The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-10-07

know whether they are entitled
to any comfort from this
source.
No doubt it is because the A. F.
OF l.. regime, as represented in its
executive council, is fully aware Of
the growing strength OF the Commun-
lists. and their continued success in
reaching new masses Of workers, that
a big section of its annual report to
the annual convention appears under
the heading, Warning Against Com
munist Activities"
Manufacture New Slogan
The slogan of this latest broadside
against the militants in the trade
unions constitutes the tail end Of the
chapter. 1t is, Caution Saves Serious
Mistakes!"
Yet this latest alarum against the
Communist is merely a repetition of
the form letter issued recently by
the Chicago Federation of Labor,
which sought to brighten the workers
into hostility against such recognized
and accepted organizations as the In
ternational Labor Defense Council,
the American Negro Labor Congress,
the Irish Workers and Peasants
Famine Relief Committee, the Inter
national Workers Aid and the Work
.-ers (Communist) Party.
Sample of the A. 2. Of L. Hysteria
The kind of stun that goes over
among the delegates attending A. F.
of L. conventions may well be judged
by the conclusions offered, in refer
ring to the above organizations, as
follows:
These choices of field activity are
indicative of the methods of the Com
munists. They seek out sthose races
and groups with grievances and
foster discomfort in the hope Of in
citing uprisings and riots"
These sentences brought smiles to
the faces of some of the fraternal
delegates from foreign countries, not
ably Great Britain and Germany.
Then followed the usual stereo-
typed list of agencies thru which the
Communists are charged with carry
ing on their propaganda, concluding
with THE DAILY WORKER, a daily
newspaper" while the volume of
fairy stories published by the DAILY
WORKER Publishing company also
receives attention.
The report solemnly declared, I'VE
warn all trade unions, against the
above activities and publications"
$s,146.52 for compers' Funeral
1t was six years ago that the Am
erican Federation of Labor last met
at Atlantic City, the year after the
war. and this fact is given notice in
the first paragraph Of the report. The
death of Sam Gompers is held to be
the crucial event In the history of
the A. F. of L. during the past year
In the financial report the Funeral
Expenses of President Gompers" are
put down as SS,146.52 while an added
item under expenses is Estate of
Samuel GOmpers, S1,274.Os."
Another interesting item under
finances is the revelation that s40,.
100000 of the funds Of the A. f. of
L. are invested in Liberty Bonds" Of
the United States government, with
S15,000.O0 similarly sailed away in
the Victory Bonds" Of the Canadian
government.
Membership Is 2,s7e,2e7
The membership figures for the
present year barely top the low figure
of last year, the worst since the close
Of the war. The official chart issued
appears in another column showing
this years membership figures to be
2,S7S,297 as compared to 2,s65,799 last
year. The high figure was 4,07S,740
members in 1920.
Can't Forget Wilson
The executive councils report IN
cludes everything from the Woodrow
Wilson Memorial Building Fund" and
the Geneva, Switzerland, Labor OF.
fee Room Fund.- thru the whole list
Of jurisdictional disputes, to the final
question. Shall Labor Day lose It's
distinctive character and become a
mere holiday for general meaningless
purposes and for the exploitation for
private profit?" Which is a confession
in itself.
But nowhere does the clear line Of
the class struggle manifest itself.
The Wilson Memorial Building has
received s149 from labor up to the
time of making the report; while the
sum of 81, 455 has been raised to furn-
ish room in the International Labor
ONCE Building at Geneva, Switzer-
land, the labor ante room to the league
of nations, the "black capitalist in
ternational."
The attitude on various question
contained in its report, and that the
executive council will urge before the
convention, may be summarized as
follows:
Where the A. =. OF L. Stands
Company Unions.--We shall FIRST
cnliarf data an Counanv unfona and