Arizona republican., 1919-04-27
GOMPERS SAYS BURLESON WILL
 WALK THE PLANK
Labor Leader Says Post master Is a Dictator-His Rule Is Archaic -Individ- ual Treatment of Elm ployes Ridiculous and Preposterous
TRepubIIcan A. p. Leased wire1

Republican A. p. Leased Wirel
 NEW YORK, April 26.- Samuel Gompcrs, president of the A. r. O. L., assalled the administration of Post master General Burleson in a state ment issued here today, declaring that ne must walk the plank sooner or later"
 MT. Gomper's statement follows:
 ''The troubles of Postmaster General Burleson, which in a recent statement he attributes to q plot or a conspiracy on the part of the American publishers, are not due solely to any dispute there may have been between the postmaster general and the publishers, to whom he refers The most recent example of MT. Burlesons autocratic nature does not come as a surprise to those in the labor movement who have come in con- tact with his administration.
 Labor was long ago forced to the conclusion that Mir. Burleson was com pletely out of sympathy with the trend of American thought, and was totally unable to comprehend what America meant when it declared war upon au- tocracy everywhere. MT. Burleson needs only wider field and better op- portunity to fit him for succession to some of the worlds best known but un- lamented ex-dictators. The only diff culty in MT. Burleson's way is that the world has reached the decision that it wants no more dictators The United States postoffice department is one of the very few places in the world not yet in accord with that decision.
 Long before the United States took over the telegraph systems of the coun- try, Burleson's cold and autocratic treatment became known to the work CTS engaged in the Postal service. ''The workers in various branches of the postmaster generals department have come to understand thoroughly that democracy and the postoffice de- partment have nothing in common, ex- cept that they exist under the same government Time after time, these employees have endeavored to secure 1 the opportunity to be heard by the 1 postmaster general through their rep resentatives for the purpose of present. | ing grievances or just causes for com plaint. These pleadings for an oppor- l tunity to be heard have been as vain as they have been frequent.
 7aS HiS EHperisnce
 My own experience with the post master general has been of a similar nature. Acting for the workers I have 1 had a number of conferences with him. in which l have endeavored to induce l him to grant the opportunity to his l employees to be heard through their representatives. These efforts of my own have also been in vain. Always his sympathy has been defined by him to mean that if anyone of the employees had anything to present to him that employ might come and present the case. Under any circumstances such |, course would be unsatisfactory and in- 1 telligent employers nowhere attempt to 1 deceive anyone with that ancient and long since exploded idea Only the most reactionary and brutal employers l still endeavor to deal with the workers as individuals.
 Tn the case of the postoffice de partment, however, where the em- ployes are scattered throughout tn, United States, such an attitude as tha assumed by the postmaster genera becomes not only ridiculous, but an af 1 front and insult to the intelligence c | the men and women in his departmen and to their citizenship of the countr! as well.
 "Mr Burleson's troubles cannot sue
 cessfully be laid by him at the door
 of those whom he may assume ar
 enemies for political purposes only, be
 cause their source is in somethini
 deeper. Mir. Burleson's troubles aris
 from the fact that he has attempte
 with singular zeal to carry out an ar
 chaic, autocratic policy in the conduc
 of the postal telegraph and telephon
 services of the United States. An
 postmaster general who will follow tn
 same policy will inevitably face tn
 same public condemnation. and eventu
 ally walk the same plank MT. Burleso
 must walk sooner or later