Gosling explained the attitude and policies of the British workers since the commencement of the Great War. He stated that the trade union movement has fought and is fighting against encroachments upon the political, civil and industrial liberties of the working class, that it opposed military conscription until the developments of the war made conscription unavoidable, that it has fought strenuously against profiteering and is under no delusions with regard to the motives and purposes of the capitalist and landlord class. He assured his hearers that the trade union movement in Great Britain is alert and insistent upon betterments in working conditions and wages made possible by the developments in industry. Particularly interesting was his description of the defensive and offensive alliance entered into by the Transport Workers, the Railroad Workers and the Mine Workers, the three organizations having a combined membership of one million, three hundred and fifty thousand. In this connection he said:

Mr. Gosling regretted the rejection by the British movement of the proposal of the American Federation of Labor that a congress of the representatives of the labor movements of all nations meet in the same city and at the same time as the conference that will be held when the conditions upon which the war shall be adjusted will be discussed. He felt that the bitter feeling existing between the workers of the nations at war made such a conference at this time impossible.

In conclusion he expressed hope that out of the chaos of war would arise a better social order and confidence that the workers would never consent to the perpetuation of the conditions which made the present war possible.

"Let us all bear in mind that it is the giant labor which is so powerful to give or withhold in all matters of wealth production; and that this same giant is so woefully impotent in determining the problems of the equitable distribution of the wealth which is the product of its labor. Our men who are bearing the brunt of the fighting in all the belligerent countries are extolled for their selfsacrificing devotion and valor in the cause of their respective countries; they are in the main the selfsame men who yesterday were denounced and villified by the reactionary influences when they sought to improve their economic status through their trade union organizations. We shall not forget these things when peace is once more resumed.

"Our one ray of hope through the black outlook of war is that the workers on their return to civil life will throw over the hateful system which makes war possible and inevitable.

"America has its solemn and bounden duty; the working class of America more than any other section. How far can you by example and precept prove to Europe and civilization in general that the great human family has to destroy at the root the causes of capitalistic greed, the strife for new markets, the quest for further fields of exploitation, the slavery of the subject races and the lust for power and dominion, which have been the causes of war and will remain the causes of war while allowed to continue."

Mr. Whitefield, a hale and hearty veteran of more than three score and ten, addressed himself particularly to the younger delegates, urging them to seek high ideals and to be prepared to make great sacrifices in the cause of the workers and of humanity. He spoke of the wonderful advances made during his personal experience and of the glorious opportunities that the future offers to the present and the rising generation. Discussing the active participation of the British movement in politics he said that the Miners' organization had appropriated two hundred thousand dollars for campaign purposes in the hope of increasing the representation of labor in the next Parliament. He added that the workers were not giving undue importance to their work in politics but at the same time were developing their industrial power so that they might be able to demand respectful consideration from the government and the House of Commons of any proposition that they might offer. His words in this connection are of interest:

"But what is most required is a House of Commons outside the House of Commons, stronger and more powerful than the House of Commons, a power that the Triple Alliance (miners, railroad workers and transport workers) will be, that will say to the House of Commons,-and I hope in wisdom and justice that we jointly as workers would advise that the nation shall take over the railroads or anything of a national character. And I am looking forward

to the day in the very near future, if Providence wills, that I shall live to see it, that this outside parliament will be the moving power in the British Empire."

Mr. Thomas A. Stevenson-a printer from Toronto-the representative of the labor movement of Canada, told of the tremendous drain upon the resources of Canada in men and treasure resulting from the war which has seriously handicapped the trade union movement. Notwithstanding these discouraging conditions, however, much progress has been made and the outlook for the future is much brighter than it has been at any time since the commencement of the war.

Speaking for the American farmer, Mr. J. H. Kimball, delegate from the Farmers' National Congress, told of their desire to cooperate with the trade union movement. Said he:

"The American farmer has his ideals just as you have and he does not want civilization to forcehim backward. He wants the results of his toil and the proceeds of his industry to be fairly counted, and it is for this reason that he is perfecting his organizations. And, furthermore, knowing that workingmen's interests are in common with his he would join hands with you just as your seal and emblem pictures. We would join hands with you in perfecting legislation, keeping our organizations out of the criminal trusts' class; securing reasonable hours, sanitary conditions, decent wages, and all of those uplifting principles underlying your powerful organization. We want to see, with you, foreign immigration restricted; parcel post and postal savings extended, vocational education, and other proposed and pending legislation enacted in the interest of the whole people and all humanity."

