Gompers and the Millions of Organized Labor
(Copyright. I'M, by Prank O. Carpenter.) '
AHII1NOTON, Jan. 13.-(Spe ial
Correspondence of The Lee.)
' Do you know anything about
iaVjll work yourself?
TU "Did von ever work for
wages?"
I asked theso questions of Hamul i Gom
pers ns we chatted together In his ofllco
yesterday afternoon. Mr. Gi.mpcrs Is un
crowned king of organized labor In tho
United States, lie is pre. ident of tho
Amcilcnn Federation of Labor, which m
brnces more than 24,'"J' different labor
unions nnd has a membership of 2,000,000
workmen, represntlng tiio brawn und
mum le of the coimlry.
"Work! 1 have never known much el.-e
but work," was the rep'y. "I have bo .-a
Working nil my life und most of It at my
trade. My father was a cigar maker. I
went Into the Fhop at ID years of age and
In time been mo a Journeyman mill I con
tinued to work ut making cigars for twenty-nix
years."
"What kind of a workman were you, Mr.
Gompers?"
"I think I may say I was a fairly good,
one. I was never out of a Job except at
my own volition nnd I received as high, .
wages ns nny of my fellows."
"Could you make a cigar today?"
"I made some at Boston a few weeks
ago while, attending our last annual con
vention there. At the noon recess I went
to the largest union cigar factory In tho
world, which was not far from the con
vention hall. Ono of the men nsked mo,
the same question you have asked. In re
ply I took off my coat, sat down at tho
bench nnd made three cigars. I have, a
son who lias a cigar factory near hero,
and if you wish I will go there and mako
you ono now."
I dlil wish, nnd Mr. Gompers went with
me to the factory, snt down at one of tho
benches, nnd rapidly rolled out a choice
Havana. It took him leae thnn two min
utes by my watch to put the toba co Into
shape, ond tho cigar, which lies befofo
me as I write this, is as good looking an
article ns Hny cigar sold anywhere In tho
United States. It Is a big, fat clgnr nnd
contains a good honest smoke. After this
Mr. Clompers rolled a cigar for himself and
smoked this while wo talked, lie told me
that he still retained his membersh;p In
the Cigar Makers' union and showed me
his union book, with the stamps of his
dues paid to due. He has been a mem
ber of that union fer thirty-nine years and
pays hW regular tines of 30 cents a week
to keep up his membership.
"When did you first become Interested in
the labor movement?" I asked.
"When I wns II years old." wns the re
ply. "My father had been a member of the
union, and at that nge I Joined. I have
been a union man ever lnce."
"Have you ever been In a strike?"
"Many times. Sometimes when I ap
proved of the strike, and ngaln when I did
not. Pome cf the strikes were hard ones,
and I have actually suffered from hunger
during such times, but I never regretled
them. When I went on a strike I cons'd
ered the shop door closed, ns far as I was
concerned, until that strike was settled,
and for that reason I did not want to st ike
without due cause."
"Do you think strikes pny the working
mnn?" "They most certainly do, although they
should bo avoided If possible. Still I hope
the time will never come when we shall so
lose our manhood as to refuse to strike.
Strikes are nn element of civilisation. In
barbarous times and barbarous countries
the people do not strike. There are no
strikes In China. The wages there are 10
cents a day and the workmen live in mud
huts and feed upon rice and an occaslonul
rodent."
"When has the laboring man the right to
trlke?"
"He has the right to do so at any tlma
and for any reason or for no reason at all.
Strikes are nn evidence of liberty and free
dom, and we lnhorlng men claim the rle?ht
to strike at nny time. I am not ulcuss'nj
the policy. We have the right."
"What Is the present outlook as to labor,
Mr. Clompers? Times have been good.
There have been many strikes and wr. ges
have gone up. It Is now aid that times
re becoming bad; will they not go down?"
"As to the times," on Id the president of
the American Federation, "my Information
hows mn that there la a change for the
worse. We have a number of unions,
which pay benefits to their unemployed
nd therefore keep track cf those out of
work. These unions embrace different
branches of trade In many parts of the
country and their reports form an excellent
barometer of Industrial conditions. From
them I can sea clouds In the industilal
ky, and I look for a period of depression
during the next few years. It will not be
as bad as In 1S57, In 1ST3 or In ISM. but It
will be felt more or less all over the coun
try. "Now, aa to the second part of your
question," Mr. Gompers went on, "I don't
think wngea ought to he reduced In conse
quence and I have advised our unions to
resist all attempts at such reductions. I
advise them to strike against any rut In
wages and I think the employers should
r
if
(,
SAMUEL GOMTERS FROM A PHOTO MADE FOB THIS ARTICLE.
seo that such cuts will Increase the bad
times rather than lessen them.
