The Connecticut labor press., 1920-06-05
GOMPERS-ALLEN
 IN WARM TILT ON
 INDUSTRIAL COURT
Debate in New York Proves Mighty Interesting to
 Vast Crowd.
GOVERNOR SOME PEEVED
Takes Several Filings at Labor Leader in Defending His
 Pet Law.

Sam Gompers and Governor Allen of Kansas had a merry time together at Carnegie Hall i'll New York last Friday night but the audience and the news paper comment that followed the meet ing agree that Sam had the better time for from the outset of the debate that brought the two together on the Kan sas Industrial Court Law, the A. F. of L., leader had the governor on the de-
 fensive with his bill. When it was over Governor Allen declared he believed he had the best of the argument to which Mir. Gompers replied that if Allen was satisfied to feel that way, why all right, let him.
 Carnegie Hall seldom held bigger crowd and both speakers were given hearty greetings when they appeared. organist played "There'l1 Be Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight when the speakers took the platform and in truth there was and the audience en- joyed every minute of it.
 Mr. Gompers was the first speaker and laid down a few fundamental prin- cipals of unionism, through an aide, Mrs. Sarah Conboy, who read the fol- lowing statement:
 "The fact that the voluntary organ izations of the wage wor-zers are de- clared by the courts to be trusts and combinations in illegal restraint of trade does not necessarily so constitute them. In. fact, the unions of workers are not such None of their achievements in behalf of the toilers or society at large
 can be confused with the selfish and
 pernicious activities of the illegal trusts. "The difference between "a slave and | free man." said Mr. Gompers, ''is l that the slave must work when his | master or owner directs and wills The | free man may stop his work, and what ever consequences of suffering that may l be involved is his suffering and the suffering of no one else The right of | free man to dispose of<himself, of his labor and his labor power has been set l forth in a supreme court decision-an opinion read by the then associate jus I tice Of the supreme court, MT. Hughes in which the principle 1s-~set forth clearly that no man is free, that invol- | untary servitude exists when man
 must work against h+s will"
 There Is one thing about the tabor | question which is automatic" Mr. Com
 pers said. That is: If you attempt to OulidW SlIIkGS Dy QGponQ upon 1t your law will be futile and
 you will simply make criminals and law breakers of workmen who are honest, patriotic citizens. There is but one ground upon which any justification
 may be assumed to tie men to their jobs
 and makes strikes unlawful that is the
 concession that our republican 1nstitu- l tlons and our democracy have ceased" Governor Allen lost no time in going to the defense of his pet law and inn mediately after the debate left for
 Washington where he spoke before a
 Senate committee favoring nation ] wide bill of like character. He review
 ed the labor troubles in Kansas last winter, but said nothing about that even
 while he was speaking big strike was
 going on in Kansas in drect violation of
 his panacea anti-strilse law. "We have | not forbidden any iran his right to quit
 work said Governor Allen, I've have
 only taken away from Mr. Gompers his
 divine right to order man to quit work"
 He then referred to statements
 alleged to have been made by union | leaders in the past, including MT. Com
 pers, that If you take away the right
 to strike, we will find some other way"
 Before the debate ceases tonight" :" he said, "I imp1ore Mir. Gompers in be half of the country that is awaiting to know, what other way he has in mind"
 Governor Allen outlined. in detail the organization and operation of the in | dustrial court system in effect III Kan sas. He denied that the Kansas law de- nied the workmen the privilege of col lective bargaining. He said it gave the
 miners that right whether they were 0f1 the sanctity of their contract.
 Governor Allen then assai1ed Mr.
 Gompers' political activities and con- cluded his direct argument by asking
 MT. Gompers to define "who had the
 divine right to forbid the switchmen to strike in their outlaw strike; who controls this divine right to quit work ?" MT. Gompers, speaking in rebutta1, said: The governor says that he
 wants to take from me, from Gompers
 the divine right of ordering strikes It
 may be interesting news to the gov
 ernors to know that fn all my life
 have never ordered a strike-and | challenge him or anyone else who will
 give his name to assert the contrary Somebody in the audience shouted : and find out Take your special train back to Kansas" Mr. Gompers retorted,
 amid shouts of laughter from the audi ence.
 Governor Allen, in rebutta1, went into | details of the Kansas coal strike, saying | that Gompers had not said anything l of the man who does not want to go out on strike.
 '.He has said nothing of that funda-
 mental provision in union labor for the
 compulsory organization of labor, not a
 word, and yet it stands out as a great
 operative principle in ii" he declared. My friends, if there is going to be
 any compu1sion in this country of one
 man over aonther, then in Gods name
 let us have that compu1sion directed | by government"
 Governor Allen declared the day is coming when ''the doctrine we pre-
 sented in Kansas will come to be ac-
 cepted as the broad and just and i'm
 partial remedy for the compulsion of
 unionism. 1 would not seek to wipe
 out unionism. I would seek only to place it under less radical direction" -