The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-14
Mckinley, Roosevelt, Taft Wilson And Harding
 Consulted Him
(By Associated Press.)

the American Federation of Labor, which he saw grow from coterle or small locals to national organizatlon with l membership of more than 3,OOo,- GOO. spent several of the later years or his life in fighting autocracy abroad and radicalism organized labor at home. In career filled with persistent and vigorous efforts from his 15th year ito improve the conditions of workers" MT. Gompers became q unique figure Ill American public life. By the force of his eloUuence and patriotism he won over the solid support of the American Fed eration of Labor for the United States government when it entered the war. The conflict ended, he went to Paris where he helped to organize the Inter national Labor Congress. Five of its tenets were incorporated in the peace treary. They were: 1 labor is not a mmodity; an international S.hour day; 5 standard and adequate living wage; i equal pay for men and women for equal work: 3 prohibition Of child labor.
 On June %, 1921, Mir. Gompers was elected president of the American Fed eration of Labor for the fortleth time, defeating John l.. Lewis, head of the United Mine workers, by vote of 25.O22 to 12,324.
 Outspoken in his views on public questions, MT. Gompers made many bit ter critics as well as Stanch supporters. He charged German labor with having helped prccipitate the world struggle blamed prohibition for causing unrest in the United States. urged labor union of the two Americas, denounced a United States senatorial investigation of Mexico as "Prussianism," supported the League of'Nations. indorsed De Valera and ''recognized' the Irish Republic assailed the open shop platform of the United States chamber of commerce, de manded that Asiatics be kept out of tho United States. pleaded for the release of all political and wartime prisoners including Debs, opposed the establish ment by the Washington administration of a department of welfare, praised President Harding's world disarmament efforts and approved America's plan tC aid famine-strucken Russia.
 Friend Of Presidents
 Gompers was the personal friend o five American Presidents, Mckinley Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson and Harding He was often called into consultation with them. Settlement of number O. industrial disputes that threatened tC or did reach nationwide proportion! was attributed to his wise leadership
 his conservatism and the trust repose( ill him by the rank and file of Amer ican labor. IIa was staunch advocat, of democracy.
 The worldwide unrest which followed IrhA V,xI,,e, z not spare American industry. Bolshe vism early lifted its head Explaining its menace, he said: "Therc has alway
 been radical element in the labo
 movement that has tried to destroy tn, very forces which have protected it al
 these years. It is this element whicl makes it so hard for organized labor t make it's demands effective. These Amer ican Bolsheviki have earned for labo
 countless enemies and have represented us in an unfavorable light" Six months
 after these words were spoken, of nor, than 300 strikes in various parts of tn,
 United States, it was reported that onIy 62 were "authorized' by the American
 Federation of Labor.
 ultimately" sair Mir. Gompers Ii
 the same interview, ''the toilers will SC
 that there is nothing in the false doc
 trines of Bolshevism. I have no idle
 who is supplying the radicals with tn
 money to carry on their propaganda
 But there have always been certai enemies to labor who are eager to us any means to weaken ou rorganiza tion."
 In the National Industrial conferenc of representatives of labor, capital an the public, which opened at Washing ton on October 6, 1919 at the call c President Wilson to find remedy fo industrial strife, Mir. Gompers took prominent part. Previously he had al tended world labor parleys in LOndar Paris and Amsterdam.
 Before the United States entered tn conflict, he combatted enemy influence active among the nations workers ant by refusing to send delegates to peaC conferences ill Sweden and Switzerland
 kept American labor free from CT tanging negotiations with pacifist ol ganizations in countries which later b' came enemies of the United States More than year before America too up arms, Mrk Gompers pledged ol
 ganized labor to support of nationa preparedness.
 When the resumption of unrestricte submarine warfare by Germany earl in 1917, brought the United States the verge of war, Mir. Gompers cable the head of the German Federation ( Trade Unions, urging that he use hi ! influence to prevail upon his goyerl ' ment to avoid break with America. Three days after the United State declared war on Germany, he al