Evening Star Newspaper, December 14, 1924, Page 23

SOCIALISTS' DINNER TALKS FAVOR UNION Co-Operation ir Poiitics by Various Interests Are Ad- vocated by Speakers. Union for political purposes of all the eclements working toward the “vague” but ‘“pressing” need of “emancipation of the working class- es” was urged by Speakers at a din- ner of the National Socialist Party, held last night at 719 . Thirteenth street, under the ausplces of the Dis- irict of Golumbia branch of the na- tional organization Soclalists, alf-Socialists,” labor- ites, and all members of the working classes were urged to define their “unformed and veague” groping after a4 principle of amalgamation with the elements working toward a third party, probably a labor pafty, accord- ing to Morris Hillquit, Socialist lead- er. The political wiseacres were Wrong in their prognesticutions of the re- suit of the recent presidential election and in their estimate of the result of ne election, Mr. Hillquit declared. ‘Fhat the vigtorious e didate was \ir. Coolidge made no difterence, nor | would it have made any difference had | Mr. Davis been clected, he said. The mportant thing about the election, \Ir. Hillquit declared, was that 5,000, W0 voters st their ballots for the ;andidates of a third party. M of these votes, he added, were rot votes for individuals, but eon- stituted an unfo cd groping for a rinciple on which the voters them- selves were not fully informed. Called Turning Point, The last election, he said, will go down in history as the turning peoint n the political history of the United States, iding that even though 5,000,000 votes were cast for La Fol- ctte and Wheeler, none but vision- aries could have hoped for victory in the first “skirmish.” “The result of the last election,” Mr. Hillquit said, “demonstrated the tremendous potential power of this clement. We have better cause to look with optimism into the future than did the pioneers in other coun- tries.” M Hillquit predicted permanent ‘ontrol of Great Britain by the La- bor Party, and declared that Socialigts everywhere preparing for the “freedom and justice Representative La Guardia of New York was termed “half a congres by Victor Berger, Social L member of Congress from Wiscon- sin. Mr. Berger also declared that within a decade there must bé some sort of socialism in the United States, If civilization is to survive. “I this country is to keep its liberty it must Ieep to the middle ground as between capital and labor,” he added. Other speakers included John Col- lins of Illinois, who declared the capitalist class is using ° political power to smash organized labor; Willlam M. Johnston, president of the International Machinists' Union; Joseph Sharts of Dayton, Ohio; N. F. Matson, secretary of the District or- zanization. who called for new mem- bers in Washington in order that more help may be given the national organization from the Capital, and Leo N. M. Harkins of New Jersey. Eugene V. Debs, Soclalist leader, was ill at the Hamilton Hotel and was unable to attend the dinner. Mr. Harkins called on Perley P. Chris- tiansen, Farmer-Labor candidate for President in 1920, to speak, but Mr. Christiansen did ot deliver an ad- res Executive Committee Action. Earlier in the day the national ex- ecutlve, committee of the Socialist Party voted to send delegates to the convention called by the Conference for Progressive Political Action, in Chi- cago, in February, for the purpose of deciding whether the political forces that suported the presidential campalgn of Senator La Follette shall be mar- shaled Into a permanent national po- litical party. Morris Hillquit, Eugene V. Debs and Bertha Hale White were named as the Soclalist delegates. At the same time the Soclalist com- mittee decided to summon a national convention of its own party, to be held on the same date and in the same city as the progressive gather- ing. Mr. Hfilquit, who committee meeting, sald the Social- ist delegates so assembled could vote their support or rejection of any political proposal that might result. “The action may be considered to show,” he said, “that the Soclalist Party is maintaining its friendly at- titude toward the attempt to organ- 4z¢ a labor party in the United States and is facilitating such a design in every possible way.” ‘The Socialist national convention, in addition to the three national del- egates, will consist of two delegates from each state organization. BAL BOHEME PAGEANT PLANS COMPLETED Promises to Eclipse Anything of Kind Done Here in Re- cent Years, PUONSSSEE SRR “The Second Judgment of Paris” is the name of the pageant feature of this vear's “Bal Boheme” which the Arts Club of Washington will present at the New Willard on the evening of Monday, January 5 and which promises to eclipse anything df the kind done here in recent years. Seven groups of Washington artists will present stunning scenes and proces- sions in the pageant of the