in
fected with Marxisnl, syndicasm, internation-
alism. or bolshevisn, has long been dissatisfied
with Mr.. Gomper's intelligent and conservative
policy. These radicals long to depose him. They
would break up the federation if they could, d.
vide it into units. suppress the general and sober
voice of the majority of its members, give
larger scope to local extremists, arrest its or
DERBY American policy and progress. put in
practice here some of the theories and measures
of foreign fanatics.
In the war Mr.. Gompers was great and
benehcent force against German propaganda
against labor pacilsm and other pacihsm, for
the utmost energy Of production His radical
opponents will never forgive him for his Amer
icanism. 1t is noticeable that the discredited
pacifst, Mr.. Arthur Henderson, whom Mr.
Gompers met and overthrow in his own country,
is coming here as a guest of the insig
nifcant and nebulous American labor party. 1t
seems to be the intention of this leader of the
British independent labor party to hearten Mr.
Gompers' adversaries. Mr.. Henderson is now
simply mischievous private doctrinaire. At
the last election he stood third at the poll as a
candidate for Parliament. His coquettngs with
international socialism brought on him the
wrath of British labor generally. The British
Seamen's and Firemen's union prevented some
of his proposed balances with enemy socialists
Its members wouldn't work on any ship in
which he a passenger. If he meditates a
descent upon our shores, he may have to come
in foreign steamer. Outside of small class
British labor has no more use for him than it
has for Philip Snowden and Ramsay MacDon-
aid. his brother pacifsts. Undeterred by his
pitiable defeat, he is found signing report of
a recent industrial conference, wherein he
speaks of "the growing determination of labor
to challenge the whole existing structure of
capitalist industry" and tells US that "a vast
extension of public ownership and democratic
control is urgently necessary" Mr.. Henderson
is commonly supposed to borrow some of his
ideas from the ndefatigable socialist, Mr.. Sgd
ney Webb; wherever he gets them, and how
ever acceptable they may be to the British in
dependent labor party and the American labor
party, they are contrary to the cautious, sane,
and American policy of Mr.. Gompers and the
Federation of Labor.