"Prosperity depends upon the markets,"
continued Mr. Gompers, "and they depend
upon the consuming power of the people.
If you cut wages you lessen the consuming
power. The men will have less to spend.
Tho factories must make still less, resulting
In more discharges and more cuts and
making the times worse than ever. I be
lieve It Is better to strike In such cases
even If wo are defeated. Every strike in a
time of decreased prosperity prevents
further attempts to reduce wages. If we do
not object to reductions they will be fol
lowed by further reductions. It is only by
fighting that we can hope to hold our own.
I would like to nee our workmen have such
a system of dues as would create a fund
sufficient to enable them to engage In a
strike at any time without fear. The em
ployer who knows bis workmen can suc
cessfully light will not Impose unfair ex
actions upon them."
"Rut, Mr. Gompers, are not wages too
high in many branches of Industry?"
"No," was the reply. "The higher they
are the better for the country and the
people. If you will look over the world you
will see that the moot prosperous nations
and theiso who do most In the manufactur
ing and commerce of the world are tho e In
which the highest wages are paid. Take
the United States first, then England and
after that Germany. All are lands of high
wages and short hours, and all are more
prosperous than their brother nations."
"But what should govern In fixing wages
the cost of an article?"
"Not at all. The wages necessary to
make the article under comfortable con
ditions should be that which fixes the price
of the article and not the price the wages."
The conversation here turned to the num
ber of working hours nnd I asked Mr.
Gompers whether the worklngmen would ba
Batlslled if the whole United Stated were
run on an eight-hour basis, or whether ti e
would not demand still vhorter days. He
replied:
"I think the time will come when the
working day will be less than eight
hours. My idea Is that the working day
will continually grow shorter, while
wages will continually go up. I want to
morrow to be always better than today.
Labor conditions are fnr better now than
they were three or four decades ago, and
In the future they will be Just ns much
better in proportion. By combinations of
capital, by new Inventions and a better or
ganisation of material forces, we shall,
age by age, and year by year, reduce the
amount of manual labor required to the
minimum, and at the same time advance
the reward therefor to the maximum.
That is what we want, the least work
and the most pny, a minimum of work
and a maximum of wages, giving us the
leisure to develop and cultivate our better
natures."
"How about the unions ns helping the
ambitious worklngman, Mr. Gompers? Has
the young man of today a chance to suc
ceed as he had In the past?"
"I don't think he baa aa good a chance,"
replied Mr. Gompers. "But that Is not
the fault of tho union. New Inventions
and great combinations of capital have de
stroyed the opportunities of the Individual
man. A generation or so ago one man,
or at the best two or three, could make
a completed product. It did not require
much capital or many men to start a fac
tory. Now work Is so divided by im
proved machinery that the single work
man Is but one of the cogs of a very largo
wheel, and If he slips out another can
bo very easily fitted in. A lialf century
ago on'- man made a whole shoe; todaysixty
elght men have their part in making a
shoe, and each of them does but one
thing all the day long. One man cuts the
sole, another the upper, another finishes
one -part and another another, and so on,
the whole sixty-eight making the Bhoe.
In the past each one of these sixty-eight
workmen could have started a shop of his
own. Now they are only pieces of ma
chines, and as such can be replaced by
others.
"It Is modern invention which has de
stroyed Individuality, and It Is only by
combination In the union that the Indi
vidual can act as a whole and protect him
self. Under the old method one man
amounted to something; now It Is only by
combination that he is able to accomplish
results. If the sixty-eight men stop., the
shoemaklng cannot go on. It Is the union
that makes this possible, and thus enables
each of the sixty-eight to get his rights."
"Are trades unions increasing in the
United SUtea.?"
"Yes," - replied Mr. Gompers. "Very
. rapidly. I don't know of any time In our
history when they have grown faster than
they are growing now. The American Fed
eration of I-abor Is, you know, composed of
nearly all the International, national, state,
central and local unions of the country.
Thjse unions are Independent organisa
tions, but they work In connection with and
as a part of the American Federation of
Labor. We are continually adding new
members. During the past year we have
Issued new charters for twenty In
ternational unions, three state federations,
171 central labor unions and more than
1,000 local and federal unions. We have
now all told more than 24,000 unions of
various kinds In the federation, and our
membership la very near 2,000,0u0. We in
crease our members by missionary work
on the part of organizers, whom we send
to all sections of the United States, und
In addition a vast amount of volunteer
work Is going on on the part of the unions
and individuals."
