The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 15, 1904, Page 1

thirty hours vember 15, 1904: Sen Tuesday; brisk to WILLSON, THE WEATHER. Porecast made at San Francisco for ending Francisco and Local Forecaster. Temvorarily in midnight, No. vietr high ty—Rain southeast Charge. 0. 168 MAJESTIC- TIVOLI—"The — — THE THEATERS. ALCAZAR—“The Climbers." CALIFORNIA—"A Friend of the Family.” CENTRAL—""Winchester.” COLUMBIA—"The County Chair- man.” CHUTES—Vaudeville. FISCHER'S—Vaudevills. GRAND—*“The Fatal Wadding.” “Hearts Aflame.” ORPHEUM—Vaudeville. Messenger Boy.” - AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR OPENS TWENTY- FOURTH ANNUAL CONVENTION IN SAN FR MUCH SPEECH MAKING THAT GETS CHEERS Lyric Hall s Gay With Many Flags of Nation. Welcomes Given Vitriolic Phrases In- troduced by the Speakers. ging general ome of the eve that this ) try to see if to indorse the Chi- aps were went to of fight sidered by emies or in | or of Colo- noe. | a band of ng of the ahead of e how = om the Russ >on- B of mny Comes Marching Jome the proceedings of the ¥ were attuned FLAGS IN QUANTITIES. were everywhere, on sident Gompers, on the which the seecretary of the on and the British and Can- | egates sat, looped up on the | of the stage, at the back of the | where two large flags flanked | large picture of Gompers. Then stage | S¥ | i A e Délégat;as Are Youn stream- t profusion srlooked. he 1 upied the ' lcleg sat in the body of the Long tables were arranged the length of the auditorium. Bes delegate the facilit t in the body en by delegates, of a railing that house Near the door was guarded | of workingmen who were | erested spectators. Among the dele- | ates were several women. There was o one negro delegate on the floor, | who rose to say something just before | the noon recess, but he was out of or- der, and sharp series of raps of the‘ sompers’ hands caused him to The gallery that surrounds the outside was a fringe rium on three sides was com- vy filled with spectators. Here also were a few women, but the great ma- | Jority of the delegates and nearly all| the spectators were men. | YOUNG MEN NUM ’ They e nearly all young men, two- | of the entire number, both in the | in es ts and old or le gates is , Mass., the The Robert aged east of the de of Lawrenc only delegate from There were se' older. Gray beards and g known only to a minorit minority at that. The first cheers of the day were heard when Mayor Schmitz climbed to the stage and faced the audience. Gompers | received a good welcome. He is smooth- | Meloney ears—the | of Boston. | eral others not much | Ay hairs were | and a small | ly shaven, short, stout, wears gold bowed eyeglasses, a snugly fitting| Prince Albert coat of black, which re- | veals a well-rounded figure; on the fcurth finger of his left hand is a hand- some seal ring: on his shirt front glit- | ters a large diamond. When he jokes | with the audience he looks as benevo- ! lent as Mr. Pickwick. When he is ex- | cited his voice rises, and the fact that| he has a strong, firm mouth and a| prominent nose is impressed on the| ctators. Gompers' associates on the | stage were a comfortable looking lot without exception. They were well dressed, smiling and enthusiagtic. The twé British delegates—Wagnall and William Abraham, M. P.—have beards. They looked like conservative business men as they sat a good part of the day on the stage. Mr. Abraham frequently called out, “Hear, hear,” when some- thing that pleased him was sald. After Gompers had called the conven- tion to order J. O. Walsh, president of the San Francisco Labor Council, deliv- ered an address of welcome to the dele- Gray Heads Are Few. the tables sat the delegates in opposing | squipped with writing mate- | !’ ral effect being to pro-| ression that a great nun | esolutions m g Men; What he said was in part as fol- workers of mbers of our family and hc delegates represe; r move- nism knows no distinction of 1; neither does it kno a clime, the years that have passed s of the organized worker the music of that noblest e human race, industrial lib- and equality. Francisco erty to raise her never fal ru the world's ear in sympathy to s uttermost corners n with you in st we are with comrades in arms, he noble cause. Long may our meeting last, and when the parting comes, may the fraternal handshake place a firmer seal upon the union of our hearts. WALSH GIVES WELCOME. During your visit with us it will be our pleasure to show you some of the beauties of California, a State in which nature has com- bined the elements in the production of her chojcest handiwork. The citizens of California are proud of their heritage of mountain and valley, of river and fleld. We are proud, too, of our people, the children of the hardy plo- | ers of '49. But, above and before all, we proud of our labor movement—that struet- ure of our own hands—which, in extent and po. tency, so fittingly complements the physical characteristics of our surroundings. seeds of that movement were planted by glants of the early days and through sun- and storm the crop has prospered ex- g well. It is our boast, and a_justifiable I hope you will admit,’ that San Fran. e of the most thoroughly organized > United