Evening star., 1924-12-22

nineteenth century and the first 90
years Of the twentieth could be
complete If 1t did not give a conspicu-
Gus place to the venerable man whom
organized labor and the whole nation
mourn" The life of Gompers, the De-
troit News believes, is an epitome
of social era. Labor picked itself
out of the gutter. exchanged it's rags
for the garments of self-respect and
advanced with steady stride toward
the council chamber. Gompers was
the agent of history; he II was to
whom came the mandate and the toll
and the reward Of just fame"
I'm appraising the career Of Mr..
Gompers." says the San Francisco
Bulletin, there must be considered
what might have followed IL the hard
ship of the labor movement OF recent
years had been in hands less wise in
judgment, less discreet in action.
Moved by this reflection. labor and
capital today may meet in common
sentiment of respect over the bier of
Samuel Gompers." 1t was character
istic OF Mr.. Gompers. thinks the
Seattle Times, that with almost his
last breath he invoked q blessing on
Americas Institutions" The president
Of the American Federation of Labor,
in the opinion of the New Orleans
Item. like many very active men of
affairs who live long. lived to be out
run by tendencies he helped to set"
He was really a conservative when he
died. continues the Item. when meas
ured by our present standards, and
was lighting against the extremism
that he once personif1ed himself. for
the capitalism and industrialism that
, once berated him for it"
y 4 II y
''Samuei Gompers was called hard
names In his ttme," reflects the
Columbus Ohio State Journal. 'he went
to extremes sometimes In his class
consciousness, as in his advocacy of
the principle of the closed shop and his
defiance of the courts. But so, too,
have the capitalistic leaders and their
partisans In places of power in the
governmental system gone to extremes.
There are warped views on both sides
Of the old controversy"
The Richmond News Leader calls
Gompers an opportunist- It says:
Samuel Gompers' place in labor his
tory depends entirely on the answer
to the question whether opportunism
was or was not the best policy organ
ICED American workers could have
followed during his long presidency"
But, the News Leader concludes.
cS 40 ~ oC Al s1Ao
Pantheon; Gompers' is In the pay en-
yelope of every American worker"
{ Former Gov. Henry Aliens Wichita
Beacon tells Of the debate between
Gov, Allen and Gompers in New York
In 1920. It says: He (Gompers)
failed to answer the crucial question
that was put to him. The question
was as to whether the public has any
rights when labor and capital are at
war. In fact. Mr.. Gompers never did
answer. the question. Within, the
grooves of his philosophy the ques-
tion was Sunanswerable. 1t was a
product of a new age which he did
not fully understand" But, the Bea-
CON concludes, "Whatsver one may
think Of the rightness or wrongness
of Samuel Gompers' Industrial phi
losophy, cne must grant him the un-
reserved tribute that he was a re-
markable leader of nen--a man who
retained the affection and respect OF
his followers in a duration that was
amazing to men who are versed in
the vicissitudes OF Rrganization.''
WherA the 1edsEa&sA leader mads