The evening world., 1919-10-24

stself
but labor vas impa dent aud tact
iesA Capital On its part was tuctless
necause II failed really to tell the
Vopforence about the soto inside It's
ehpup and Just what was holding
back assent to the Gompers prin-
oiple si 81
Tor instance, IL the employers
group had said in the conference
what 10 many of It's members said
asterwurd privately the conference
would not hhve dissolved. Practi-
caiiy ali the employers said they had
40 objection to the Gompers resolu-
tion IL II could havo been further de-
itned.
p Had they announced to the confer
-Snce that they approved the principle
with certain Understandings and deh-
nitions as TO It's mode OF application
The responsibility for denying those
nuderstandlngs and definitions would
h3ve been clearly upon the labor
Cf5up
6UssTIoN ooMPERs FAILED TO
AN6WEN.
.sRhe employers on tho other hand
argue that IL was not necessary TO 90
ftgthar because union labor showed
In hand. one Of the questions whioh
Sampa Gompers. President OF the
American Federation of Labor. did
not answer in the conference and has
,not answered yet is that which l. +.
I.oree Of the employers group asked
t,im and which Paul L. Feiss OF The
public group pressed upon him. IL
vas, thB;
- Mr.. Loree-'I want TO Rad from the
proceedings OF the American Fedora
aaOn OF Labor. held at Atlantic City.
n. J.. Juno . 30 "a. 1913. pages 300 and
"a resolution No. 2oi.
. 1T starts out with this proposition
-a'whereas many steel corporations
and other Industrial Institutions have
INSTITUTED in their plnnts systems OF
ehlieotive bargaining akin TO the Rock ,
Hleller plan and ends up with two
4,esolutions--ReSolved that we diaap- |
prove and condemn all such company |
stuions and advise our momberahip TO
;have nothing to do with them. and be |
81 further resolved mat we demand
tho right to bargain collectively |
through the only kind OF organization
fitted for this purpose. the trade
union. and that We stand loyalty to-
iHetheT until this right Is conceded us
Now we are not going 90 bo led
anto the adoption Of any resolution OF
this kind. that does no, set out plainly
ln. ia, tice all the circumstances un-
Der which collective bargaining can
be conducted"
FEIss PRESSES ooMPERs FOR |
REPLY.
To this Mr.. Gompers made no an
swor. SO later Mr.. Felss OF the Public |
Group pursued the inquiry thus:
Il should like TO ask Mr.. Gompers.
Tor the clarifcation OF my own mind. |
81 may. this question, because ! am
very much puzzled by the resolution. |
would like 20 AJAX Mr.. Gompers TO
reconcile what in my mind. are di-
verse statements
I'VE asked you yesterday, Mr..
uompers. In the group meeting.
whether the resolution you then
stood for prevented, in your mind, or
permitted instead, or affected the
formation OF So called shop unions:
and the question OF the twelve points
of tho steel workers demands came
up. and you said then, as you. I bo-
lleve. later said publicly there, that
you do not deny the right TO organ
ize in that fashion, OF that you did
not recall up TO that timo that right |
had ever before been challenged. or
that there had ever been on the part /.
of the American Federation OF La |
,bor n question OF that right In |
volved."
Mr.. Gompers did not reconcile the
swo statements but simply said that
the American Federation OF Labor
was going ito keep tbe right OF per
suadlng and arguing in man fashion.
that these shop organizations shall
be a thing OF the past and that the
bona fide organization OF men ana
women IN LABOR Snah tAhe Nhei'
phases. where men ana women can
express themselves freely and un-
controlled except by their own con
science and judgment"
The impression left ON the confer
ence by Mr.. Gompers was that, while
not saying so specifically. the organ
iEation which he represented would
never recognize any shop union ex-
cent Il affiliated with the American
Federation Of Labor, and would carry
on a programme Of open hostility to-
ward them. thus interfering, from the
viewpoint Of the employers, with the
inside AFFAIRS OF any plant or unit
and preventing individual agreements
between employer and employees in
any establishment.
oo,IPERs STANDS FIRM FOR
TRADE UNIONS.
what Mr., Compers sought was a