Arizona republican., 1921-09-08
GENERAL PERSH|NG
 AND G0MPERS. HAVE
 AFTER-D|NNER TILT
Republican A. p. Leased wIrel

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7.-General Pershing and Samuel Gompers had a tilt last night at dinner given as the conclusion of the exercises here celebrating Lafayette Marne day. At least official Washington regards 1t as a clash over the question of whether labor won the war.
 Mir. Gompers had spoken on the after-dinner program and while he made no claim that labor won the war, he did tell of the record of the American Federation of Labor during the war and declared that previous to the entry of the United States its sympathy was with the cause of the allies.
 General Pershing. however. appar- ently regarded MT. Gompers' re- marks as claim that labor had won the war. Some of those who heard his remarks quote him as hav- ing said substantially:
 "The policies of this republic are not determined by labor unions or by any other organizations, but by the consensus of opinion of its patriotic citizens of whatever affiliations.
 ''I want to say to every American patriot, whether he belongs to some labor organization or is just ap ordi- nary citizen. that it is not a qhestion of labor unions. it is not a question of any organization. it is not ques- ton of whether we belong to some association or not.
 Tt is a question of whether>we are loyal citizens of the United States. I am here to say to you that the mem bers of the labor unions were not the only ones who won the war. It was the citizens who inherited their patriotism from their forefathers who came across in the Mayflower and helped determine and decide the in dependence of America as well as those who have adopted American in stitutions as their own. It seems to be about time for us to rise up and say that America shall be ruled and governed by American citizens and not by organizations which have their own selfish purposes to serve" " The incident, however. did not de- velop into a debate and ended with General Pershing's speech. Later MT. Gompers issued this statement:
 General Pershing is quoted in the | newspapers as having said: Tt was | not labor that won the war. It seems 1 to me it's time for some one to say | II W3Sn lnlS dSSOSidl4OA UT lhal which won the war-it was the loy- alty of all the straightforward Amer 1 ican citizens which brought success | to the allied cause
 Tt is to be presumed that those who read the extract from General Pershing's speech concluded that in my address I had made the claim | that labor won the war.
 "Of course I made no such state ment and much as regret saying so. ! there was no ground for the rather testy remarks of the leader whom we all admire and to whom we all owe a great debt
 With everything else contained in | General Pershing's speech l found myself in full accord. I regret ex- ! ceedingly that he should have made it necessary for me to make this
 statement.
 T have been proud of the record of labor during the war. It is a magnificent record. unsurpassed by I labor anywhere, unequalled by aboI I in any other country. 1 am proud that this record should have been
 made by American labor.
 "I did not say labor won the war I offered no reason and no excuse for what General Pershing had to
 say. I regret, as perhaps he himself Il now does, his lack of tact, his inn propriety. General Pershing is a brave and splendid soldier and l pay him the tribute of saying his general ship on the battlefield is much better
 than his generalship as an after Il dinner speaker