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Show k urge formation If vet unions Suggest Organization of Workers of Mexico, South and Central America. Discuss Plans for Creation of an Ail-American Labor La-bor Federation. LAREDO, Texas, Nov. 13. The or-nintinn or-nintinn . workers of Mexico and Central and South America and the formation of a reciprocal confederation- of all the union bodies of Americas wis Surged today by Secretary of Labor Vwini B. Wilson and President Gom-jfSisol Gom-jfSisol tho American Federation of La-W La-W bor, in addresses to representatives of the countries south of here. .The formation for-mation of such a confederation, it was .pointed out by President Gompers, would be the first and chief step in the organization of tho forces of peace and humanity that would forever prevent a repetition by forces of autocracy and imperialism to catch the world napping and impose their will on all nations. Character Proved. Governor George W. P. Hunt of Arizona Ari-zona also addressed the visitors, saying the Mexican laborers had been tried by the fire and proved their depth of character char-acter in tho Arizona strikes of 1915. The committee on credentials was named today, and tomorrow morning the pau-American conference will be organized and plans discussed for tho creation of an all-American federation of labor. Secretary Wilson left tonight for Washington. He addressed the delegates dele-gates a second time justibefore leaving. He said that because the history of industrial in-dustrial development had shown that large employers always had attempted to dominate the lives of their employees, it had becn.made necessary for workmen work-men to organize. Tribute by Gompers. President Gompers paid a tribute to Secretary Wilson, saying: "Too many men who have risen to high offices have forgotten their bo-innins bo-innins and have not played the game through. Secretary Wilson, who joined the miners' union forty-five years ago, is not one of these, lie speaks the vocabulary vo-cabulary of a laborer. He has not risen froLn the ranks of union labor. He is stim with labor.'' i'he chief direct purpose of the con--jr fcVence is to consider plans for a pan- American congress to be held in the b near future, and to devise some way for the immediate organization of the HB&texican workmen in this country, of T-un there nrc said to be more than a lnTllion, many of them working in the crafts requiring much skill and training. train-ing. The general purpose of the conference is the promotion in every way of the relations of the United States with Mexico and the American republics. Welcome Mexicans. Secretary of Labor Wilson, representing rep-resenting the president of the United States, and Samuel Gompers, president presi-dent of- tho American Federation of Labor, today walked to the boundary line at the center of the international bridge and welcomed into the United States a delegation of the ' representatives of organized labor in Mexico, with whom they will undertako the formation of a pan-American confederation con-federation of labor. General Raynaldo Garza, commander of the Nuevo Laredo garrison of the Mexican army accompanied accom-panied the labor delegation into the United States. "We wanted the right to work out our destiny unimpeded," said Secretary Secre-tary Wilson, "by the mailed fist of any autocrat, and we insist that, all the people of the earth shall have the same right. Achievement of democracy is not the end, but only the means to accomplish ac-complish the one ' And the end to be attained is the working out of our own problem in accordance with our own hearts and consciences and ideals, and not by the methods of some one above." The achievements of tho united States in giving to every eitUen a voice in the government, Secretary Wilson continued, had beeu' effected chiefly by tho development of the free public school system, compulsory school laws and free text books. Good Will Wanted. President Gompers assured the visitors vis-itors that the unions of the United States, in urging a pan-American confederation, con-federation, wanted nothing from the other American countries but their good will. "There is nothing in onr proposition proposi-tion to exploit your countries nor to exploit your people," he said. "Because "Be-cause the forces of exploitation, of imperialism im-perialism and autocracy have been so thoroughly organized throughout the world, the kaiser was able to plunge thi? world into war. Because the forces of love and humanity were not organized, the kaiser believed he could conquer the world. "The laboring men of America realized real-ized this, and realized that there must be a perfect organization of the forces of brotherly love and honor. The American Amer-ican labor movement hopes to bring out the best possible fraternal co-operative and sympathetic agreement of the working people of all American countries coun-tries in order that wo shall bo able to live in poaco and amity." |