arts, which Bas been arranged by Carlton Van Valkenburg, chairman of the ball presided at the \ PROMINENT AT SOCIALISTS’ MEETING Left to right: Vietor Berger Her disapproval of “Cytherea,” Jo- seph Hergesheimer's novel whose screen version recently was shown here, nearly got a Washington high school girl into the District Police Court and jail last week. Incidentally, she caused a lot of work for the district attorney’s office, shared in by handwriting experts there and from the Treasury Department, and by Dr. George F. Bowerman, librarian of the Public Library, and members of his staff. The young woman has not been ar- rested. These lines of type will be first to bring the glad news to her that the district attorney has decided not to is- sue a_warrant, though she confessed fn his office the offense of having glaringly defaced a library book—"Cytherea.” Gordon Explains Leniency. The following letter from Maj. Pey- ton Gordon to Dr. Bowerman explains why there is to be no prosecution : “Mr. will have told you the re- sult of the investigation by the district attorney's office into the defacing of the library's eopy of Hergesheimer's novel, “Cytherea,” examined by me. “Of the (apparently two) persons guilty of this offense, one confessed after having flatly denied any knowl- edge of how more than 30 pages of the book came to be written on in pencil and ink, She is 19 years of age, a pupil in one of the city’s high schools, She admitted having written most of the defacing comments “of protest” on the margins and between the printed lines. $1,000 Fine Possible. “Under the Federal statute, with which you are familiar, this young woman can be arrested and prosecuted. The maximum punishment provided is one year's imprisonment in jail and a fine of $1,000. She, and her mother as well, have been so informed by me. No inducement was held out for her confes- sion. “In considering the issuing of a warrant these circumstances were weighed: The young woman appears to be honest in her plea that she did not realize she was committing an un- lawful act in defacing the book, and there is no_evidence to disprove her statement that this is the only time she has thus abused a library book lent her on her card. She appears to be deeply penitent. “The disgrace of arrest, the cost of legal defense, and the hardship of punishment would fall heavily upon the mother as well as disastrously upon the daughter. The parent is the widow of a workman who was killed while an employe of the Government. She is a poor woman, apparently a good mother, who by years of hard work has provided for_a family of five chlldren, and now has paid oft the final installments on her small home. Temper Justice With Mercy. “The daughter's offense is estab- lished and the law Is plain. Yet it would seem that here Is a case where mercy can properly go along with justice; and I need not be assured that none will be more prompt to support such sentiment than yow htelligent persons who enjéy the privilege of borrowing public books will do well not to misunderstand any leniency shown in this case as extending to any other cases of abuse ©of library property in the District. The dfstrict attorney's office is in- formed that the present Is only one of many more or less flagrant instances of Public Library books - defaced by eommittee, and which will be shown under the direction of each group of artists, with Marle Moore Forrest as Pageantmaster. The Washington Chapter of the ‘American Institute of Architects will wive the first episode, that of Archi- tecture, the scene being “Pericles Re- celving-the Model of the Parthenon. A comimittee has already been formed in the.chapter-for. the presentation of this impressive episode, and not less than 30 members will appear in the processionak ‘The, second ‘group, ' representing Soulptigre, will fell the story of Pyg- malion %nd Galatea, and is to be given under fhe direction of Henry K. Bush-Brown an{ the Art Students' League, while the third group of Painting will be presented by the Corcoran School of Art, and will rep- resent a mural decoration of the pe- riod. This group is working under the -directisn of Burilss Baker, as- misted by Mrs. L. M. Leisenring and Mrs. Frederic Farrington. ‘The _ Caroline McKinley Daricers, under Miss McKinley's direction; will resent the .group of Poetry, giving dramatic dance visualization of the th aud 22d books of Homer’s lliad, ing the battle of the gods, who come to the ald of Hector and Achilles in thelr struggle for supremacy. This scene Wwill be preceded by the group representing Drama and followed by the group representing Music, and then will come the Dance, which is be interpreted by the Tchernikoff- er School, and will be called Ballet of the Muses,” which will Ahe finale of the pegeanty borrowers, impudént -or foolish enough to presume to add their re- ‘marks to the author's text. Charity ggests that they have .not known