Mrs. Mary Anderson, of the Women's Trade Union League told of the training school in which girls who come to the front in local organizations are being prepared for work in the general movement for the organization of women workers. She emphasized the need for able and intelligent leaders. "In the labor movement it is a case of wit, it is a case of matching your brain with the other fellow's brain, and you can't have too much training to help you win the contest."

Miss Anna Fitzgerald spoke of the effective work that is being done by the Women's International Union Label League and urged the delegates to assist the members of the League in their efforts to create a more general demand for union made goods and for the more efficient use of the purchasing power of the trade union movement.

Mr. Carlos Loveria, of Yucatan, had an exceedingly interesting story of the wonderful industrial revolution now in progress in the Mexican Republic. He described his recent visit to the countries of South America in connection with the formation of a PanAmerican Federation of Labor.

Delegates who attended the San Francisco Convention were pleased to welcome Mr. B. Suzuki, representing the Laborers' Friendly Society of Japan. Mr. Suzuki is thoroughly informed upon the labor movement and is a very interesting speaker. He has met with much success in his efforts to organize the workers of his native country and also the Japanese workers upon the Pacific Coast. He solicited the further aid of the American Federation of Labor in his efforts to spread the gospel of trade unionism amongst his countrymen.

Dr. Shailer Matthews, speaking for the eighteen million members affiliated to the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ, spoke of the rapid change of the attitude of the churches toward the labor movement. "For," said he, "we have come to feel that while it is necessary to prepare man to die, it is more necessary to prepare man to live and in the interests of a good heaven it is

a good idea to have a good earth. I want you to feel that there are forces operating through the churches that are endeavoring to bring about a new social mind in which religion will not be merely a thing of the future but shall be a thing of the present in which men and women shall be trained not to fight for their rights but to give justice to others."

The Railroad Brotherhoods.

One morning was set aside to meet with and hear from the representatives of the Railroad Brotherhoods who, on invitation of the Executive Council, made the trip from Washington to tell the story of the fight for the eight hour day to the delegates to the Convention.

Mr. Warren S. Stone, Grand Chief of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, was the first speaker. He expressed absolute confidence in the ability of the Brotherhoods to carry their contest with the Railroads to a successful conclusion and the ability of the trade union movement as a whole to combat the combination of capital recently formed for the express purpose of crushing organized labor. "The only thing I have ever feared for organization was that it might go to pieces from internal dissension. I am not at all alarmed about the outside. Organized labor thrives under persecution. It makes us forget our petty differences and combines us together in one solid fighting force. Neither am I alarmed about the future of the eight hour movement. We all know that eighty per cent. of labor is unorganized and we also know why. We know that the greater part of it would be organized tomorrow if it were allowed to organize. The eight hour day or the shorter work day for all men who toil is coming."

Denying the statement of the Railroad managers that the Companies were willing to arbitrate the demands of the Brotherhoods but that the Brotherhoods had refused, Mr. Stone said:

"They declared it was the principle they were fighting for, the great fundamental principle. They forgot to tell the press and the American people that there were 175 railroads we represented that were willing to arbitrate, where they thought we had power enough to enforce our demands, and there were seventy-five railroads in the group they would not consent to arbitration with because they felt they were strong enough to take care of any organization we might have on those particular lines."

Mr. L. E. Sheppard, of the Order of Railway Conductors, said that when he first joined the organization he pledged his word that he would not strike, but that the railroad men had learned the necessity of aggressive trade union action. He said: "For a long time we were content to be patted on the back, to be told what good fellows we

were, how reasonable, how conservative and how intelligent, how reasonably we conducted our affairs as compared with the average trade union and all the time we were being tied-hog tied, if you pleaseand powerless to do anything."