States. We owe that fact the soundness of the principles upon which r work is founded and upon which it has been conducted. Those principles, I hardly need remind you, are the principles of the American Federation of Labor. It is now sixteen years since the San Fran- cisco Labor Council, .then known as the Fed- crated Trades, secured a charter at your hands, x charter which, bearing the name of your, and our, honored president, Samuel Gompers, still graces the kall of the Labor Council, a charter which has never been disgraced and which, God willing, shall forever remain with us as the emblem of our faith and the in- spiration of our hearts and hands. In 1888, when that charter was granted, the Labor Couneil stood here upon the shores of the Pacific the solitary outpost of the labor movement_separated by a thousand miles trom the nearest company of our friends. To-day we stand In the midst of the great army of organized labor, the lines of which extend north, south, east, aye, and west, In un- broken phalanx, ready to do. battle for the cause in whick we are enlisted. During these years many stirring events have occurred, but the principles of organized labor have triumphed over all opposition, whelher from without or from within. In all this we do mot claim any special merit In ourselves. We recognize, and we here make personal ac- knowledgment of the fact, shat but for the support of our fellow trade-unionists in other parts of the country, organized and federated under the banner of the American Federation of Laber, we pould not possibly have prosper- ed so gloriousdy as we have. Mr. President and delegates to the conven- tion, 1 feel that no words of mine, no words, however eloquent, of human tongie, can ex- press the pride and gratification with which the trade-unionists of San Francisco greet you upon the eve of your labors. I feel, too, that no formal expression of our regard is needed. Let me ask you in all sincerity to take the deed for the ‘word. Again 1 bid you welcome, thrice welcome, within our gates. Stay as long as you can and may the all-seeing One guide and bless you | | | conditions of the Pacific C SIDENT. GOMPEF CRETARY. MIVE COUNCIL AND DELE LABOR AT TH MORRISON, TES OF THE NVENTION AT LYRIC AME HALL. THE ERATIC LIRS o 5 in y letiberations on behalf of the high and | ol ¢ labor President Knox of the California 3 State Federation' of Labor was next in- | and ther troduced by the chairman. He began lele es to the city State of Cali- hope that the ntage of ‘the welcoming th sed the fornia and expre % adv; itors would take portunity. afforded them by their visit to see the other cities of the State. He dwelt upon the work of the State federation and its fight against the Chinese and Japanese laborer. Knox urgently asked the delegates to investigate personally the cheap labor t so that when the time comes they will rally to the support of the Western labor men in their attempt to obtain effec- tive exclusion legislation. He closed with a tribute to President Gompers and the work of the American Federa- tion of Labor in its active reptesenta- tion of over 2,000,000 workingmen. J. Willlams, president of the City Front Federation, spoke a few words of welcome and expressed the belief of the federation in the principles of advancement of the wage-workers of the country. P. H. McCarthy followed in a speech against the Citizens’ Alliance, Herbert George. and the union man who know- ingly handles non-union goods. Mc- Carthy’s remarks were frequently ap- plauded. He welcomed the delegates to California and expressed the hope that many of them would stay here after their work was finished, because, as he said, he wanted California bullt up by the best people. Not the Kind,”” he continued, “that are brought here through the manage- ment of notorious scoundrels like Her- bert George; not the kind brought here by Murray & Ready, who are saved only by technicalities from be- ing behind prison bars. The open shop will not exist in California, no matter how many strike-breakers they bring to maintain it. Their proceed- ings are bad for workmen and mil- lionaires alike, as evidenced, by the late outrages in Colorado. “We have no fear of the Citizens’ Alliance, no fear of the open shop, and I ask you to do one thing—see to 1t that you do not pass non-union articles and try to sell them to union men. The only way to make this great or- ganization useful is to have discipline and provide the sinews of war. In this city—probably the best organized in the world, I speak for the building trades—I will give you $100 for every ‘scab’ mechanic you find by raking the city over with a fine tooth comb.” GOMPERS REPLIES. Mayor Schmitz welcomed the dele- gates at considerable length as the chief magistrate of San Francisco and also as a member of a labor unon. President Gompers then made reply to the addresses of welcome and his address was frequently cheered. Gom- pers spoke as follows: 1 beg to thank you in behalf of the Ameri- he is & Chinaman. Call hinf by any other name lations to can Federation and eit One. tatives have come to the ast, bu and two years ago the exec the fe tion for the this tyr greéat city and § “Westward the its way.'’” that as the he