| Show MR GOMPERS TALKS A Powerful Address That Was Well Received TH EIGHT HOUR CHAMPION A Soyal Banquet Follows at the Templeton An Oration From the FrIend of Labor The mass meeting which convened at Clayton hal last evening was perhaps the greaest demonstration ever witnessed in this city There have been great street processions and noisy demonstrations in this city but the meeting of last night was mighty by reason of it high appeal t rational intelligence intelli-gence of thinking men in a causa that is broad as humanity and universal a is the struggle between freedom and oppression The object of the meeting was to accord to the organizer and president of the trades union I reception worthy the champion o f the eighthour movement on behalf of thE laboringmen of Salt Lake city Governor Thomas presided at the meeting meet-ing and there were also present on the platform President Sleater of the local trades unions Joe Tapley marshal of them day Colonel Lett and O J Hollis ter Governor Thomas in introducing President Presi-dent Samuel Gompers paid a nice compli ment t the patriotism of the laboring men1th which sentiment was the cause of considerable consid-erable applause After acknowledging the introduction which the governor gave President Gom per said he would proceed to discuss LABORS BIGHTS AXD LABORS WRONGS There is no question but that there are many honest people whose sympathies are with the laborers but too many who sympathize sym-pathize with the working people in troublem will not see and extend their sympathies through and to organization That much abused organization known as trades unions 1 the natural outgrowth of the economic conditions It is just as natural for themw to exist and continue in their work as it is for the rose to grow and bloom in the sun It is perfectly natural for the people to organize or-ganize for we find it in all classes and orders of tha human family and in the I lower forms of life Where there is greatest concentration there the best results are obtained We see the resuts beasts of the field going in herds the birds of the air In flocks to protect themselves We find the railroad trusts the baukers associations the stock exchanges and you may run the gamut clear through and you will find the wealth organized You findw organizations among the professions You have your chambers of commerceboards of trade There i the sugar trust the coffee trust the beer trust and the whisky trust Can you blame us when we from boyhood boy-hood ayo from infancy follow the example exam-ple of these men who have had so much the advantage of us in education and organize J I it is necessary t those men who own great wealth how much greater the need for you who own nothing to organize There a some people who make peculiar statements with regard to labor organization organiza-tion They say that we are breeding a discontent dis-content into the minds of the wageworkers with their lot which as some say with injustice in-justice to God that He has ordained they should occupy You can judge of the condition of men by what they want Ask the man who is walking on the street without shelter what he wants more and if he doesnt say a drink more hell probably say ne wants a square meal more Ask the man who earns ST a day what he wants and he wants 2 cents mere Ask the man who has 800000 and he will say 200000 more and then he will be a millionaire and ask the man who has 100000000 what he wants more and he will say oh I want millions more Ho wants the earth Applause The wage workers of the world have begun to study the economical conditions of the world They are going t be larger sharers in the products of their labor and if I read the signs of the times aright I think they are going to succeed In this world of ours there are certain selfevident truths Water runs down hill Of course human L ingenuity may compel it to run up hill but as a general thing water runs down hilL The sun does shine and so with the labor movement It is based movement on the justice of a people and the objections that can be launched against it The labor movement will live Would you have us enjoy en-joy that contentment which the oppressor of the people always declared discontentment Would you have us t enjoy a peace like that which reigned at Warsaw No Wo do breed discontent I dont want to be awakened from my sleep by lire bells bm I would rather be awakened than be roasted alive You show me a country where the people are contented and I will show you a nation of serfs Discontent is an indication of progress Discontent shown that the people are aware that there are those who would rob them and teaches that i twill t-will be dangerous for them to continue it The only peace is the fruit of discontent The organizations of labor stand as the harbinger har-binger of peace of social progress Such discontent we preach and instil and praise t a the powers on hi h The seed is taking root and you see it everywhere every-where and it is honored by the presence o f the gOvernor the mayor and other distinguished distin-guished men to hear a cigarmakor talk labor la-bor Applause STRIKES NOT INCREASING The charge that is made against us i S that we are continually increasing