Mr. W. S. Carter, president of the Brotherhood of Railway Firemen and Enginemen, expressed a hope for the solidarity of the workers and warned the delegates of the menace of the growing subserviency of the press to capitalistic interests. In this connection he said:

"I believe the time will come when all people who work for wages-even though some of them are so egotistical as to call it salaries-will have the class consciousness of the employers of labor. Whether it is because the employers of labor-the master class-have higher educational advantages than the working class, or whether it is that they have more mature judgment because of their business education, the fact remains that they know better how to stand together than do the working people.

"The danger that confronts the American labor movement and for that matter that confronts all working people today is coercion or subornation of the public press of this land by the master class. There was a day when there was a free press; there was a day when the editor in his sanctum controlled the policy of his paper. That day has long since passed, and the editor is simply a hired man like you and the rest of us.

"When we began our eight-hour movement a year ago the railroads undertook one of the greatest publicity campaigns this country has ever witnessed. I said the railroads-I did not mean what you consider a railroad; I did not mean the operating officials of those railroads; but I meant the few men in New York City who direct the financial affairs of all the railroads-began one of the most effective publicity campaigns against these railway brotherhoods of which we have a record. Their plan was to advertise in three thousand daily papers and fourteen thousand weekly papers. Through those three thousand daily newspapers and those fourteen thousand weekly newspapers they published perhaps millions of dollars worth of advertising, every line of which was intended to prejudice the public against these railway brotherhoods.

"The result of that publicity campaign was that the first people they converted were the editors of those same papers. Now, I am going to be convinced that the editor, when he got in his easy chair, casually turned the pages and found the big advertisement that had been put in at a cost of several hundred dollars for that issue. I am safe in saying he was convinced, the same as other people who read it were. I am not going to say the business manager gave him a tip before he saw the advertising.

"The editorial opinion of these papers before they had this advertising was either neutral or in our favor. After these few millions of dollars were dumped into the coffers of these papers 75 per cent. of them were crowding their editorial pages with criticism and abuse and misrepresentation of these brotherhoods.

"So long as the class that controls the money of the country can, by buying the advertising pages of newspapers, control public opinion, there is no free press.

"So long as those who have it use it to corrupt a public press, and so long as the employing class prevent a free and fair election by coercive methods, then this country is not a free country. I have hopes, however, that through the American Federation of Labor, perhaps I know through the great mass of what are known as the common people there will be a change in the not distant future. There will come a day, my brothers, mark it, when the American people will rise in their wrath and throw off this infernal corrupting yoke that money has placed upon their shoulders in the public press."

Mr. W. G. Lee, of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, discussing the Adamson law, said:

"Never in our wildest dreams did we think of Congress enacting such a law as they did. We did not ask for it. It was not what we wanted. It was not what the railroads wanted, but as good citizens we agreed to bow to the law of the country and try it out.

"Did the railroad companies do that? No, sir. Although they were handed the same proposition at the time we were, and we stayed in Washington eleven days waiting for them to accept or reject the proposition, they never did it, but they were deceiving the President every day by trying to make him believe they were working on the proposition and hoped soon to be able to hand him a satisfactory answer. While they were deceiving the Chief Executive of this nation they were hiring strike-breakers, fitting up boarding cars and preparing to fight

us."

Referring to the alleged selfishness of the Brotherhoods, the speaker said:

"I am ready to declare to the world we are going to work for the universal eight-hour day or better for every class of labor on earth, and if we cannot get it peacefully we will fight for it."

He expressed unalterable opposition to compulsory arbitration:

"Has Congress the right to pass a compulsory arbitration law that will say to you or me or anyone outside of penitentiary walls, 'You must work No. when you don't want to?" I don't believe Congress will pass a compulsory arbitration law. We will fight it as long as we have breath to fight anything."

Extending the good wishes of the Railroad Brotherhoods to the Federation, Mr. Lee said: "We are nearer today to affiliation with the American Federation of Labor than ever we dreamed of before."