sturdy pioneers wi tremerdous odde, to establ boom towns, t = cities and t State to me that thi heid, a session It seemed this ity 1 T We are honored by come ‘and believe we are say that we bring honor to men who make up the you ‘American Federation of Labor are men who | have graduated from the factory, the mill and the mine. shop, who bave stood there is no better place n out the character of a man and at his work. There, | man s mean, To me | first time ate as th course the test of shopmates, of t of n of the growth old maxim of empire men of the early ho_fought against lish camps, and_after that 1 repeat it seems growth is typical of the steady advance of organized laber in California r words of ‘wel- not vain when we | your State. onventions of The the the work- They are men and this ‘world to find than in the shop f anything in the it will show itself. s always an inspiration to meet | the delegates to the national convention. No matter how tired and worn out I am when 1 meet any delegates I meet men, and I have an opportunity to drink at the fountaln of the | elixir of iife. We shall be conservative—only just as far as is essential to the success no more. We ha to know what you want and right in wanting it. of our movement, learned the meaning. of that term and’its various constructions. 1t is then know you're To be canservative in every way that will help to conserve success for the achievement of your the best conception to blac Be moderate -in your deman th determindtion to achieve The men that paved the tion here overcame obstacies and_ignorance of the forme: to do we have to contend purpose. That is e upon the word. ds, but radical in them. way for civiliza- and the prejudice r inhabitants. = So with these forces. There is no charge under the sun, no crime on the calendar with which the men of the American Federation have We do not claim that any one joining federation thereby becomes an angel archangel. We have no cho not _been .charged. the or an ice; we must take the workmen as the- are, and if our oppovents charge that they are ignorant men and some of viclous propensities, all in answer Is that it is the of the modern cavitalist, that we can say fault of the greed who doesn’t care where he goes. Who wiil rake the four cor- ners of the earth to bring in men, so long as ~tle. they work rheap and The employer will are perfectly contente enough to be for us to, organize for then long ana are d men are 3 good employed they are good enough T bettermeat. No man can say that by.Jjoining an organization clous man will become ters. who requestéd a private talk. pointment to meet him before my train left. While ,on the stry When 1 reached the place celved a phome message fro; ing that the house of the club to Which he | belonged was burning and that he could not | 1 quote this merely to show that I meet me. ile stopping over in Indianapolis 1 to visit the varfous labor headqua: more vivious. had I met Mr. Parry, 1 made an ap designated I re- m Mr. Barry say- am_mnot certain but that I shall be charged with setting fire to the clubhouse. The American Federation of Labor stands for everything that is best in ment. It is constructive. not destructive. buflds up manhood and citizenship. the labor move- It The rec- ords of the movement at the homes and fire sides show our advancement. . It has been our lot for years in the East to guard against dan- ger, but thanks to Providence and wise thought organized . labor has placed vanguards of the labor movement at the Golden Gate. Your mission is to guard the gate from those who would undermine Western civilization. We do not object to the Chinaman because Delegation Include Women, el object to him. We object p man, and no up of cheap the United Stat £ - tain, the labor movement is b rto Rico it is one. In a this unification will extend to the and then and not till then will the h talked of universal peace be assured. While here we shall attend to the work of e convention to the best of our endeavor. 1ke away with us anything ex- cept ybur good will and, good wishes, and I hope the respect and confidence of your unions in of record of work well done in the ing people East and West. And add that I hope kindly ap- be vouchsafed the men and out the mn: n working in the American Federation of Labor. On motion Will J. French of the Typographical Union of San Fran- 0 was appointed assistant secre- tary of the convention. The committee on credentials then made a report Immediately following the report William G. Schardt, representing the Chicago Federation of Labor, declared that his name had not been read and desired to know if he was seated. He was informed that the committee would decide his case at the earliest | possible moment. Michael Casey was appointed ser- geant at arms and A. E. Smith messen- | ger. The various committees for the two weeks' session were then ap- pointed. RTINS PRAISE THE CALL'S ENERGY. Special Labor Editioh the Subject of Much Favorable Comment. 