aboutthe punishment the law pro- vides for such misconduct. \ “Ignorance, however, is no justifi- cation for breaking the law, and I trust that the plight in which this young woman now finds herself will serve as a warning to all persons who need it. Further cases of book-de- facement will be prosecuted and, upon conviction, punished. Saved From Punishment. “Under all the circumstances in this case, I feel that the ends of justice will be best served by saving the young woman from public punish- ment, dnd I shall, therefore, not cause her arrest. Very truly yours, (Signed) “PEYTON GORDON, ttorney of the United States'in and for thé District of Columhia.” In & letter acknowledging. District Attorney Gordon's, Librarian Bower- man says: « “T entirely agfee with you that the circumstances justify. you in your de- cision not to’ prosecute the person who has bean identified as the one responsible for at least a portion of the defacement of tHe movel ‘Cy- therea. 2 “I note your willingness to prose- cute other ‘up this practice,*and we shall take advantage of such offer when similar cases occur. 849, ‘United States Revi: Statul f Wincousin, Bertha Hale White of Arkan- xecutive neoretary of the Socialist Kraphed yesterday at the Hamilton Hotel, w nual meting of the national executive committee of the party. GIRL PROVOKED BY “CYTHEREA” NEARLY JAILED FOR CRITICISM Remarks Written on Margin of Public Library Book by High School Miss Traced to Author b, Misspelled Word. arty, and Kugene V. Debes, photo- re they attended the semi-an- fully deface, injure, mutilate, tear or destroy any book, pamphlet or manu- script, or any portion thereof, belong- ing to the Library of Congress or to any Public Library in the District of Columbia * * * chall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall, when the offense is not otherwise punishable by some statute of the United States, be punished by a fine of not less than §10, nor more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not less than one month, nor more than one year, or both, for every such offense.’” The main Public Library and its several branches in the District cir- culate 1,136,000 books yearly to hol ers of cards. Investigation reves's that 1 in every 10 of these books is returned to the library desk de- faced in jead pencil -or ink or both. Most of the comments written on the pages by borrowers are trivial or siily, some are intended as criti- cism or nra!ue of the author or char- acters, a few are anarchistic and oo- cassfonally obsceng words and sen- tences appear. On many occasions, supected borrowers have been brought before the librarian and grill- ed. but almost always they have denied guilt successfully. Last week, for the first time, a case of deface- ment was taken to the District at- torney with the result as stated. Reader Is Incensed. The last person to take out the book “Cytherea” was so incensed upon encountering 30 or more of its franker pages cluttered up with such notations as “They can swear like sailors, can't they, Joe, dearest? Yes, my darling sugar plum,” that he arried the volume to Dr. Bowe and made complaint. The libraridn's response was promptly to send the book to the district attorney with a letter king his assistance in breaking up the practice. Maj. Gor- don called for the library cards of all persons who had taken out the book within a given perfod, and these were handed to him. They bear the signatures of the borrowers. These.| gave the basis for comparison with the two handwritings in the book. Assistant District Attorney Harvey Given was put in charge of the case. Himself an authority on handwrit- ing, he called to his assistance a handwriting expert in the Treasury Department. They got to work. By elimination, they selected 2 of 10 borrowers as the most probable of- fenders; but that no ground should be left uncovered, summonses were issued for all 10, and 9 of these were served by deputy United States marshals. The 10th has not yet been served. Suspected Educator Incensed, These are the persons who an- swered the summonses and were ex- amined in order by Mr. Given: A hus- band and wite, Government clerks; a high school teacher of English, a Wwoman; a married woman; the prin- cipal of a grade school, a woman; a Government clerk, a man; the high school girl who first denied and then confessed; a pupil in Business High School, a girl, who announced her- self *“a student of journalism”; a vivacious, twinkling lady of 71, who lives upon her income. The grade school princlpal was the only one of these who showed resentment at being summonsed and examined by the District Attorney. In the midst of writing on a sheet of paper, for comparison, some of the defacement sentences in the book, she threw down her pencil, threw back her head, 2nd demanded of Mr: Given to-know Wwhy she “should be subjected to this humiliation!” Bxcused: a moment later (for her personality-and