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Show CIVIC FEDERATIQiV MEETS HW YORK Regulation of Industrial Corporations Cor-porations the General Topic of Discussion. ADDRESS BY GOMPERS Head of Labor Organization Complains of Curtailment of Rights. NEW YORK, Deo. 12. Labor organ-Iratlona organ-Iratlona aro allowed to exist in tho United States, yet the right of coalition, union and free speech la denied them un-dor un-dor the Shormnn nutl-trust law, Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation Fed-eration of Labor, asserted today In. an nddrcS3 at tho fourteenth annual meeting of the National Civic federation. Tho regulation of induHtrial corporations corpora-tions was the general topic of discussion by Mr. Gompers, John Hays Hammond. Professor J. W. Jenks of New York university, uni-versity, John M. Stahl of tho Farmers' National congress, Timothy Healy, President Presi-dent A. B. Garretson of tho Order of Railway Conductors, and others. Mr. Gompers cited a recent case in which a labor body was dissolved by tho courts and other cases In which Individual have been Indicted because thoy struck In sympathy sym-pathy with fellow-workers. He recalled the coal strike of 1902. Victory Dearly Bought. "The victory was dearly bought, and the suffering was awful," he said, "but the movement was wonderful and wrought a great change In the economic, material, social and moral condition of tho workera." He continued: "The working people In tho anthracite and bituminous regions of Pennsylvania are now threatened with the loss of their rights, for the employers aro attempting to take their rights from them. 11 Is the duty of tho miners' union to see that the conditions they won remain unchanged, un-changed, and tho employers should be compelled to maintain tho conditions by the moral forco of associated effort of workers." Indictment of Miners. Mr. Gompers said It was "a shamo" to think that some of theso minors could be Indicted under tho Sherman law, "because "be-cause they sympathize with tholr fellow tradesmen." "Do you bo the position In which our movement Is placed by this Sherman law?" he askod. "Wo can do nothing." "In the last flvo years 250,000 more persons per-sons becamo affiliated with tho American Federation of Labor than In the previous live years. But for all that there Is not a labor organization in the United States that does not exist at the sufferance of our country or for political reasons. They exist by permission of government. The right of coalition; of union, and of free speech, however, Is donled them under Uie Sherman law. Their liberty has been assailed." John Hays Hammond urged that tho regulation of corporations should be loft to an Interstate industrial commission, whose dignity would be on a parity with that of tho United States supreme court A. B. Garretson said that agreements between be-tween organizations 'of worklngmon and their employers fixing hours of labor, conditions and wages, should not be construed con-strued as being In violation of tho Sherman Sher-man law. |