In responding to the addresses, President Gompers spoke in part as follows:

"Men of the railroad brotherhoods, just this one remark to you: We expect that the railroad brotherhoods will, on the first of January, inaugurate the eight-hour work day, and I think I can truly say to you that whatever may arise, whatever betide, you have the undivided support of every man and every woman in the organized labor movement as represented in the American Federation of Labor. When the money power of the United States, failed in trying to corrupt the electorate of the United States and to mislead them, when their well-laid plans were frustrated by the citizenship of the United States, they showed their colors. They met, quite a number of them, and then they gave to the public the declaration that they were going to antagonize every effort put forth by organized labor; that they would fight us industrially, politically and legislatively I need not say that judicially they already have done so that they represent eight billions of dollars; that there were 15,000 employers; that they employed about seven million working people, and that they were going to use every instrumentality within their power in order to balk, defeat or undo the work of the American labor movement.

"Now, that is their right so long as they own the money; so long as they hold that position, they have a right to antagonize our movement, notwithstanding the fact that our movement stands for manhood, for womanhood, for childhood, as against their billions of dollars. I say to you it is their lawful right to make the fight against us, and all I can say in answer is: 'You men of wealth, be careful how far you go, for there is a limit to human endurance. You throw down the gauntlet and we will accept the challenge!' And when it comes we will quote from the greatest bard the world ever had -Lay on, Macduff; and damned be he who first cries, "Hold! Enough!""

(To be continued)

HE Tenth Annual Convention of the

U Building Trades Department of the

American Federation of Labor was

held in the Assembly Hall of the Moose Building, Baltimore, commencing Monday, November 27th; Mr. Thomas P. O'Rourke, President of the Baltimore Building Trades Council, in the chair.

Mr. N. E. Reeves, chairman of the State Legislative Committee of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen, expressed the desire of the Railroad Brotherhoods for closer relations between themselves and the organizations affiliated to the A. F. of L. This is the first instance in which the Railroad Brotherhoods have been represented at a Building Trades Department Convention.

Mr. Wm. Broening, States' Attorney of Maryland, urged the enactment of legislation to meet the evil of unemployment. He suggested that state and municipal governments reserve work on public improvements for dull seasons in order to fill in the gaps between the busy seasons of the different industries.

In introducing Mr. Isaac Loeb Straus, former Attorney General of Maryland, the chairman stated that he had drafted and forced the passage of more legislation in the interest of labor than any otner man in Maryland. Among the measures to his credit are the workingmen's compensation law, the child labor law, the eight hour law for telegraphers, the ten hour law for working women, the telegraphers' rest day bill, the corrupt practices act and other laws for the protection of the purity of elections.

Mr. Loeb paid a high tribute to the labor movement as the most efficient agency for the extinction of monopoly and privilege, for the extension of education, the establishment of shorter hours and better wages and for the gradual elimination of the intolerable poverty of the masses of the people. He declared it to be the living force destined to overcome the power of inanimate capital and secure for labor its just right to the wealth it creates, the agency that is establishing the new and truer concept that men are more desirable than money and that people are more important than property. He expressed the hope that in the near future every child born in America would have equal opportunities and equal rights to life,

the workers a chance to improve themselves, to read a little, to cultivate ideas, to know how to express them, to develop a taste for good books, for music and art and all the other things that make for a higher and a nobler life.

In responding to the addresses of welcome, President Williams said that building tradesmen were doers rather than sayers of things. He reviewed in an interesting manner the persistent efforts of the building trades unions to bring about the unity and cooperation necessary to the advancement of the interests of the men engaged in the building industry.

President Gompers conveyed to the Department the greetings and the good will of the Convention of the American Federation of Labor. He expressed the opinion that the recent Convention had accomplished more progressive and constructive work than any previously held. Replying to the criticism that the trade union movement includes only a minority of the workers, he emphasized the fact that the organized workers not only speak but fight for those who as yet are indifferent to organization or, because of the antagonism of their employers to unionism, have as yet been unable to organize. Every advance that trade unions have made has compelled non-union employers to grant betterments in a minor degree-and much to the satisfaction of the trade union movement.

He commented on the fact that the Executive Council and the Convention of the A. F. of L. had sustained the Department in its declaration of its right to determine the eligibility of international unions to affiliation. In stating that the Department was justified in debarring the Boiler Makers and Iron Ship Builders from further affiliation, he expressed the hope and the expectation that the Department would carry out the ruling of the Convention of the Federation that the suspended local union of the Boiler Makers and Iron Ship Builders should be denied further affiliation with the Chicago Building Trades Council.