0. A. Tveitmoe, the secretary and treasurer of the State Building Trades Council of California, yester- day was profuse in his praise of The Call's Federation of Labor edition that appeared on Sunday morning. He said the paper was being sought | for by strangers in the city and that it ‘would be kept by visitors as a ref- erénce on labor questions. Fred Hudson, representing the Western Central Labor Union of Se- attle, Wash., declared the edition was one of the finest he had ever read and one which would be thoroughly ap- preciated by every labor delegate now visiting on the coast. He is a member of Typographical Union No. 202. John W. Morton, president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, saild The Call's Sunday morning edi- tion contained more labor literature than was ever printed in that number of pages before and that it was the intention of Eastern delegates to the | convention to circulate a large num- ber of copies throughout the sections they represent. J. B. Dale and L. B. Levitt, who represent the Labor and Trades Coun- eil of Vallejo, pronounced The Call's edition splendid. They said the paper had been read by every laboring man about the navy-yvards and in the vi- cinity of Vallejo, and that The Call was the only paper to be seen in the hands of the delegates at the head- quarters or at the cenvention hall. J. Fitzgerald, who represents the ‘Waiters’ Union of this city, said “The Call's special edition was the finest that ever happened.” Fitzgerald has assisted in entertaining a large number of the visiting delegates and says that all of them extend congratu- the paper for its enterprise inter- | ANCISCO DISCUSSION OF THEMES OF INTEREST TAudiences Assemble in Theaters to Applaud. |Clerks Are Rated lOpen House Is Kept . for Delegates’ Pleasure. l —_— Co-operative stores were discussed at a gathering of the butche carmen’'s unions at the A night. The house was fil orators and the audienc siastic. Richard Cornelius, the Carmen’'s Union, a man. John L. Davie, ex-Mayor land and head of the California C operative Meat Company; P. H Carthy and W. D. Mahon, pre: the Intermational t Carmen’ ion, were the spea John Mitchell was expec an address, but he sent word ing to other engagements he e appear. P. H. McCarthy told of the organiza tion of the Pr and in a flery adc policy of open shop and operation. He s a id in part: strong enough the Corbetts and Fit could not Jand i tion mean end | cut and the blacklisting | Eet the othiy fellewom kasgh. theis “m: | We do” not wanmt It. THey caanor take it with them when they dle. There is o donated alreedy to start -~ | shops in San_ Fra | the ones in Oakis J. L. DAVIE SPEAKS. J. L. Davie was introduce lius. He said in part: | I came back to O | ago, having ju I had no mx I_went 2 50 a day { days when was justly & -ope: had tofled while 1 burglars . we started the movement for e butcher-shops. We a with 1o office furnitu but a ba desk and a table, but we had our nerve. The California Co-operative Meat Company started with one | shop. Now it has five and we will have two more before December. D. Mahon said in part: and co The differenc co-operative an in work one anc | where workiz act Uke bust This movem want to tear dowr to destroy the sleeves and go Ir will_and our oppone: business. BARBERS ENTERTAIN. The Journeymen Barbers open house last night at thei street headquarters f the ente ment of the visiting delegates. Among the visitors were President 1 ternational Barbers’ Union Fra | chang, Secretary J. C. Shillebar, secretary of th | Metal Workers' Union; | business agent of the Western Mine! Union of Colorado; W. E. Klia past secretary and treasurer Barbers’ International Union, soon go and Frank Smith, president of the Oakland Journeymen’s Union. All these short addresses. President Samuel Gompers addressed a large gathering of retail clerks in ‘ Ploneer Hall last night. If those pres- | ent expected praise they were doomec | to disappointment. He accused | of niggardliness and lack of apprecia- tion of what had been done for them by members of other branche: ized labor- After gaining a members of the “associations, | usually prefer to style their o | tions, would disband sooner than y | the 50 cents a month to keep their | ganization alive. In about a j | conditions would obtain, fol | more agitation, another victory | its heels a: her disbandment. | clerks, he said, are starving out made their own international officers to save a few | cents per capita. Mr. Go: pers | strongly in faver of universal p | but he sald it must either come from mutual recognition or from fear The meeting was presided over by | Charles B. Whilden, president of the | district couneil of retail clerks. Among | the speakers were J. H. Devine of | Scranton, Pa., a delegate to the con- vention; Max Morris of Denver, inter- national secretary-treasure: the | tall clerks: G. E. Schaver of Portland | secretary of the State Federation of Labor; Mayor Eugere E. Schmitz and ¥. 8. Lewis, national vice president of the United Mine Workers. &+ . | in giving so much labor information | 3. B. Conroy of St Louis and C. L. | Shamp of Omaba. both representa- tives of the International Brotherhood of Stationary Firemen. read The | Call’s special edition before they ar- | rived in the city and praised it very !hlghly. On their train were several | delegates, all of whom purchased as | many copies of the paper as they lcould procure from the news agent.