Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-05-25
BY WILLIAM G. ROBERTS.


"An official History of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor" the most
remarkable labor book ever printed,
is on the presses and will be ready
soon for distribution. 1t will con-
tain $50 pages of 1000 words each.
Every important act of the trade
union movement in the life of the
federation is recorded in the lam
guage of the resolutions adopted and
the speeches made by the delegates
to the conventions.
Each subject is carried through
the SO years since the federation was
organizer and appears in the book
in encyclopedia form. The historical
introduction points out the marvel
Gus growth of the trade union move
ment, its hopes and its aspirations.
The trade union movement is for
the benefit of not only its members
but for the betterment of the stand
ard of living of all the people. This
is emphasized in the foreword, which
declares:
1.-THE trade unions are the only Or
CARNATIONS on earth that have as
their true mission the betterment of
the economic condition of all the
people. No one has ever come for
ward with even a suggestion of a
plan for human advancement that
can take the place of trade union
activity"
The first principle of the labor
movement is to gain higher wages
and a shorter workday, which are de-
clared to be "the preliminary steps
toward great and accompanying i'm
provement in the condition of the
working people" 1t has persistently
demanded compulsory education and
the elimination of child labor. Every
Improvement that would benefit the
home has been supported, if not
originated, in its ranks.
Throughout the entire work the
reader can feel the wonderful per-
sonality of Samuel Gompers. For
more than half a century he has
made the advancement of humanity
his sole aim. Those who know him
believe that every atom OF his brain
and body is instilled with trade
unionism; that his one thought is
for the cause he so long has upheld.
THAT this is true can be best shown
by quoting his own idea of the
movement:
Gompers Describes Movement.
"This labor movement has laid
hold of the hearts of men and wom-
en-. 1t is a symbol of those things
that are best in life. 1t is real
living thing which the toilers love
and cherish. And the soul of the
movement is the hearts and lives
of those who have built themselves
into it by sacrifice and toll"
No one can read the book without
believing that trade union activity,
the economic power of labor, is re-
sponsible for the present improved
condition of the masses of our peo-
pie. Political labor parties have been
Stunned. Those who have sought
to divert the labor movement into
partisan labor party left nothing un-
done to accomplish their purpose,
But always failed. Gompers. with
his able followers, always defeated
these attempts to change the policy
o fthe American labor movement
to that followed in England. And
during the past few months the
American policies have proved to be
right, as the rank and file of British
labor have appropriated them and
are winning successes.
Politics Absorbed Energy.
In that country for many years
political labor party has absorbed
all the energy of the rank and file of
labor to the sacrifice of their econo-
mic advancement. Trade union &C
tivity was suppressed. The entire
strength of the unions was used to
place few labor leaders" in parlia-
ment. After they got there that was
the end of their activity in the in
terest of the rank and file. The
workingman continued to toll long
for low wages. They
lived in plasterless houses in con-
gested districts. Their lot continued
to grow worse instead OF better. In
fact. this was emphasized by Robert
Smile, president of the Federation
Of Miners of Great Britain, who, in
an address to the Rochester con-
vention of the federation in 1914,
made this amazing confession:
1t is not true that the workers in
Great Britain are securing anything
like fair proportion of the in