the number num-ber To this charge 1 plead not guilty To this I plead tfcat not only is it not true but the very reverse is true Look to any of the various branches of industry and when they are not organized you will fin d the greatest number of strikes and when they are well organized the strikes are few It is not a fact that working people are compelled to strike when their rights arc invaded We dont denounce strikes I have heard that there was an organization which aeclarod that they would neve strike under any provocation I a conflict should arise which required d a strike we wont back out We have not enlisted for a month or a year we have enlisted en-listed for the war Applause We sato sa-to the working people of all classes organize organize and when you do dont Bay that you do want to strike or that you wont strike but prepare yourself for a strike Applause I you are prepare you wont liave to strike A judicious employer em-ployer will think twice before he provoke his employees t strike when he knows they Ire prepared and ready for a strike The man or woman who does not respect himself him-self or herself will not receive the respec of others and the wageworkers who 5 are not organized show so far as their conc themselves tion is concerned that they dont respect 2 LABOR WITHOUT BRAINS I will tell you a story I dont want you t take offense There was a union of butchers They put labels on the meat This piece of meat was dressed by a union man A woman wanted a nice sheep head for her husbands dinner The butche cutoff apiece of lamb and she noticed R t label which said This sheep was aressec d by union men She refused to t take it saying that she wanteda nonunion sheep head He took his cleaver scooped out ti Lie brains and handing it to her said Here madame is a nonunion seeps head Laughter and applause Now I don Lt wish anyone to be offended This is only Lta nonunion sheeps head Laughter There are some who say that they dont want to belong t a union They want t be independent inde-pendent My friends we want more indo pendencemutual protection What the traitor is to his country the scab is to his trade He deserves the contempt he is He has made himself a social scourge traitor He is a parasite upon the result of the honest endeavor of the working peo pie There seems to me no money that is 50 iniquitious or that is more dishonorable t i us a a nation than that insatiable greed which drags the children into the mills and factories and grinds their young bones into dollars To me it seems that th child of the nineteenth century should be more than a i mere machine Iknow the horrors of child I labor and I have never lost an opportunity toG appeal t my fellow men to spare for I toT ods sake our children Applause T though some may say that it does not exist in our beautiful Colorado I may exist Wherever the industries become more concentrated con-centrated it brings with it the horrors of hlld labor Since there is still little inter est at stake In your state see while there is still time that a lawis passed prevent I in g the employment of children under fourteen four-teen years of age Applause I know there arc some who say that they must make cheap goods but to shool with cheap goods if the lives of children must be sac ificed Applause See t it that your territorial legislature passes a law that will prevent the employ of children until they are fourteen years of age geThe business man says that business is d ull and gives as a reason that there is no money He didnt mean that there was no money but that the people dIdnt have e enough money The man says Now boys Il have t reduce your wages I youre not fools youll take it The people havent enough money to buy goods so they solve It in this way Reduce the wages so the people can buy more money There is no more successful or prosperous community a s when the people are well situated T herefore we say that the way out of this ndustrial darkest Africa is t give the people peo-ple more wages give them more time to c ultivate higher tastes and morals I urge upon the menwho hold the destin ie s of the people in their hands consider these things Dont antagonize us a you have in the past or you will turn us so loroughly against you that the words of the Bible will read t us Whithersoever thou goast I will not go whither thou odgest I will not lodge Thy people are not my people Thy God is not our God I plead t you as well as to our working men You find in our demands the crystal li zed wants of workingmen In dealing wltlyis as a united order you are dealing with the crystallzed laboring men But if you antagonize us and break up he organization you will have to deal with isorganized wolves and wild animals wid heir hopes and aspirations blasted So I ask you friends meet us a men Dont ask us to crouch on our knees before you for we have learned to stand UD and look you squarely in the eye EQUAL RIGHTS Among the things we advocate is that the women should have equal suffrage with men Within four weeks 229000 trade unionists signed a petition for an amendment amend-ment to the constitution of the United Stats permitting women to vote We not nly work for equality of suffrage but work and fight t obtain equal