The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-06-07
Labor Men Meet In Their
 Annual Big Convention
American Federation of Labor In Session at Montreal Discuss Many Topics of Interest to Labor-Denounce
 Bolshevisn, Profteers and High Cost of Living

Montreal, Que, June 7-Denuncia- ton of Bolshevism, profiteertng. the action of the United States govern nent in invoking the food control law against the late miners strike, and the failure of the American Congress to take action to control the cost Of living are among the outstanding fea- lures of the annual report of the Elk ecutive Council of the American Fed eration of Labor presented today to the annual convention here.
 With the counciPh review of orga- uized labor's position and activities for the last year, was also presented "a specific program for remedy"
 The Cummings railroad law was denounced. as was the Kansas law establishing the court of industrial re- lations. The high cost of living was laid. largely the door of 'big prof iteers' while the report declared the United States government, principally through the department of Justice. 'has conducted a campaign of stu ptdity."
 Congress was assai1ed for cutting appropriations designed to carry on the work of the collateral branches Of the Department of Labor and for va rious proposals. such as the sedition bill, which the report says the labor movement was instrumental in de- feating.
 In it's reference to the foreign field, the report denounced what it charac- terized as propaganda for American intervention in Mexico and declared the executive council sees mo justi- fication for interference" which it argues would be in the interest "of it's boundless wealth of oil and min erals.'
 The United States Steel Corporation was assailed for it's refusal to deal with labor organizations in the recent unsuccessful strike, and the authort- ties of Boston also were denounced for their attitude in the celebrated strike of policemen in that city.
 The workmen of Canada were con- graduated for defeating "the one big union' idea and their stand was char acterized as " magnificent triumph for trade unionism, and a vindication of the purposes, policies and achieve ments of the American Federation of Labor"
 The industrial conferences called by President Wilson were characterized as unsuccessful because ':the employ CTS stubbornly resisted every attempt at conciliation" and would not accept any resolution on collective bargain ing 'unless it was so worded as to be anti-trade union in spirit and to pro- vide encouragement and support for company unions" The machinery proposed by the second conference, the report attacks, as in many respects "actua1ly pernicious" and it declares that ''the machinery designed by the presidents commission is entirely out of contact with the life for which it was designed and entirely unfitted for the needs of that life.''
 Existing machinery the report de- c1ares lis superior in every respect"
 As a program of specific remedy" for existing conditions the councils report proposes the following:
 we demand that the government be authorized to buy standard com modities direct from producers and that these commodities be distributed through regular retail channels at a retail price to be fixed by the gov ernment.
 ''we demand that this power be made use of as corrective for prof. iteering and we call attention to the fact that the government has estab. lished a precedent for such action ir its sales of surplus war supplies.
 we demand that the federal gov ernment through the Internal Reve- nue Department ascertain the amour of excessive war profits extorted iron the American people during the year 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1920. ant that these excessive war profits b. taken through it's taxing power by tn federal government and applied to tn extinguishment of the floating debt o the government and to the partial re tirement of liberty bonds at par il order that the existing inflated struc ture of currency and credit may b nj ', may carry out it's sacred obligation t the people to maintain it's liberty an victory bonds at paH.
 'Co-operation should be encourae ed as an effective means of curbin profiteertng. To stimulate rapid de valopment of co-opera tives the fedora farm loan act shou11 be extended s as to give credit to all properly orga nized co-operatives, just as credit now given to individual farmers. Ce operation is no less vital and worth of support than are the railroad d which were given hundreds of million of dollars and an area of land equal t New England to facilitate their e tablishment. There should be leg. enactment to protect co-operativ, against discrimination by manufa, turers and wholesalers.
 ''Contro1 of credit capital by tho. whose chief interest is the cumul; ton of profits results inevitably
 the open door for profiteering N repeat and emphasize the demand organized labor that control of cred be taken from the hands of priva financiers and placed in the hands "a a public agency to be administer by voluntary and cooperative met
 ods.
 we urge that the U. S. Departure
 of Labor compile and issue month statements of thescost of manufactu
 of those staple articles which form Il
 basis of calculation in fixing the co
 of living.
 ''As means of aiding these al
 other anti-profiteering measures t.
 federal government should be authc
 ized to establish permanent boar
 for the prompt investigation of pro
 its and prices. All income and oth
 tax returns should be available f
 inspection.
 We do not demand, nor do we d
 sire, a precipitate collapse in prio generally, for in such a collapse the