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Show GOMPERS IN WRONG. It will be recalled that on the eve of the action taken by the mine union officials of-ficials in rescinding the strike order the executive council of tho American Federation of Labor at a meeting in Washington issued a lengthy attack on the injunction proceedings instituted by the government in the federal courts in Indianapolis and in effect, if not in 60 many direct words, invited the mine leaders to ignore the court mandate man-date and continue the strike, pledging moral and financial assistance to the striking coal diggers. Disregarding this unwholesome advice, ad-vice, the miners' union . officials took quite the opposite stand. "We are Americans," Acting President Lewis remarked; "we cannot fight our government." gov-ernment." The strike order was re- scinded and another effort is to be made to compose the controversy between be-tween tbe operators and miners at a conference in Washington. The American Federation of Labor has been proud to boast of its adherence adher-ence to law aud order. It has denounced in unmistakable terms the covert and open attacks on the government and American institutions carried on by the T. Y. W- and kindred organizations of malcontents and revolutionaries. It has so often appvared as tho champion of conservatism that the proclamation addressed ad-dressed to the Mine Workers' union reads strangely out of place; and certainly cer-tainly that pronunciarnento is not calculated cal-culated to buttress Federation claims to moderation in methods proposed to settle labor difficulties. Some time ago Samuel Gonipers hinted hint-ed that there was gra danger that extremists ex-tremists would dictate the policies of labor organizations if certain contingencies contin-gencies were not guarded against. The appeal to the mine workers to defy the government would indicate that Mr. Gompcrs's fears were well founded. |