hand- writing were miles away in inno- cence), she swept £rom the room with- out response to the prosec: - m; ;Good afternoon.” . B e merry-eyed lady of 71 was difterent. Of course, she would write the dample sententes, as -any of them as desired; why not? How could the law discover the guilty unless officials. investigated? ~ But really, “Cytherea,” was rather a horrid book, didn’t ome think? Hardly one to get into the hands of the youthful. She had told the young lady. at the library so when she took it back. Had her- Belf, the borrower,, found it, ah, in- teresting? Oh, well, but an old wom- an—ha,’ ha! | Misspelt Word as Clue. - As person after perséh was brought from the walting bench In the corri- dor, examined and . dismissed, Mr. Glven was keenly ajert for one who would misspell a certain word in writing down for him the defacement lines. On page 48 of “Cytherea” Hergesheimer's text reads: “Why in the name of God was he captivated by.Anette's casual ankles, Bnd indifferent o his wite’ margin alongside this the ‘defacer had written, in hl: “Why :gg;m.nnuar’ e nesses” (for as such they had beem 'probably guilty. | vet been called on by a deputy mar- STAR, 'WASHINGTON, D. U, DECEMBER Y4, 192—PART 1. HONELL ATTACKS TGOMPERS STAYED {[Cmmon o suocsen conrens ] THREATENS EXPOSE - LIGHT RATE HERE Calis-It Ridicalous, in Course of Senate Debate on Muscle Shoals. o Characterfzing as “ridiculous” the electric light charge in Washington of 10 cents per kiowatt hour, Sena- tor Howell of Nebraska, on the floor of the Senate yesterday afternoon, said that “Congress should be ashpmed of itself to allow such a high’ rate in the National Capital"” Senator Howell's remarks anent the. District were in the course of tife Muscle Shoals debate in the Senate. He was. giving statistics showing electrie chargep in the various eities of the United States in relatlon to the potential power to the Nation 'of Muscle Shoals, when be was asked by Senator Brookhart of Iowa, as to the electric charge per kilowatt hour in ‘Washington. ‘Ten cents a kilowatt hour. in Washington with no discount,” an- swered Senator Howell. “On & basis of 30 kilowatt hours per month, the publicly operated company in Cleve- land, Ohio, charges $1.30, the private- ly operated company $2 and the pri- vate company here in Washington $4. Theso figures prove that the same electric energy is 100 per cent more in the District of Columbia than it is in the city of Cleveland. - “Let me go back and call attention to the fact that there is nothing pe- cullar in Cleveland except public com- petition, and whenever public com- i is threatened, these results Query by:Senator Ball. Senator L. Heisler Ball, chairman of the Senate District committee, ased Senator Howell if he new that the rate here was only $ cents, as set by the Public Utllities Commission, and that the other 2 cents was at present impounded awadting the deci- sion of the courts. “I am_asking this question” said Senator Ball, “in order to be perfect- ly fair to the Utilitles Commission, which reduced the rate about two years ago.” T was not familiar with that answered Senator Howell. “I do want to say this, however, that even 8 cents is an outraglous price in the city of Washington. In Lincoln, Nebr., a city of 58,000 inhabitants, a private company supplies 40 kilowatts fo $2.10 and the electrical energy pro- duced In Lincoln is produced by steam, from slack that comes frou the Kansas district and costs about $5 a ton. Senator Howell said that in his opinion public competiton woul¢ bring down electric energy rates ali over the country. “If you will compare the rate, for instance, in Lincoln, with the ratc here you will find that we pay 9( per cent more in Washington for 40- kilowatt hours of electricity in a city of 480,000 than the people in the city of Lincoln pay with only 55,000 inhabitants. Why s that? I is because i Lincoln ‘they have publicly-owned plant which suppli a part of the city, just as they have in” Cleveland.” A Senator Ball, in an effort to fin¢ out why publicly-owned compani can operate on much lower figures asked if Senator Howell was takin into conslderation * the fact thai privately-owned companies had to pay large taxes. He said that he did not know the figures in othe cities, but that in Wilmington, Dela the electric light company s chargec 80 much for every pole it erects anc also charged so much for a direc: tax. He asserted that the statistics Sen- ator Howell was quoting were very interesting, but he thought they would be of greater service if the additional taxes, which private com- panies paid, were made known. The Cleveland publicly owned plant Senator Howell said, sets aside every year and places in the hands of the treasurer an amount equal to the taxes it would pay, as & sinking fund “I have quoted only one publicly owned plant,” he sald, “and ypu will note that I am not comparing the Washington rate with the public plant in Cleveland, but with the pri- vate plants in that city. That's why I say that the rate here s out of all proportion to that in the cities of’} Cleveland and Lincoln.” MOB HUNTS NEGRO FOR SLAYING WARDEN Bailiff Also Wounded When Pris- oner Seizes Gun and Makes Dash to Liberty. By the Associated Press. PRINCESS ANNE, Md, December 13.