"You say you have 2,000,000 worklngmen
In your combination, MV. Gompers. I
suppose they will average $3 a day, or In
the aggregate, $i;,000,0o0 a day, or more
than $2,0OO,CeJO,0OO a year. Is not organized
labor a trust, and where will you find a
trust with such power and such dividends'."
"You may call it a trust," replied Mr.
Gompers with a smile, "but it is a trust
for the good of the many, and not for the
Individual few. The combinations of capi
tal try to eliminate every one but them
selves. They try to freeze out aa many
of their own members as they can, and the
big tlsh eat the little ones. Our trust, it
you call it so, Is open to all. We welcome)
every one, and our only aim U the good of
the country and of all the members of ouc
organization."
"Will tho day come when all labor In this
country will be organized?"
"I think so," replied Mr. Gompers. "It
is coming fast."
"But will not a combination such as you
bavo be a menace to the government? You
have 2,0i)0,000 now, embracing, I should say,
one-seventh of the voters of tho United
States. At the present rate of Increase
your urbanization might soon be so wie'deil
as to dictate candidates, inaugurate poli
cies and rule or ruin the country."
"Organized labor will certainly Increase
as an economic force," said Mr. Gompers,
"although, ns at present organized, labor
la not affiliated with any political party.
It would be far worse for the United
States, however. If there were no such
thing as a labor organization. Suppose we
bad no concerted effort to protect our work
lngmen from the exactions of the capital
ists. Let greed grind the worker down to
the utmost, and millionaires Increase even
faster than they nre now, by the de-vclep-ment
of our material resources. Lt t the
rich grow richer and the poor poorir until
at last the poor man turns. What woud
be the result? I tremble to think of the
possibilities. We might have a yecor.d rev
olution moro terrible than that of France.
It Is the labor organization that keeps tha
pence, that forms the corner stene of our
republic. The unions are amor.g the great
est of our educating forces and they stand
for almost everything that Is good In our
government nnd Institutions."
"It makes some difference, therefore, Mr.
Gompers," said I. "what kind of nun the
labor lenders are?"
"Indeed, lt does," was the reply, "and I
ran say from a personal knowledge of mist
cf them that they nre on the average equal
In honesty and integrity to the membeis
of any profession or business. I mean tha
very best men of the legal, medical or even
the clerical, professions.
"The most of the labor leaders nre not
In the business for money," Mr. Gompers
continued. "Take our salaries! The high
est of them, outside of the heads of tha
railroad unions. Is not more than J.1.C00 a
year, and many men receive only $1,000 or
$2,000 and some less. Nearly every one of
them could make more outside of the labor
organizations, nnd If they were corrupt
they could enrich themselves where they
are. John Mitchell, for instance, the head
of the United Mine Workers, Is paid $1,000
a year. Don't you suppose he could have
made $l,C00,OC0 during the anthracite coal
strike had he leen willing to sell his men
out to the capitalists. He fought for them
and was true to them. The same I believe
to be the case with ninety-nine hundredths
of the leaders of the unions. There are
bad men In all ranks of life. Sam Parks
was notoriously such, but Sam Parks is
not typical of the labor movement In any
respect."
"How about yourself, Mr. Gompers. No
one has ever questioned your fidelity to or
ganized labor?"
"If so, I do not know It. I have been
president of the American Federation of
Labor for more than twenty years. For
the first five years I received no salary
and worked at my trade to support myself
doing my union work at nights and on
holidays. At the end of that time I gave
up cigarmaking and devoted my energies
to the American Federation, receiving $1,000
a year. As time went on my salary was
gradually Increased until It reached $2,100,
and it Is only within the past year that It
has been $3,000. I think I may say honestly
that I am not In the work for the money.
I do It because I love lt. I have no
amusements or anything outside of it, and
my happiest hours are when I work tha
hardest." FRANK G. CARPENTER.
Glimpses Into Mythology
Jason was about to emuark on his cruise
after the Goblen Fleece.
"Are you In good training?" asked the
reporter, who had been sent to the dock
for on interview.
"Finer than silk," answered Jason. "I
never felt better In my life."
"And about the Fleece. What If yoa
don't bring It back?"
"Well," answered Jason, w he lit a
cheroot and stepped aboard, "I won't be
any worse off than Lipton, anyhow."
So saying he gave the signal to start.
Pluto was having an argument with his
watch dog, Cerberus.
"I say you should not have let them
pass," said he.
"And I maintain that I should," growled
Cerberus.
"What right." demanded Pluto, "have
you to contradict me?'
"You ought to know," said Cerberus,
"that three heads are better than one."
Finding that he had lost the argument
Pluto satisfied himself with roasting a
Chicago university professor who had Just
arrived. Milwaukee Sentinel.