New-York tribune., 1920-05-29
the whole United States over the sub

the whole United States over the sub
ject
I'VE have not forbidden to any man
the right to quit work. We have not
taken away from any man his divine
! right to quit work. We merely have
/ taken away from Mr.. Compers his
divine right to order a man to quit
work. (Cheers and boos.)
"While We were mining there there
came this incident out of the hospital
a beautiful hospital, buided out Of the
/ Subscription 1t was filled with sick
people. 1t was flu weather. More
/ than hale Of the population were union
/ miners, and one day there came to me
! two men who had been mining a small
shaft to provide coal for the hospital,
and they said: Governor, you will have
TO give us some COAL.
81 said, why" They said, we have
been warned not to produce any more
coal. said, Surely, surely, your lead
! ers would not be so mean as to de-
| like this
They said: we have been warned
to produce no more coal and so !
went out to mine near the city where
a group of Kansas University men
were mining coal and got them to mine
some coal for the Pittsburg hospital,
and then two days later these same
lads came to me and said, Governor,
can you haul the coal to us?' | said
'WhyT They said, The truckmen have
gone on sympathetic strike so | had
or else there would have been death
IN that hospital. All, friends, surely
government may do better than that
tor poor people"
The Governor then recounted the
enactment of the much discussed act
by the Kansas Legislature to prevent a
recurrence Of like situation. Both
labor and capital attended the lepis-
!atlve session, he said, labor protesting
mat 1t was "lnvoluntary servitude" and
capltal That 1T was "state socialism. "
NaPltal wanted the law with teeth "all
on the lower jaw" he related, and if
was passed almost unanimouslv With
teeth located on the upper law and on
the lower jaw"
Reviews Other Legislation
Inc Governor reviewed sweeping
labor legislation enacted in Kansas
since 1886 and added
"Thirty-fve or thirtv-six veare oco
When PRESIDENT GomDers took charge
OF organized labor, it was not so intri
cate a machinery with which he had to
dea!' but to-day, through the farfung
avenues of distribution and production
ana transportation. we have become in
tefdependent, and no one unit of nro-
ductlon or transportation NAV cease TO
function without throwing The entire
machinery out of gear.
ne president of that district tells
| us that we have taken away from labor
inc: inc only weapon it had in it's right to
strike. contend that it is an ade-
/ quate answer to say to him that we
have given him in every honorable con-
troversy the more reliable weapon OF
the state government. How does he use
the weapon? Why, down in that dis
trlct, for the three years that ended
! with the beginning of the operation of
/ the Kansas law, there were 407 sep
arate strikes, an average of fifteen
strikes month, and these fifteen
strikes month had meant to the min
erS-these 4O7 strikes-in monetary
victories just $870,54. And they had
cost the miners in wages out of their
pockets $3,700,000 And they had est
the miners out OF their dues last wear
alone $4,000 to maintain their strike
bureau. And surely, surely, just GOV
ernment may do better than this.
society IN Kansas is stratified, ac-
cording to the following percentages:
At the top possibly y per cent Of
employing capital, an organization
builded for war, having no soul, con
cerned with profits. At the bottom 81
per cent, representing organized
labor, builded to meet the war ma
chine. In the center is 81 por ccnt.
| representing US good natured, pro-
/ toplasmlc mass. having no power save
( the good-natured power of passive re
/ sistancc.
"And now we are criticized because
we say in behalf of these, the sub
merged ninc-tenths, that they shall
have protection.
"Mr; Gompers within the last three
days has issued a ukasc calling upon
assemble themselves around the po
/ lucal effort to see that no man goes
/ 10 Congress who is not in favor of his
/ program. DO we want that? Do we
want shackled, bridled Congress ?
All, let me tell you The political
/ party in the forthcoming campaign
| that has not the constructive courage
/ to stand out and pledge to the public
/ protection against the wrongs and
( terror of industrial warfare will travel
down the pathway of cowardice to de
feat"
After Governor Allen concluded his
presentation Mr.. Gompers took the
stage for 80 minutes. The arrange
ment required that he be followed bv
his opponent for 80 minutes, after
which Gompers had 10 minutes, Gov
ernor Allen Is and Mr.. Gompers, IN con
cludlng, minutes. Mr.. Gompers re-
sumed
The Governor says that he wants
to take from me, from Gompers, the
divine right of ordering strikes. 1t
reminds me of man who has been
/ told a story utterly ridiculous, but to
+ his bland mind it seemed simply to
be the truth and he ran away and be-
lieyed it.
at may be interesting news to the
/ Governor to know that in all my life l
/ have never ordered strike OF two
/ men, more or less-never, never-and
challenge him or any one else who
will give his name to assert the con-
trary"
,"Who then ordered the strike %
asked some one.
GO home and find out! Take your
/ SPECIAL train back to Kansas" replied
/ Mr.. Gompers.
The Governor has given an inustra
ton here, and he has said that several
tunes, about the law with its lower Jaw
and teeth, and the upper Jaw and
, teeth; you heard that, did you not 81"
You know the lower jaw is that up
on which the pressure is made The
lower jaw moves. The upper Jaw is
typical of those who have power and
81 ,,,ra. ~