—Whipping a_pistol from th¢ holster of Lewis Dryden, 72-year-old warden of the Somerset County jall, Harry Merrill, 22, a negro, shot anc instantly killed Dryden, who was ar- resting him, seriously wounded Irz Carey, a balliff, and escaped into the woods on a farm six miles from here As he fell, Carey drew his pisto’ and emptied it after the fugitive slightly wounding & negro onlooker Carey dragged himself into his motor car and drove (o this place where he collapsed after giving the alarm. Af the peninsula hospital he was found to be suffering from two wounds in the back and one in the leg. Five hundred persons took up the hunt for Merrill, while the other negro’s wounds were being cared for on the farme A telegram to Norfolk Va., ordered a pack of bloodhounds for the pursuit of Merrill. All Mary- land authorities were notified and avenues of escape were at once closed by squads of State police. Dryden and Carey had gone to the farm to arrest the negro for the shooting of his step-father earlier to- day, As they were putting him in their motor car tke negro, who is six feet tall, seizéd Dryden’s pistol. Dry- den is survived by a widow and five children. Feeling is running high in Princess Anne over the incident. e Fire that destroyed.a grocery store on the first floor of a building ir Dunbar, = Scotland, drove _upstair: hundreds of mice which awoke the occupants of the top story flat just in :llma for them to escape With thelr ves. ————e e —irreverence. The high school girl, who later confessed was sixth to be examined, and she wrote it with “a.* Also, after she had written the sen- fence containing the “Joe, dearest, she admitted, in a quite small voice, having . a_hoy friend of that name. Her confession came very quietly a minute later when Mr. Given sald to her -lbrnztl-l A s A “Why did you write these things in _this book?" f: She was 1 of the 3 who had beéen picked from the 10 by the handwriting experts, as .the most The other has hoi shal with a summons. She has been found. £ 28 nat et other. GvER AcH £laas. pU— DEATH FOR MONTHS ‘Battle for Life Began in . Summer, But Rigorous . Work Was Fatal. By the Associated Press. SAN ANTONIO, Tex., December 13, The death of Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor which ocourred ‘here early some time by his clo: orkers, according to an official statement isfued tonight by the pub- licity department of the Federation. For months the “grand old ma they called him, had been “going on his nerve.” The statement which gives a pic- ture of Mr. Gompers' last illness and his last labor dattles from the stand- point of his own companions in the Federation, follows in part: “It was on May 27 that President Gompers was taken from his office in Washingfon to a hospital room {n New York. 1t was really then that thé fatal iliness began. His amasing recuperation over the perlod of the American Federation of Laber con- vention and the Pan-American Feder- ation of Labor convention was but & triumphant interlude. Those who know him will always be convinced that it was an almost miraculous vic- tory of will power over falling flesh. Falled at Convention. “At the Democratic national con- vention Mr, Gompers, coming in from Brighton, stood on his feet and talked for nearly an hour. When he had finished be seemed scarcely to know his friends, but his talk had been clear and concise to the last word. He watched the convention from Brighton. There his assoclates went ‘o report to him. There he sum- moned them after the close of the :onvention and there he told them khat, in his opinion, there was but Jne courge to pursue—a course long since known. It was the old, fighting oice in feeble frame that called to he workers to support La Follette. “In August the American Federa- fon of Labor executive council met in Atlantic City. The sessions were >pened by Mr. Gompers, but he was unable to preside through the concl slon of the sessions. The meetin were overcast with the gloom of the mpending approach of death. “Few who saw Samuel Gompers -in hose days expected that he could find he strength to go to El Paso for the innual convention of the American Federation of Labor. Stood Trip Well. “Then, on November 9, came the do- sarture from Washington for the long irip to El Paso and Mexico City. There seemed no ill effects from the -allroad journey to the border city. And the Samuel Gompers who stood n the platform at El Paso was a re- narkable Samuel Gompers. He was 10t the stalwart figure of old, but he vas, nevertheless, the fighting figu 3ut in his hotel room, after the day's iession, there was no