Show AMERICAS ASSET no cla clest 4 lines fil says samuel Goni pers declares Dc clares unions keep standard of workers on oil illano of self respect activities of A F I 1 L outlined ali anil policies IoU clra by aged leader ny by SAMUEL 1 president of the american fc of labor i editors note no man in the world today stands so high in the esteem of labor na as dons samuel goni gom and no no man la Is given moro more respect by the employers for or while the latter were opposed to the organic org organizations aniz a ho he represent abey have admitted lie ho was honest tir fair and open to reason as well as being a clean fighter for the rights lit he believed hue bue to ills hla followers ile he knows the ideals ilis i lis alms and the strength of unionism as aa t f no other man does doe a i america tills has no peasantry I 1 america has no class clasa set apart marked apart classi classified fled na as belne being apart anti and irrevocably fixed aa a s apart from tho the groit goolt mass of her po plo america haa no class bronil from which it la Is impossible to merge america to ta distinguished throughout the world by the high standard of living which the masses ot of her people enjoy the comparison Is sharp and distinct for this the american trade union movement Is primarily responsible I 1 amei lea hus has no proletariat as europe knows the pro lariat in ili tile the beginning this was because becaas a of the manner in which our country was settled and because of its boundless natural resources it has hag remained so primarily marly because ot of tile trado trade union movement for this it for or no other service the trade union movement 0 of the united states Is IB entitled to bo be ranked as aa one ot of the count rys greatest assets it if not indeed as aa tile the greatest asset of all the growth of the trade union movement has substantially paralleled the growth of tile the machine ma or factory system with the coming of steam and the subsequent coming of electricity and tho the use of thase agencies of power lit in the development of factory lito life the tendency of industry was to concentrate populations in ill small areas and the tendency of employers was to koep keep thebo concentrated cent rated atod populations so far as possible at a more subsistence level or of wages unions Ull folls unit cluss class hut but tor for the trade union movement c entering into modern industrial life tho the over ever present tendency of employers toward a more meio subsistence si wage combating their tendency to retain the long employment day that tha t had prior to tho development of factory life amoric america 1 would hadr had a class as distinctly marked apart from the rest ot of society as aa any european E country tile the idea obtains to some extent that trade unions aro are merely organizations zat ioni of aggression agg rosalon that they are something in the nature of predatory bands banda formed to secure for their members such temporary advantages as ab may bo possible no matter what the cost coat to employers or to society of course those who out of short a oppose the trade union movement movement seek always to spread tills this false impression tile tho truth is that no organization in america is broader in its outlook or attempts to more intelligently understand der dor stand the tag general lueas of our society or to fit in more constructively lid helpfully an understanding of the structure of the american federation of labor may bo be helpful in ill leading to an ail understanding der standing of its activities and its policies tho the form of organization around which tile the american labor movement Is built Is As exactly like the form of organization in the political life of our country the american federation of labor is constructed with its foundation on the ground and all powers proceed from the base upward and not from tile the top downward the smallest unit of organization Z tion is tile the local union local unions are affiliated into what are known as city cental boalen or city central labor unions the city central labor union is thus a representative organization composed of delegates i from all the local unions in fit a city by tile the same process state federations erat grat ions of labor are formed in most cities thero there are in addition to I 1 tho the city central labor union delegate bodies rep the unions in ili specific specia ic branches of industry Ind lucli as aa the building trades the metal trades and the printing trad trades es though these representative community organizations the wage earners in each city aro are brough tog together and are placed in a position to oct act and nd intelligently for the conservation and advancement of their own interests and ancl tor for tho the consideration of problems of all kinds relating to tile the life of tho the municipality illel relational ional scope in addition to these representative community organizations there aro are national liati oual and international unto most I 1 Amb american rican unions havo have adopted tho the term international because their membership extends into C canada all and mexico national ond inter national unions are formed by hilll unit t ing ng all of tho the local unions in a given trade rade comparing tho the trade union move with our political structure th national and international unto s really correspond corri spond to tile the departmental depart menta of government the american fed oration of labor 13 us as its name implies it u tede fede raton a federation or of unions corresponding to the federation of states it Is an affiliation of national anti and atio at al unto a in its annual these nasonal an and d international intel national unions are entitled to vote in III proportion to the membership on which they pay per capita tax to the american federation ot of labor in ili additon each city central body each state federation and each of tho the five departments of the american federation of labor mine metal trades building trades union label trades had nd railroad employed Emp loyes Dupart department ment are bic to one dele aele gate many persons think that the american federation of bactor la is an organization of great power in a most moat important sense this la is truo true but in III tile the sense in which it is understood by many of labors critics it is without truth truth the great power of tho the american Fedd federation ration ut of labor la is the power of moral suasion it is tile the united opinion of four million organized wage earners that liaa has bellit and power the american fedoration Fod Fed oraton of labor has no power of compulsion com pulson elthe either r ivr its own affiliated al 1411 membership or outside its membership it is boll believed ovod by many that the african federation of labor orders strikes tills this Is not lot tile the case the american fedoration Fed oraton of labor cannot order ovon ono person to cease work tile the statement that the american federa ton of labor has haa no power of com coin Is absolute there Is no qualification whatever it can call say through gli its conventions or through its executive council and its officers that certain I 1 policies or certain courses ot or conduct are advisable but only as enero is general unity of opinion and tile the moral forces of that unity of opinion to Is there any actual power to compel compliance |