Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1925-01-09
Samuel GOmpers Last Speech
AN ADDRESS DELIVERED IN MEXICO CITY
IN THE FORM OF FAREWELL

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pers delivered the last address of his
career before the convention of the
Pan American Federation of Labor
in Mexico City. It was in the nature
of a farewell to the departing British
fraternal delegates. It contained
more than farewell, however. Much
undoubtedly lay behind the words
contained in that brief message of
bon voyage. That Mr.. Gompers in
tended this message to be a formula
ton of principles upon which the re-
newal of international relationship
with the European labor movements
might be possible is believed by his
close associates to have been the case.
He was giving the British delegates
a message to take with them to Euro
pean labor-a broad gesture of
friendship and desire for renewed
fraternal relations. This is the last
address delivered by the departed
leader;
wish to say just before you leave
us-to you, Brothers Cramp and
Swales-I am sure / express the hope
and sentiment of my associates and
delegates and the visitors to this con-
vention--fCr your pleasant journey
to your homes, and that you may find
there in the movement with which
YOU are associated new fields of en-
deayeF, new opportunities for pro-
gress.
This problem with which we are
confronted in the western hemisphere
is one which requires much of our
time. There are several countries in
Pan-America in which for two or
more men to quit wrok, or to organize
temporarily for the consideration of
their interests is crime, as it was
just a little more than hundred
years ago in England. Many of
these countries are agricultural and
primitive. And a system of peonage
such as / have indicated as existing
in some of these countries and the
right of free labor in Mexico and in
the United States and Canada-that
can not long continue. Either one
will be entirely free or the others will
be entirely enslaved.
We have determined, so far as hu-
mans may be in a position to deter
mine, that the day of slavery and
peonage shall come to an end for all
time. It is difficult for men, how
ever great their knowledge, to have
complete understanding Of situa-
tions and conditions which prevail at
least from three to six or seven
thousand miles away, and in view
| Of the fact that we have immigration
| of all characters coming westward,
we have within our borders men who
seemingly do not have the interests
or the desires or the opportunities to
understand the great problems with
which we are confronted in this hem
isphere, and they either go back to
their home countries, or, if they re-
main in our countries, they write back
home and give whole, entire mis-
representation of the situation with
which we are confronted and the
ideals with which we are impregnated,
for the purpose of doing our work,
and they tell our labor men of Eur
ope more facts which are untrue than
can be comprised by whole diction-
ary-and the work in which our men
and women are engaged, the whole
character of our men and women, rep
resented as charletans, barnacles up
on the economic body polite of the
world.
Our task is very difficult one, but
we are undertaking to do it, to meet
it and to help whatever we can, and
it is fortunate for us, as it is good
for you perhaps, that you have been
with us and seen us at our work. You
have seen us at our best, and you
have seen US at our worst. Take
home the picture of our work and our
efforts.
We have no intimate knowledge of
your problems. We know that you
are best qualified to deal with them.
So you go on your way, and we will
go on working in our way, and if we
can come closer in spirit and if we
can organize in fact and operation, it
will be good.
In our sympathetic cooperation
with you and your work and doing
what we can in our own humble way
to aid you, we leave you to determine
policies and practices as best becomes
the situation with which you are sur
rounded. We are justified in requir-
ing as an element of justice and free
dom of opportunity to ask that our
movement have a right to determine
our own policies, our own practices,
which do not conflict with the inter-
ests and the rights of our fellow
workers in all parts of the world.
Wherever you go, wherever you
may be, may the sunlight Of progress
and happiness bring the same bene-
ficient results to the people you have
the honor to so ably represent. We
Il