THE PEACE ABIMS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 47, 20 November 1918, Page 8

THE PEACE A B IMS

MR. GOMPERS SPEAKS FOR AMERICAN

LABOUR

t Mr. Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labour in September last received a number of journalists ol tli.i Savoy Hotel, in London, and invited them to question him regarding the oblecra of tnc delegation of the American Federation'of Labour, then on a visit to England, and their attitude in relation lo the war. He prefaced the interview- by stating that he had attended every session of the Trade Union Congress, aiid on being -vsked what was his opinion uf it he replied that it was a great congress.

"Are jou attending the Inter-Allied Conference next week?" was another in> quiry, and Mr. Gompers replied I "Yes; the mission will participate in the Conference, and wb shall prepnre a written statement presenting our view of what ought to be unno and .That we think aro practical propositions. Ido not want to appear dogmatic, but <* this one fact you may rest assured—there will bo no recession from the position taken up by the American Federation of Labour with regard to this v.'ar. The American people are not vindictive, and wo will demonstrate that after we have won /''la war, for really we. want nothing out of the war but the right that the people ot the democracies of the world shall liaV the opportunity of living their own lives without being menaced by the domin"Ing spirit of militarism and autocracy. That "view includes the democracy of Germany, if there be a real democracy there. When the war is won an opportunity for the democracy of Germany will be pvesentea. "Have your views ,un the question of a .Stockholm Congrffis changed, and are you opposed to any meeting of interna' ■tional Socialists?", Mr. Gompers was -asked. "It ■is not a question of my .views," he replied,' "but the American L'aboir movement is just as much eommitte*d as I am not to meet the representatives of enemy countries until tua Var has been won, and that applies whether the meeting is at Stockholm, Berne, or Timbuctool There has been a consistent course pursued by the' American Federation of Labour from the time of its inception, and in so far as: the war is concerned there is.- o one who has any doubts what the position of the American Labour movement is. It has been declared in no ambiguous terms, and we did not have a college proressor to write it for us."

On being asked what were his views on military operations being assisted by negotiation, Mr. Gompers remarked that "our first duty is to win the war, and peace - negotiations can be undertaken after that necessary objective has been gained." i '

"Winning the War" Defined. "You havo said that American Labour is prepared to keep on until the war is won. What is your definition of a 'won war'? There is some talk' about the authors .of the war being themselves punished for what has been done." "We of the American Labour movement are perfectly willing," Mr. Gompers replied, "to'cross the bridge when wc reach it. My'definition of winning the war is that if thero be a true heart and conscience among the people' of Germany for reui democracy, the overthrow, of their Government—their Imperialistic autocratic Government—-and: the establishment of a democratic Government, then the .nations and the democracies of the world can deal with them for the establishment of peace and good.will. Another-way-is that, if they fail 'to do this, the Allied .peoples shall • crush Imperialism and autocracy to achieve, that much-desired end."

A Dutch journalist: "I, understand that American Labour will insist not only on the restoration of Belgium, politically and economically, but also on rev Duration for all the damage. which tho Germans have done, so far asMt can be repaired?" "I do not think I am going to revise, or modify the position u] American Labour, we insist on justicfl being done,, and i" have.no right to speak in the name of the Government or the President of the United States. When the President has anything to say h« finds his own means of .communication; but this Tdo know—tho people of the United States are-,with the Government and with the President in insisting at least on the fourteen points laid down by him being carried out. Ido not think there has ever been a situation in any great country in which tho people were so thoroughly united in the common cause as are the people of tho . United States. I am free to admit that here and there you may find some so-called conscientious objector, and I am perfectly willing, if he objects to fight, Miat he .should be niadf to' worWHe caji dig trenches; he is not killing anybody Jridoing that.-" Continuing. Mr. Gompers' added that they recognised that this struggle .for freedom" had been thrust on the Allied countries, who had taken: it up, and no people bad so great and deep and wide an. interest in the fight for. freedom as the working people had. After the war there would come the reconstruction period, \vir3 .a _ higher and better conception of the relations between man and man and nation and nation, and the world would come to the conclusion that "a man's.a man tor a' that," regardless of his position in life.

Labour in America, A question was next put to. Mr. .Gompers regarding thu points on which the American labour movement differed aloof from political parties. , In America the movement was not political at all, re-marked/'the interrogator, whereas a. good many of our people,were politically ambitious and .formed parties of their own. To this inquiry, Mr. Gompcrs replied that, he was not going to criticise the Labour movement-of- Great Britain, but he was willing to tell litem all about, tlio movement in America. _ It was a mistake to say that the American Labour movement took, no political nefkm, but it wns true to,say that it held itself aloof from poliic.il parties. In America tno. Federation, of Labour yielded to no one, or any group of people, the right to speak ill the name of Labour. As a mat ter of fact, there was no political action which so lar had-proved so potent in furthering the interests of .the working people as the political action taken _by the American Labour movement. AVhou the' Federation of Labour had declared itself on any project tliere' was no one who undertook to present counter-proposi-tions or to take counter-action. They bad always token political action as wage-earners They presented to tho political parties their doninnds mid were pencetly willing that they should compel© with each other for the support of j,abonr at the polls. Instead of treating a political party, > Labour bnti adopted the policy of rewarding their mends and' oiiimsius their enemies. They were'i perfectly impartial. .They made no prqniso' to any political party. In lUOli se'ntcd what they called a "Bill of grievances" to the tlion President; Vice-Presi-dent, and Speaker of tile House of Representatives, and in.it they incorporated eight specific grievances and demands for their rectiricaiion. They had a fight for it. One party ignored their demands; tin. ether-party adopted them in full; and nearly 7,000.01)0 voters voted for the pnrl.v that supported them. They succeeded in getting !•!■ trade unionists elected to the House of Representatives,- and they ;V,rr.--d 'theniHves into a Labour group. In this way they secured not only remedial legislation .for the evils of which they complained,' but constructive legislation iii the interests of Labour and of tho peon!?, and helped to liberalise the Government—not. in the British sense, of liberalb.m—in its tnenlalily, and soul, and activity.' Th-ey secured not only relief from the decision of the Supremo Court in 'what wns ailed the Batten ca'e',. which might, be regarded as on a par with Ihe Taff Vale case, but relief from the Trade Union Dispute Act, Tn addition,'there was enacted in.the law a seciimi, the first sentence of which read: "The labour of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce." Tho old'political'economy idea of property in man, property in wealth, _ properly in land—a species of owners-hip in a man who worked, for another—bad been abolished so far as the law of the land was concerned and actions in the Law Courts. It was now laid down that the labour of a human being was inseparable from tlio human bein", rtfd must not be considered !t" an i'nlividual commodity or an article of commerce.

Restriction cf Ou'put. "W'l'fit is the attitude ol the American

Federation towards' the 't-strictinn of output?" was tne subject of a further question. "Opixwed to it," was the reply. "There may bo a vestige left of such a practice; but for all practical purposes it is entirely eliminated from our industrial life. Instead of restricting • output we liavo concentrated our movement on .the shortening of the working day; and We 'B'-'e now practically universally an cignt hours day. The Govcrninoiit has recognised that a basic eight hours dayNs the practice; but in any great emergency when more than eight hours are worked the workers are naid overtime at th'o rate of time and a half, and double time for holidays and Sundays. The. idea is not to gee the money for the overtime, but to make such, work punitivo and prohibitive on account of its extra cofi."