Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1921-03-25
CHARGES OF
GOMPERS ARE
UNFOUNDED
No Compromise Between
A. F. of 1. and lnterna-
tionaI Federation
BY Laurence Todd

Federated Press STAFF Correspondent
Washington washington Bureau.t
Careful reading of the text of Sam
uel Gompers' letter to the Information.
al Federation of Trade Unions at Am.
sterdam, refusing on behalf of the
American Federation of Labor to af.
filiate with the 100000 members in
the Amsterdam international, dis.
closes the fact that Mr. Gompers
charges these workers with seeking
to overthrow the government of the
United States. And he charges them
with revolutionary radicalism because
they favor government ownership and
democratic operation of the Industries
"a principle approved by the Mon
treal convention of the A. +. of l.. last
June by 20. 900 to 5000 votes!
How seriously these charges or i'm.
plications are set forth Is shown by
the letter:
THE executive officers OF the Inter
national Federation of Trade Unions
have adopted and promulgated pol
icy calling for revolutionary action
with the specialization OF industry as
It's objective. The American Fedora
tion of Labor Is opposed to that pol
icy and there can be no compromise
between the two points of view"
Il. c. Dawson, general secretary
treasurer Of the International Associ-
alton of Machinists, said of Gompers'
assertion: This is very strange In
deed, when the vote of the delegates
at the last A. +. of L. convention was
SO overwhelmingly for the socializa.
tion of the railroad industry. We sup
posed we were simply using horse
sense, and we knew we were not rev.
olutionary. The officers OF the A. +.
of l.. are under instructions from the
Montreal convention to work for so.
cialization of the railroad .industry.
How. then. can they say that the Fed
Grafton itself is opposed to socializa-
tion?"
In his letter Mr.. Gompers says: THE
revolutionary viewpoint which gained
control OF the executive machinery of
the International Federation of Trade
Unions found It's extreme manifesto
ton In an appeal for revolutionary
measures in aid of the Soviets, issued
on September 8. 1919, and which has
been neither repudiated, modified nor
abandoned. In this appeal there oc-
Cured the following language:
1.-The International calls upon all
national trade union centers to pre-
pare, II necessary, for mass action by
means of general strike against
war;. The production of war mate
rails must cease In all countries. >"
Summing up his judgment upon this
Revolutionary" body Of the organized
labor of western Europe, Mr. Gompers
declares:
I'VE must decline to be party of
a movement which undertakes the de-
struction of the American labor move
ment or the overthrow of the demo.
cratic government of the United
States"
His point is that II the International
will give the A. f. of l.. free rein to
openly resist everything for which
European labor stands, In the class
struggle toward equal opportunity, the
A. +. of l.. may agree to affiliate. but
he will not join If the majority is to
rule.
The question raised by his final crit
icism is: Did the A. F. of L., by its
railroad resolution In the Montreal
convention, seek to commit suicide?
And from what legal point outside the
authority of the convention does the
president OF the Federation denounce
the decision of the Federation as to
socializing the railroads? And would
the success of the specialization pro
gram begun at the Montreal conven.
tion overthrow the democratic gov
eminent of the United States?
Dawson of the Machinists recently
sent letter to the Butler (Pa.) Cen
trail Labor body, stating that despite
the personal views of certain A. F. of
L. officials, the Machinists' interna-
tional organization Is and will remain
a part of the International Federation
movement. through its own utilization
with the international Federation of
Metal Workers, OF which the so-called
revolutionary workers in Italy and
France and Britain and Germany are
members.