The Butte daily bulletin., 1919-06-16
Especial Correspondence.)

movement in the Pac1flC Northwest
as being bolshevik in character, dur
ing today's fight over Gompers' hob
by, the beer question. 1t was the
feature of the third day of this first
after-war convention of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor Their at
tack was repulsed by Duncan and
Birch of Seattle, Strickland of Port
land, and Curly" Grow of Los An
geles, organizer for the Machinists.
Gompers secured a decision in favor
of the pro-beer resolution, on rollcall,
of 26,475 to 4.005, and later the con-
vention voted to adjourn over Sat-
urslay in order that the delegates
might travel to Washington at the
expense of the Brewery Workers. to
protest against wartime prohibition.
But morally Gompers lost the first
round of the annual battle over his
control of the Federation. There was
no protest, but considerable applause
when Grow rebuked Gompers for
having charged the Seattle district
with being under bolsheyik leader
ship.
I'VE on the Pacific coast are as
loyal members of the organized Ia
Dor movement as can be found any
where else, and it i'll becomes any
delegate. here, the chairman or 9TH
ers, to make statements such as the
bitterest of our enemies among the
employers and the kept press are
making against u.s." said Grow. eve
are struggling for better conditions
out there, and it is a constant and
terrific struggle, and we resent such
aspersions as are here being cast
upon us. We want no such charges
made against the organized workers
of any part of the country. Leave
that to Mayor Ole Hanson of Seat
tle.''
Duncan of Seattle had opened the
attack on the Gompers beer policy by
declaring that the convention had
better be discussing the siX-hour day
than daylight-saving and prohibition,
which had been the first topics ad
mitted to debate upon the floor. He
announced that he had resolution,
offered under instructions from the
Seattle Central Labor Council, op-
posing any obstruction to wartime
prohibition. Seattle's labor move
ment had never been so wide-awake
and aggressive and practical, he said,
as since prohibition had "kept the
minds of the workers sober"
I'VE might a few years ago have
agreed with the chairman" Duncan
admitted, "'but after four years of
experience with prohibition we will
no longer fall for the bribe of glass
of beer or a trip to Washington at
the expense of the brewers. 1t is
more important that we take the es-
pionage law from the statute books
than that we try to stand in the way
of dry country. 1t is better to
stand for every atom of prohibition
that we can get. in order that we
shall protect the interests of our
children, and of generations yet un-
born"
N. P. Birch of the Newsboys' un-
ion of Seattle called attention to the
fact that reprint of magazine
article by Gompers, in behalf of beer
was lying on the delegates tables
and that in this article Gompers saiC
that Russia abolished vodka an(
got bolshevism' Birch said that the
northwest abolished booze and go
sober loggers. who proceeded to make
the region safe for the organized la
Dor movement. Their brains were
clear, and they were no longer 81
easy to treat like dogs.
John Frey, defending the resolu
ton suggested that the Seattle labo
movement had been doing thing
that most of us consider very ia
from sane"-a statement greeted b.
loud applause and laughter from TIL
majority.
Gompers insinuated that Seattl
was satisfied with prohibition becaus
liquor was to be had despite the law
Take away the ability of Seattl
,tciH a bn RI
land see what will be the aItitud
then. Today Russian hospitals hav
more chronic alcoholic cases tha
ever before. If we are to judge fror
T. resolutions submitted, then Seattle
proposition is for bolshevism in tn
United States"
Strickland of Portland rejoine
that ''if Russia and Seattle are to b
made to express the idea of bolshev
ism, then, as a delegate from jus
across the river from this bolshevi
Seattle, l want to say: Give us NOR
bolshevism,' because they hav
merely been breaking up the old dis
carded capitalist regime and bring
ing it's scum to the surface, to b
skinned away. Let's get throug
with the process of skimming off tn
scum. Let's throw the bosses gro
behind u.s."
Grow of Los Angeles did not ente
into the fight at this time, but afte
the result of the rollcall on the wet
resolution had been announced, Gro'
arose and made his protest agains
the epithet "bolshevik" being apple
by any delegate to the labor move
ment in Seattle or anywhere else
Gompers replied that he had no
called anyone bolshevik, and ha
cast no aspersions, but that GroN
should read some of the resolution
that had come in.
AS none of the resolutions ha
been printed, this was safe rejoin
der
The atmosphere of the whole in
cident was one of resentment on tn
part of the Pacific coast men that tn
business of organized labor shoul
be subordinated to a futile discus
sion of prohibition, and that at tn
very moment of SO wasting the con
vention's time and energy the oil
guard should lend aid and comfort t