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Show w jjKATH OF SAMUEL GOMPERS One of the world's commanding ligures m the union labor movement parsed from the stage through the ueath of Samuel Gompers, for forty two years presiulent of the American i- eueration of Labor, of which he was one of the organizers in 1882. ivieu and women of many nation. wnl pause to regret his departure and review, if only briefly, the accomplishments ac-complishments of this Jewish cigar-uiuker, cigar-uiuker, who rose from poverty and with practically no school training to international leadership in the labor movement and the companionship companion-ship of the great. His death is a genuine loss to the American labor movement and ono wonders whether it will continue upon up-on the same course to which he held it during the last twenty or thirty years while the organizations of the other countries, under far less ablej but far more radical leadership, have wandered off after the false j gods of communism and class gov-j ernment. Uncompromising as he was at times when the interests of his own fellow workmen were at Issue, Gompers was always a champion of constitutional government and public pub-lic order. Circumstances drove him at times to the defense ot those who violated his teachings in the latter respect, but it is noteworthy that Gompers, himself, was a firm believer be-liever in representative government and opposed with all his might the destructive philosophy of Russian communism, holding that those who labor with their hands were entitled to nothing more than a fair share in the administration of government And guided by this just principle he accomplished! more for the American workmen through the medium of casting ca-sting political parties than all the Lenins, Trotskys and Marxes that were ever born. lie died honored by his fellow citizens. cit-izens. Even those who disagreed with him admired hs splendidl character char-acter and his forceful i.bility. Filling the vacancy caused by his death w'U be one of the problems facing the American labor unions, but the probability is that utiiIt the Influence Influ-ence of their dead leader they will select some man of the Mitchell type and avoid the Foster group that for years has been struggling for A. F. of L. mastery. America owes more than a Hltle to Snmuel Gompers. Ills clear-bended leadership led to mnKnifieent sc-r-omplishmonts for the organize! workers but It also operated to the s'nh'llty of Industry p.ml government at practically all times Reno Ca-ztt. |
