Salt Lake Tribune | 1916-05-02 | Page 2 | Laborers All over Country Go on Strike

laborers all over country CO MIKE !Mtst of Disturbances Purely Pure-ly Local and Have No Eearing on Labor Situation Situ-ation in General. NEW YORK WORKERS PARADE IN FORCE Samuel Gompers Justifies Demands Made by Employees Em-ployees for Greater Share. By SAMUEL GOMPERS, President of the American Federation of Labor. By International News Service. WASHINGTON, May 1. American laboring men today have a general realization real-ization of the fact that they are entitled en-titled to a just shave in the tremendous wave of prosperity sweeping all over this country. The strikes incident to their efforts to enforce this right are not indications that they are trying to i take advantage of an accidental situation. situa-tion. They.-merely claim their due and equitable share in tho industrial boom of this year. Justifies Demands. , Too long has the American laboring man been compelled to share in depression depres-sion and failed to share in periods of greater prosperity. It is too early to discuss the effects of the present widespread demands for readjustments. Personally, I do not even yet know just how far-reaching they are. I have just returned from New York and Philadelphia, whoro I conferred with labor leaders. These conferences and the information I hare lead me to this conclusion: That union labor is justified in being optimistic about every reasonable demand. Attitude of Employers. This is shown in the attitude of those employers of sympathy and understanding understand-ing who already have grasped the situation sit-uation 'and have met employees halfway. half-way. Employers more and more are treating with employees in a friendly spirit. Therefore it is reasonable to expect that this agitation mav result in an understanding which will give the work-ingman work-ingman in tfie vast majority of cases a square deal, and that the effects of the disputes will be highly- beneficial to both employees and employers.