different ple- ure. There was a different plicture ‘ven during the noon recesses. There was a picture of a man gone ired to the point of exhaustion, nan grayed with the last pallor of ading life, a man fighting with mag- ificent courage to go through with lagt big assignment—but fighting at he cost of life itself. Strength Increased. Strength seemed to come as the sonvention wore on. That is, strength eemed on the increase to those aw. him in public. Many hoped h vould abandon his plans to go to ‘fexico City, but few ever knew how he aged heart was determined to un- tertake that journey. It represented he crowning event of years of val- ant effort. ‘The earliest murmurs of revolt \gainst tyranny in Mexico had caught he ear of Samuel Gompers and hi: trong arm was enlisted in that caus “he peaceful Inauguration of a presi- 1ent elected by the working people of Mexico appealed to Samuel Gompers 's it,appealed to few other men. He 1ad wrought with all his strength for hat achievement. He had, a ye srevious, in Juarez, made the opening weech of the campaign that took “alles to the president’s chair. And ‘0 Samuel Gompers made his last pil- irimage to the shrine of a new free- jom whick he had helped to mold. “At no time up to last Saturday— just a week ago—did Mr. Gompers pare himself. He witnessed the in- wuguration of President Calles, sitting n a blazing tropical mountain sun. 4He was applauded in volume second Iy to the president himself. He went to the national palace to a re- sption. Here he pinned an A. F. of. L. convention badge on the presi- lent while a Mexioan Mbor mai inned a Mexican labor badge by its dide.. On December 3 the convention of the Pan-American Federation of Labor opened. “Throughout the week, including ¥Friday, Mr. Gompers presided over e sessions. This he did in unheated wlls and with almost constant »bstacles to overcome. Called for Woll. “Friday night, after Mr. Gompers tnew that he would attend no fur- her sessions of the convention, he sent for Vice President Woll and 1sked him to deliver a final message o the represeptatives of labor gath- red there. It was a message of 20pe—a Message to carary on and inally to plant the banner of human ‘reedom high and firmly on the pin- nacle. “More than once Mr. Gompers had said to his friends that he -wanted ‘0 dle ‘on the job’ That, in fact, Is what happened. He spent his last lays in hard work. There was no plaining. No holding back. “He was irked by the efforts of “is nurse and his friends to check is expenditure of energy. And finally 1e was irked st his own inability to ‘0 further. He neither wanted to stop work nor to die. But finally 3aturday came and there was no soing on. “There was disagreement as to vhether the atteinpt to bring hi wme should be postponed or under- aken at once. He settled that ques- tion himself. ‘Take me home,’ was his swn verdiot. VOCATION WORK UPHELD. Society of Educators Expresses Sorrow &t Gompers’ Death, INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., December 13. —L. H. Dennis of Harrisburg, Pa., State direotor of vocational educe- ion in Pennsylvania, was re-elected resident of the National Society for Vocational Education at the close »f its eighteenth annual convention. Vice presidents chosen indluded C. F. Niehols, Boston, and E. R. Jenkins, New York City. Resolutions were adopted -express- ng sorrow at the death of Samuel lompers, 1 the Fess gmend- ‘ment ‘befare Congress providing for funda to.put home economies, vocs~ ‘lonal education on the sarhe basis as *hat for'trades and industries; urg- ‘ng a'national apprenticeship system, wnd reaffirming the soolety's faith in the national vocational .education Jrogram. So popular are American shoes in that Mexican man 15 ONED TO SUCCEED GOMPER GOMPERS' VIGOR - SEEN IN EL PASO Veteran Overcome by Emo- tion; But Handled Con- vention Firmly. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, December 13.—Samuel Gompers endeavored to give to his final convention of the American Federa- tion of Labor at El Paso, Tex., last month the same type of militant, for- ward-looking leadership he had of- fered in the councils of the organiza- tion for more than 40 years. He refused to give ear to the admo- nitions of his colleagues that he con. serve his energy, and on several 6¢. casions became impatient with those who sought to guard him against the discomforts and inconveniences of the program. In Chair Eight Days. He was ip the chair when the con- vention was called to order on No- vember 17 and he ended the meeting on November 25. “There belng no other business be- fore the convention, I do now, in ac- cordance with the unanimous vote of the delegates, declare the forty- fourth annual convention of the American Federation of Labor ad- Jjourned sirie die,” he said, He pound- ed the table .with the gavel with greater vigor than at any time dur- ing the business sessions. Tossing the gavel to a far corner of