The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-05-02
BY II. NJ. WICKS.

Continued from Page OHe)
courageous leadership can never be
estimated.
Powderly at the head of the
Knights of Labor had played the role
OF an agent of the employers from
the beginning and at the first blast
from the Infatuated capitalist press
and pulpit Gompers ran up the white
flag OF disgrace and. instead of try
ing to rally labor's forces to defend
the victims of Americas first May
Day, he cowardly disowned them in
the following words.
1.-THE effect Of that bomb was
that it not only killed the police
men, but it killed our eight-hour
movement for that year and for
few years after. Notwithstanding
we had absolutely no connection
with those people"
These were not the words of
fighting labor leader. but of a mis-
erable poltroon The loathsome
Powderly lamented that "the bomb
has set the labor movement back
fifty years!"
a T the American Federation of
y Labor Convention held at Balti-
more in 1887 (the name had been
changed the year previously no men
tion was made Of the eight hour day
in official proceedings, but the wide
spread unemployment due to intense
industrial depression forced a resolu-
ton on shorter hours that concluded
with the observation that $50 long as
there is one man who seeks employ
ment and cannot obtain it the hours
Of labor are too long"
But in 1888 at the st. Louis con-
vention the eight-hour question again
came up and the First of May. 1890
was set as the date for another at
tempt to enforce it. 1t was at this
convention that the resolution was
ordered sent to the International
Conference at Paris in 1899.
The European workers responded
to the call of the International and
on May / demonstrations were held
in most of the cities of Europe as
an expression of solidarity with the
struggle to be initiated by the Amer
lean labor movement.
pUT again the miserable ineffect-
- iveness of Compression, only then
in the early stages of its malignancy,
asserted itself. The carpenters only
went on strike. Plans had been
made for the miners to follow them
and then gradually to spread the
movement to all industries. The car
penters succeeded in shortening their
hours, but the miners were so poorly
organized that they could not take
up the fight.
Agitation to induce the miners to
launch an eight-hour drive on the
next May Day, 1891, was taken un.
but still the miners could not respond.
Next it was proposed that the ex-
ecutive council select another trade
to make the attempt on May /, 1892.
Then at the Denver convention in
1924 a last attempt at universal
(generaD strike" was to be made on
May 1, 1896. But at the New York
convention the next year this was
abandoned because, according to
Gompers. it was decided that the
magnitude of the interests involved
made unwise demand for the eight
hour day May /, 1896, but affiliated
unions should Individually begin eff
forts to secure the shorter work day
for the members"
Thus, ten years after Americas
first May Day, the official machine
of the A. F. of L. surrendered for the
last time all efforts toward concert
d action by all labor
Under pressure of the membership
q feeble attempt at revival Of the
agitation was made the next year,