All of the nineteen international unions affiliated to the Department-the Bricklayers, Masons and Plasterers' International Union has been added to the list since the San Francisco Convention-were represent

ed in the Convention, sixty-one delegates being in attendance. The International Association of Marble Workers which during the year had been declared ineligible to reaffiliation, was reinstated under a new title-the setting of marble having been conceded to the Bricklayers, Masons and Plasterers' International Union. The jurisdiction of the Marble Workers was amended to cover the polishing, rubbing and cleaning of marble, slate, glass, stone and all composition and imitations that require the same process of finishing required in polishing and rubbing of marble and stone, their jurisdiction to cover this work in the shops and upon buildings. The organization is to be known as the International Association of Marble and Stone Polishers, Rubbers and Sawyers.

The Brotherhood was represented by General President Geo. F. Hedrick; Brothers Max Hahn, of L. U. 27, Chicago; Chas. J. Lammert, of L. U. 137, of St. Louis; Fred D. Miller, of L. U. 102, of Cleveland; Leonard Kraft, of L. U. 703, of Philadelphia, and Chas. Barr, Jr., of L. U. 26, of Newark.

President's Report.

President Williams expressed gratification at the return to the Department of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. He expressed equal satisfaction at the application for membership of the Bricklayers, Masons and Plasterers' International Union. In this connection he said:

"For the first time in the history of the Building Trades movement we are united. What an era of possibilities stretches before us; what an opportunity to make the Building Trades Department respected by our own membership, by the employers and by the general public; what an opportunity for real constructive work. Now we are in a position to demonstrate the potency and the efficiency of our Department."

To lessen the frequency of strikes and to prevent the loss of time and money and the unnecessary friction caused by jurisdiction disputes, the President suggested that in future local strikes over jurisdiction disputes be prohibited and that such differences be referred to the international organizations and to the Department. He drew attention to the fact that firms doing a nationwide business and known to be absolutely fair are used by local councils to force the settlement of local jurisdiction disputes-a manifestly unfair practice. The following resolution covering this subject was adopted by the Convention:

Resolved, By this Tenth Annual Convention of the Building Trades Department, that before any strike can be called against a general contractor fair to union labor, doing an interstate or local business or any subcontractor doing business for said general contractor, and union conditions prevail throughout, the matter in dispute must be submitted to the President of this Department and to the presidents of the international unions involved before any action can be taken by a local council; and, be it further

Resolved, That the local councils affiliated to this Department shall be prohibited from calling a strike against any general contractor, fair to union labor, doing an interstate or local business, to correct any grievance of a jurisdictional nature or otherwise, before getting the sanction of the President of this Department and that of the presidents of the international unions directly involved affiliated to this Department.

It was distinctly understood that this would not prevent the calling of a strike if non-union men were employed on a job.

The Brotherhood vs. Asbestos Workers.

Among the many conferences arranged and in which President Williams had taken part during the year covered by the report was that held between himself, General President Hedrick and General President Mulaney of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers in reference to the complaint of the Indianapolis District Council of the Brotherhood that the Asbestos Workers had infringed upon our jurisdiction. President Williams reported that President Mulaney stated that the Asbestos Workers did not claim jurisdiction over the application of coatings for insulation applied with a brush and that he was willing to cooperate with the Brotherhood in securing respect for its jurisdiction rights.

The Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America vs. Amalga

mated Sheet Metal Workers.

At a conference in regard to the complaint of District Council 9 and Local Union 1087 (glaziers), of New York City, that the Amalgamated Sheet Metal Workers Union of that city refused to desist from glazing metal sash and skylights, it was agreed that President Williams should interview the officers and members of the Building Contractors' Association of New York City, as the Amalgamated Sheet Metal Workers contended that without the consent of their employers they were unable to conform to the provisions of the St. Louis agreement between the respective International Unions under which the glazing of metal sash and skylights was conceded to be the work of the members of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America.

President Williams regretted that he had been unable to reach the parties who are in a position to bring about a proper understanding. The Convention instructed the President of the Department to continue his efforts to arrange a meeting with the Employers' Association of New York City in conjunction with a representative of each international interested, the conference to be held at an early date.