the teble with an air of triumph and an audible sigh of relaxation, he sank to his chair, apparently momentarily exhausted by the confiicting emotions of the experience. He sat motionles: for perhaps a full minute, watching with unseeing eyes the departure of his lifelong associates, Tears welled to his eyes, and on his lips there w the slightest suggestion of a smile. Delegates and friends eager to con- gratulate him upon his re-election and the success of the convention, soon crowded the stage. Unwittingly they formed a closely knit circle about the speaker's ch where Gompers relaxed: in the glorious _oblivion of pleasant recollections. The friends stood back awaiting his first move. Conquers Emotion. Gompers drose; wiped the tears away, Tzughed aloud and passéd @ pleasantry on the so'emnity of the gathering. An assistant brought him a glase of water, and in a few seconds, the tremor vanished from his hands and arme, he was the center of the hand shaking, laughing and fun-making crowd. 1 have but one aim, one ambition in my life” Gompers sald from the chalr the day before the convention adjourned. “I seek only to be of service to'my fellow men. Nothing so exalts the soul of man as service to one's fellows.” On_another occasion, Gompers in- terrupted the dedate to tell a funny story about an Irish friend in Wash- ington ‘who used to call him on the phone on confidential matters and speak German, much to the amusement of “my Irish friends.” “They would hear Kelly sputtering at a tremendous pace and they all thought it wAs ‘Gaellc.” his story con~ cluded, Despite his wish to make no con- cesslons to his advanced age, Gompers was persuaded several times to re- linquish the chair to one of the vice presidents and go to his hotel to nap for an hour or two. “On the trip of the American del gates across the Rio Grande to Jaures, for a joint meeting with the Mexican Federatlon of Labor convention on November 18, President Gompers resolutely insisted upon entering the Mexican clity on foot, as the Mexican leaders had marched to El Paso the day before. He firmly declined to motor to the Tivoli Gardens in Jaures, choosing instead to ride to the Mexi- can side of the international bridge in the city street car and then to get Into the procession, under the dexi- can and American flags, to the Tivoll. Last of Early Chiefs. Mr. Gompers alluded. to his long service in the federation in his for- mal address to the convention. In pleading for continued adherence to the principle of voluntary action in labor policy, he reminded the con- vention he spoke as “the only dele- gate to that first Pittsburgh conven- tion (in 1881) who has stayed with the problems of our movement through to the present hour.”” “Thus, President Gompers was the only person in the convention who frankly gave utterance to his thoughts on the overshadowing comnsideration in the assembiage, namely the state of Mr. Gompers' 1th.” % At another point, Gompers, sald in his annual message: “Events of recent months have made me keenly aware that the time s not far distant when I must lay down my trust for others to carry forward. ‘When one comes to close grips with the eternal things, there comes # new sense of relative values and the less worthy things lose signifi- canc Adaress Read By Al Gompers went through with the opening formalities on the first day of the conventiom, but when he came to the reading of MNis address he ap- peared unwilling to use the energy which would be required-to throw his voice to the corners of the large hall,_and_turned the manuscript ove to Vice President Willlam Green to read.. Near the end of the convention, rep. resentatives of the International Ladies Garment Workers' Union, pre. sented a large marble. bust of Gom- pers to the tion as & memorial of his life of service. When'the flag which screened the bust was lifted, at the “surprise ending” of am . his- torical sketch of the labor movement, the, convention broke into wild ap- plauise. Mr. Gompers, his back to the pedestal and bust looked with be- wilderment for the cause. When his eyes fell upon the bust, he was over- come.” He ‘sank to his chair and sobbed. 2 4 “1 . may have something to say dater,” “he -said after a moment of ®o_matter what the Tpper left: Mathew Woll, Upper right: Willlam Green. Lower: James Dunean, who sought to dissuade him from Journeying to the Mexican capital. “As long as I have life 1 want to give what little help I can to ald the workers of Mexico and cheer them in their fight against oppression and autocracy. The inauguration of President Calles is & big moment in their lives, and I want to be there to enjoy it with them.” HOOVER EULOGIZES DEAD A. F. OF L. HEAD Other Officials and Leaders of Trade Would Pay Tribute to Gompers’ Work. Higli officials in Government and leaders in the business world joined today in expressing their sorrow at the death of Samuel Gompers, presi- dent of the American