The Connecticut labor press., 1920-02-28
ORNBURN'S REPORT TO TRADES COUNCIL
 SHOWS BIG YEAR
Financial Condition Prosperous and Many New Organiza-
 tions In.
BUILDING BILLS CLEAR
Recommendations for Coming Year Point Way to V
 More Progress.


 The report of President l. M. Orn- burn to the Trades Council, read at the l last meeting, is as follows:
 To the Officers and Members of the l New Haven Trades Council: l I beg leave to submit a summary of l the accomplishments of the officers and
 members of the Council during the fiscal | year ending December 31st, 1919.
 Financial Condition.
 I doubt if there are any of the dele gates assembled here this evening, who 1 were members of the Council at the time l the decision was made to seek new l quarters from the one then occupied on Chapel street would believe in less than | two and one-half years the Council would have been in financial condition to pay off all indebtedness incurred, in establishing the present quarters at 215 Meadow street, but I am pleased to re- port that this has been accomplished and the labor movement in New Haven IS now in a fair way to secure a Labor Temple, which would have sufficient floor space to accommodate all of the 60 or more local unions chartered in our city, However, this matter will be dealt with more specifically in detail by the financial secretary.
 Affiliation.
 During the year 1919 many new or ganizations have affiliated with the Council, most of them local unions of the railroad crafts, due to Sshe untiring work of a special committee appointed for that purpose, of which Delegate Mann of the Boilermakers was chair man. have suspected that the railroad crafts have felt in the. past that they were neither wanted or needed i'll the Council, but if that sentiment did pre- vail among these organized workers It was d wrong conception. The Building Trades, the Metal Trades, Label Trades and the Miscellaneous Trades need the cooperation of these organized work CTS who represent the Railroad Trades, and to know that they are now part of the Trades Council and working in harmony with the remainder of the or ganized workers i'll our city Is pleasure indeed and source of considerable irn- portance to the general labor movement.
 Mooney Case.
 The delegates to the Council will re- call that in January, 1919, the Council selected me to represent said organiza- ton at a convention held in the city of Chicago, under the auspices of the In ternationa1 Workers Defense League. After returning from this convention. 1 submitted report expressing my be- lief III the movement, in which the dele gates to this convention had in mind at that particular time and recommended to the affiliated local unions that no further contributions be forwarded to the In- ternational Workers Defense League, as I was fully confident from the proceed of contributed for that purpose by the local unions in the American Federation of Labor intending that this money should go for the purpose of securing a new, fair and just trial for Thomas Mooney, of whom every member of organized labor feels was unjust1y sentenced by. the courts of California, but the men in charge of this movement used the Mooney case as secondary cons1d- eration accepted the contributions of the legitimate trades union movement and used it for propaganda purposes to destroy the American Federation of Labor and all the subordinate interna-. tiona1 and local unions and established in it's stead One Big Union movement At the time of submitting of this re- port, no small number of labor men in the state of Connecticut, felt that through my report, gross injustice was done to Thomas Mooney, but since that time the American Federation of Labor in convention assembled i'll Atlantic City. confirmed my report and the first of December, 1919, the following letter was received by me:
 Washington State Federation
 of Labor,
 Seattle, Wash, October 24, 1o19. "To All Affiliated Local Unions, Central
 Labor and Metal Trades Councils.
 Greeting: The Central Labor Coun- Gil of Seattle, under whose auspices the affairs of the Mooney defense for the northwest has been conducted, at its regular meeting, Wednesday, October l5th discharged all committees 1n con- nection herewith, and ordered them to discontinue any further activities Or collection of funds.
 Despite this official order of the Seattle Council, which possessed full authority III the premises, former mem bers of this committee are continuing their activities, and are obtaining money from local unions and individual mem- bers of organized labor under false pretences. This betrayal of the trust reposed in them by the labor movement of Seattle, on the part of some of the members of the Mooney committee, IS not wholly unexpected. The failure to secure any material benelt for the cause of a new trial for Thomas J. Mooney i'll fact, the serious injury done this just cause-is almost entirely due to their activities.
 The cause of Mooney was subor- ! dinated to campaign of disruption of l the American Federation of Labor, of lying, s1anderous attacks on the officials l of the movement generally, and to spreading propaganda inimlcal to the best interests of our movement. Since the action of the Seattle Council of l October Is, in dismissing them, more l vicious campaign than ever has been ! launched by them. Charges that Jimmie | Duncan, secretary of Sthe council, had sold out; that the Union Record had 1 sold out; and many other equally vicious l and preposterous statements, are now | being made by them Proof of such | statements being made by them has been 1 furnished this office.
 "The following official figures of l funds collected and expended by this l committee should prove interesting to l the rank and file of our movement: Total amount collected. $9,673.07 for salaries, ex-
 penses and office supplies. =. 6,23o.34 Miscellaneous expenses for
 printing, etc. ....... ....... Z,o5z.oo Total expenses incurred by
 committee ................ S,SIA.Io
 Balance on hand. s8oo.87
 sIt should be noted that not dollar