Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-12-18
DEATH Of GOMPERs
MEANS CRISIS FOR
AMERICAN LABOR
BY DAVID LAWRENCE

policies of Samuel Gompers live after
him?
American Iabor's answer to that
question does not depend so much on
who is chosen 'as president of the
American Federation, but upon the
circumstances both political and eco
nomic which in the last four years
weighed so heavily on the veteran
leader who is lying in state in Wash
ington today.
Few people know the inside poll
tics of the American Federation of
Labor, its clash of viewpoints be-
tween moderates and extremists, and
few people know that it was by sheer
force Of personality that Samuel
Gompers restrained his own lieuten-
ants. Ever since the war the Com
pers policy has been one Of proven
ton, and when the federation IN
dorsed La Toilette, it was Gompers
who thought that very act would find
its own remedy. He was against the
organization of a labor party in poll
tics, though he was being constantly
pressed from within to join with the
railroad brotherhoods in an effort to
WELD the maximum political lnIlu-
ence. -
In recent years, Mr.. Gompers
found the brotherhoods a powerful
ally, but a somewhat veXatlous one,
because the policit; of the two
groups frequently were opposite.
Samuel Gompers, however, felt more
the need of presenting a united front
for labor than to reconcile even fun
.damental differences between the
brotherhoods and the Ame..-an Fed
Grafton of Labor.
The problem that now comes up
NAV affect the entire labor situation
for years to come. Will this cone
siye power be held together or will
the labor groups be divided and even
work against each other? Capital
would profit by such a situation even
as labor would lose. Yet the cur.
rents Of dissension are strong, ana
only a Gompers can. keep labor
united. Even a Gompers, however,
has to have a favorable atmosphere.
The last year saw the Gompers
policy of harmony tried to the ut
reost. For the sake of harmony in
side the ranks, he agreed to permit
the American Federation of Labor to
indorse the La Toilette candidacy.
He had the cunning Of a practical
politician, and even those who Bit
terlv criticized his occasional waVer-
ings Ind even reversals knew that
with Gompers the end justified the
means and that he usually was vim
dicated
For many years as Gompers has
been advancing toward the end o.
his career, the leaders of the labor
movement have been discussing
what would happen when he left. 1t
has not been unlike the discussion
oe twenty years ago as to what
would happen to the loosely con-
structed Austro- Hungarian MON
archy when Franz Joseph died. Pre-
Glctions have been made that the
American Federation of Labor would
split off into two groups-the con-
NATIVES and radicals. There is no
doubt that within the federation
there is already such a sharp di-
vision, but it was the Gompers policy
to yield q point here and there to
the radicals and thus keep labor's
power unimpaired.
Will his successor be able to do
it even if he follows the same
policy?
Test Not Imminent
The test may not come at once.
for just now there is no eXtraordi-
nary period Of prosperity or infla-
ton. Unemployment is not alto
gether removed as factor and i'm
migration restriction is not yet &C.
complishing all that labor set out to
achieve. The real troubles usually
occur in time of initiation and
shortage Of labor when higher and
higher wages are demanded
Politically, Samuel Gompers lean
ed toward the Democratic party.
He was a powerful influence in the
Wilson administrations, an eXpe-
rlence, however, which tended to
make him even more conservative
than before, for he was often given
the responsibility for the settling Of
a troublesome situation, something
that put him on the defensive. But
Samuel Gompers was not able to de-
liver the labor vote in elections
Nalliantly as he tried. His was a rule
over labor leaders and not the rank
and file. though he had thousands
of admirers in the local unions from
coast to coast.
He had knack with the leaders
tie showed them often how thew
= could retain power. He taught them
labor politics. 1t was to his inter.
est to do so, The longer the chief.
talns stayed on the job, the Stronger
was the p litical organization work
ing FOR Gompers inside the American
Federation of Labor.
Critical Point for Labor
They were proud, too, of the posi-.
tlon ne won in the public eye, the
1orcetulness of his public statements
ana ms Keen understanding Of the
changing currents Of public opinion.
When some of the employees of the
Washington navy yards. for OK.
ample, impIored him to act in their
behalf and keep labor from. mixing
up in the movement to reduce arma.
ments, Gompers was not dissuaded
but gave his hearty support to the
proposals of President Harding. and
even agreed to sit as a member of
the advisory commission. He felt
that labor which had always argued
for world peace could not be incon-
Slstent, and that in the long run Ia
Dor would benefit through the eX-
panded commerce and shipping of
peace time prosperity. Questions
like these conflicts between admins.
tration policy and labors detectives
frequently happen, there. is always a
straining at the leash on the part
of the radicals.
Gompers has some. VIII his phi
losophy and policy be adopted by la
Dor leaders, or will they begin the
inevitable quarreling which charac-
terizeS minority groups? The death
of Gompers is not merely the pass.
Ing of an individual. 1t is p critical
point in the labor history of America.