Federation of Labor. Secretary Hoover, in a brief eulog: declared “there is no parallel in his- tory to his career—elected and re- elected to his high office by the fran- chise of millions vear after year for more than 40 years.” Alfred E. Smith of New York, now in Washington, said “A great American passed when Samuel Gompers died. His American- ism was made finer through having been born outside the country. All his life was devoted to the support of principles in which he believed with all his heart. Labor has lost a great leader, America a true citizen and humanity a real friend.” “It does not require a full support of all his views to believe in Mr. Gompers' ideals,” =aid Bernard M Baruch in a message of tondolence to Mrs. Gompers. “He served his fel- low men truly and in such a way as to entitle him to the gratitude of his country, and it is in that spirit that I offer my tribute. Judge Payme's Tribute. Upon learning of the death of Sam- uel Gompers, Judge John Barton Payne, head of the American Red Cross, satd: “The American Red Cross has lost a true friend in the death of Samuel Gompers. He was a valued member of our board of incorporators. He thor- oughly understood and warmly sym- pathized with all the work of the Red Cross and did much to aid our program. It was on November 8, last, that Mr. Gompers, in one of his last pub- lic_statements, said: “It is with a deep feeling of appre- clation of magnificent work perform- ed that I urge upon the working people of our country, and upon our sitizens generally, to come to the sup- port of the Red Cross.” e e Motor passengers between Bagdad and Belrut are carried on mail auto- ‘mobiles, made in America, the sched- uled time for the §50 miles being 20 hours, with three stops for mealy but none for sleep. s w IN'WET CONSPIRACY Hohoken Man Says He Has More Facts on Weehaw- ken Smuggling. By the Associated Press. NEWARK, J., December 13.—- Willlam P. Verdon, Republic of Hoboken, who admitted thut he had “tipped off” Albert (Breeze) Ransom Federal prohibition agent, that a cargo of liquor would be landed o the Weehawken water front on the night of November 21, tonight threat- ened @ new expose in connection with the bootlegging conspiracy. In a statement published in a local news- paper, Verdon accused Hudson Coun- ty authorities with laxity in enfor ing State and national prohibition laws. Verdon denied he had beem asked to testify before the Federal grand jury here next Tuesday, but expressed his willingness to do so if called, Backed By Edge. In Tnited States Attorney Wal G. Winne's declaration that he would not be surprised “if Washington « and the intim that mo indictments will be , New Je sey politicians tonight professed see a remewal of the fight betw New ¥ Anti-Saloon Lea; ates Senator Walter Senator Edge, an avowed brought about Winne's ap t- Samuel Wilson, assistant su perintendent of the league, has erit cized Winne's conduct of his office. It was learned that Senator Edgé in Washington has announced his tention of interviewing Attor General Stone to ascertaih Winne's exact standing with his superiors and to inquire whether the New Jersey Federal attorney is listed by Mr Mabel W. Willebrandt, assistant at torney general, among the nine ot ten United States attornevs she would remove if she had the power, becau: of “their inactivity and politic evasiveness” in connection with pro hibition enforcement. PHILIPPINES ASKHNVEWS BY RADIO BE CONTINUED Gen. Wood and Business Men Offér Plea That Navy Service Be Extended by Congress. By tle Associated Press MANILA, December 13.—Gov, ties Leonard Wood has cabled th Department «t Washington, cal ({tention to the importance the renewal of congressional ity for the Navy transpa to handle press dispat pires =oon, on & value of the serv East. The American Chamber of Co merce also adopted a resolution urg ing a renewal of the press radio sert ice, declaring it has been of the ut most benefit to the public and its loss would be a genuine calamity. Copies of the resolution were warded to the Chamber of Comm of the United in various cities request that the ount of the greal to the entire Fa; America, with petition Congress to grant an extension of the authot- 1ty, particularly on behalf of Manila and the Philippines. The appeal was directed w cial v zation regions. th spe- or toward commercial organi- n the San Francisco Bay Among a recent auts tion in London were a blue silk vest worn by Charles I on the scaffold and some baby linen which was said have belonged to Bonnie Princ Charlie. Candy of Qualit; Phone Columbi m/a Quiley 18th and Columbia Road WHEN YOU NEED A KEY You need our instant dupli- cating service. Duplicate key, 25c. Brin% your locks to. the shop. URNER & CLARK, Basement, 1233 New York Ave. Give Something Electric “STANDARD GOODS—GUARANTEED SERVICE” “Electric Gifts Are Remembered” Electric Heat Pads. 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