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Show HON LABOR ORGANIZES TO COMBAT FOES I BILL OF RIGHTS I FRIED AFTER I LOICjpSION I Conference Called By Gdmpers Considered to Be of Vital Importance PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN I ONE MEASURE PLANNED Federation to Wage Especially Hard Fight Aqainst Open Shop WASHINGTON. Feb. 23. Repro-sentatives Repro-sentatives of the 100 natifnal and In-1 In-1 ternatlonal unions affiliated In tho H j American Federation of Labor gath- H I ered here today In an extraordinary H . conference for the purpose of organlz- J ing to meet attacks on the union labor H movement. H The conference, called by President H Gompers. is considered one of great H importance and is one of the of its H kind rvrr held In the history of the federation Tho flrM husino was the presen- H i tatlon by the executive council of a H "bill of rights" and recommendations for a labor program. I The council framed Its report after ; being In continuous session nearly all day yesterday. FlfiHT ANTI-UNION snop. While the program was not made H ' public it was understood to provide for a campaign by organized labor to combat anti-union shops, wage rcduc- H , tlons. compulsory- arbitration. labor ' Injunctions and "open shop" propa-I propa-I ganda, One of the proposals before the conference. It was said, calls for a , publicity campaign by the federation to offset the propaganda of the enc-! enc-! mies of union labor. Federal and state legislation to fur-ther fur-ther the cause of organized labor also is to be considered H The conference, union leaders said. Is expected to determine the attitude tho federation will take in its relator with the Incoming Republican admin-istration. admin-istration. Survey of industrial condl-tions condl-tions throughout the country was be-Ing be-Ing taken by lahor leaders hero for today's meeting and all agreed that the present depression was the worst the federation had faced In vears. MINERS H Rl hit. iho coal mining Industry has been especially hard hit." 6ald John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers of America. "Production Is I less than sixty per cent of normal Michael Tighes president of the Amalgamated Association of Iron. St. el and Tin Workers, said ho had never seen conditions so bad. but added he believed the worst will soon be Conditions in tho metal trades were described as bud by A. J. Berrea. head of the Metal Trades department of me M federation. "Thousands of our men are out of ly work." said William Johnston, presi- !: , dent of the International Acsociatloti of Machinists. "The railroad sltua-tlon sltua-tlon Is especially bad, hundreds of workers being laid off because of re- I WM duced working forces." FIGHT WAGE ( ITS. The present Industrial depression and widespread unemployment, lead-ers lead-ers said, would not deter the federa- tion In its plan to combat attempts to further reduce wages and inaugurate the "open shop." President Gompers is presiding at the conference, the sessions of which , are being held In the federation head-quarters. head-quarters. There are more than tWC hundred delegates present, the majoi -Ity of them being cxecuttvo officers of various unions. oo isB |