wages for her herLast Last year we concentrated our efforts on he carpenters and joiners and now weave h we-ave selected the coal miners to make the emand on next May 1 that eight hours s hall constitute a days work and not a minute longer Applause I am travel l ng now over the country preparing the people for the struggle and I hope in the coming conference of the coal miners with he coal mine owners that lean get them to c oncede the eight hour day without a struggle strug-gle or bad blood But i they refuse we will show them the strength of organized abor May you all come to look upon the rades union question in its proper light and not antagonize it any more The American Federation determined to trike for eight hours a aaA aa-A voice in the rear of the hall cried out Make it six No not six but eight said the speaker vith emphasis One thing at a time We d o not want to be carried away by enthusiasts enthusi-asts Eight hours today and less tomor ow is what wo want u You may beat us tn a battle but we will rise up again defeated but not conquered We used to have upon our banners Eight hours for work eight hoursfor rest and eight hours for menial and moral L improvement Our opponents would L always say it is all right for sleep and rest but as for eight hours for mental and moral improvement they only said youll get drunk Laughter After this we in + ribed on our banner Eight hours for labor eight hours forest for-est and eight hours for what we wilL THE MODERN HYPOCRITE docs not get drunk in the neighboring aloon but in his parlor or some other mans parlor Sensation When he want anything he simply presses 1 button and usually gets it Alore sensation I hurl it in the vile tarots of them that charge the laboring men with less labor the more drunks The amount of drink consumed con-sumed by laboring men has diminished wita the hours of labor and if there is any increase in drinking it is on the other side Applause You will seldom find that the men who work eleven or twelve Hours have a dinner hour The men who work light or nine hours enjoy that luxury The men who work twelve hours goes to sleep thinking of work dreams of work awakes t o work eats to work and lives to work nstead of working to live I you want to improve the condition of aborers permanently you must improve their habits and customs You will find in every country that labor gets just enough pay to buy the kind of fare it gets If the Americans would resolve re-solve towear blue Jeans eat red herring aud crackers that they would get just enough wages to buy that kind of fare You ask the men who work twelve or thirteen hours a day who is President of the United States ask them the name of the governor of your territory you may augh but just ask them and see Ask theni what the name of your mayor is they may know this a thev may have been compelled to go to him for a license Their minds are areA A DARK PAGE Their life is a blank Tako a man who works eight hours a day you cant buy his vote he knows what it has brought him There are some who say i you work more youll get more pay The very oppo sit9 is the truth The country in which the people work the longest number of hours the wages are lowest wherever the wages are hignest the hours are shortest You will find that the workmen who go into any factory earliest in the morning and leave it the latest get the least wages while those who arrive latest in the morn ing and leave earliest in the afternoon get the highest To state it crudely the reason is that those who work the fewest hours can not afford to work cheapthey must sell their services high Fewer hours means less poverty better womanhood sweeter childhood child-hood nobler manhood The whole civilized I world asks of ut legislators to enforce the eighthour law I long hours make great nations China should be at the head Show me tho country where the people work long and I will show you a country where there is IGNORANCE DARKNESS AND POVERTY There is no time wasted I Inventor Watts had not had time to watch the lid of the teakettle dance by the power of steam you might not have the steam engine 1 our Franklin had not had time to fly his kite you might not have the electric cars which I hear running over your streets ORGANIZATION NZCESSAKT We have a world t gain but nothing to loose bat our chains and our poverty Organize Or-ganize establish the sovereignty of the individual The speaker was greeted with tremendous L tremen-dous applause at the close of his address I which lasted three hours A PRESENTATION After President Gompers had finished Mr Sleater in behalf of The trades unions I presented mm with a fine gold headed un brella that he might have pleasant recollections recol-lections of Zion The labor champion thanked the doners heartily and said that if his visit carried with it any respect that gained their confidencer he assured them that it was not thrown away I thank you heartily earnestly and sincerely ho said as he bowed t the audienced in acknowledgment ac-knowledgment t their applause Governor Thomas announced that a banquet ban-quet was awaiting President Gompers at te Hotel Templeton where those favored with invitations repaired while the others repaired t their homes |
