Judge — June 25, 1921 — page 15: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Samuel Gompers In Misterical Tribute to the Man Who Took Labor Out of the Laboring Classes By Georce Mircnett “NAMUEL GOMPERS, according to all S other Historians, was born in London, England, on the twenty-seventh day of January in the year 1850 We say all ther Historians, because we disagree with them (and Samuel himself, if needs must) in firming that he was born on Labor Day. With England we shall pick no quarrel, ind as for the year, we are willing to leave amuel the task of straightening out with his new wife, the only person to whom it should make any difference at the moment There is little or no material at hand to ny light on what the small Samue! rs of age throw played with during the first six yea ney. However, a nimble imagination asily frisk up the necessary detail. There is little doubt that he worked for shorter toy, and having obtained it threw it aside, then called a convention of his play- mates, unionized them into a tional Federation of Anti-Grown-Ups, and jump- ing upon a cracker box, urged them against the performance of the daily chore, and incited them to kick for less schooling and a larger penny. It is not at all unlikely that the mature talent of today was no less present in him ring those academic days; no leap of a distorted brain is required to picture his baby arms flung out in wild gesture, his chubby fists clenched as he exhorted his constituency to cast aside the governing force of paternal discipline and sought to stampede the convention in an impassioned appeal against child labor. At the tender age of six, he entered school, where we picture him working stead- Drown by C. W. Katies INFORMATION BUREAU — Drawn by W. Pann Wuo'p Ever Tuixw Ir? ily, with grim purpose and constant per- severance for a shorter school term, a shorter multiplication table and a system of spelling that would exclude from the dictionary all words above cight letters in length, Eight has always been Samuel’s favorite numeral. Until he reached the mature age of ten, he battled with the School System—a matter of but four years. But in that short time we believe that, without his influence, Education must have developed into a long and tedious Institution, At ten he entered a shoe factory, but left it almost immediately. What he did for the shoe industry in that brief period we do not know, but we have our suspicions that he must have found that the shoe maker was doing nothing at all for a very high salary, and that in consequence he wasn’t needed there. In 1863, having spent the greater part of thirteen years teaching England that brev “Dip we overtook anytiinc, Brut?” “Div we! Jes’ LooKA THEM GoLD TEETH!” 1s ity is the soul of labor, he turned his talents on these Un-united States of America, for in the year 1863, if one remembers one’s history, one recalls that it was the closed season for Unions, the North and the South finding it extremely difficult to fraternize. One wonders what Samuel's advent on this strained relationship had to do with the happy result. Again History is silent, and again we have our suspicions. Be that as it may, from that moment on Samuel’s life has been just one darned union after another, but he never forgot that having been born on Labor Day, he to the cause of was dedicated—so to say Labor Under his guiding star shorter weeks have become shorter; shorter days have become shorter days; shorter minutes and seconds, shorter minutes and seconds working shifts in fact have become so sh that the factory whistle, overworked literally shrieks his name throughout this land of the free and home of the workless workingman The Government, from time to time recognizing his ability, has tried to divert it. Once he was tendered the nomination for State Senator, but Samuel was not to be deflected. Again Congress flirted with him ably that it might shorten its session and lengthen its salary—but Samuel smiled, shook out his flowing ringlets, doubled his. Union-suit and stood pat. And so he stands today: the Champion long-distance short-hour worker in this world of any other. He has labored to make Labor a joy to all those who n to employ it He has labored to make Labor so expen sive that it is only those who have use for it who can afford to buy it. One shudders to think what might have been had he been born twins—a pair of Union-made Number cight unshrinkable Gomperses! prob- save