Wheeling Register

Of Labor Opens Its Eleventh Annual
Convention.
PRESIDENT
GOMPERS' ADDRESS
Will Not Be Delivered Till To-Day—The Annual
Financial Report Presented by Secretary Chris.
Evans, With a Short Speech of Advice
—Balance in the Treasury.
Birmingham,
Ala.,
December 14.—
The city
is
full
of
delegates
of
the
American
Federation
of Labor.
President Gompers has arrived and all the officers are on hand.
At Holy Springs, Miss., yesterday, the
Chicago delegation stopped over to
change railroads for Birmingham.
Richard Braunsing, delegate of the
Furniture workers, of Chicago, bears a
close resemblance to John L. Sullivan
for whom there seems to be a warrant
in that State.
The local authorities made a mistake
and arrested Braunsing for Sullivan.
The entire population turned out to the
court house to view the noted pugilist
and it took him three hours to explain.
Every apology was made and the delegation came through with no hard feelings.
The eleventh annual convention convened at Erswell Hall at ten o'clock
this morning, being called to order by
President Samuel
Gompers.
Gov.
Thomas G. Jones delivered an address
of welcome.
About 150 delegates from every part
of the United States and Canada are in
attendance, and the meeting will last at
least one week. Funds have been raised
to give visiting labor men a grand banquet toward the close of the meeting.
The Convention organized and transacted routine business only to-day.
President Gompers, in calling the convention to order, said he would reserve
delivery of his annual address until to-
morrow. He proceeded to deliver a
brief address of welcome. It was, he
said, the largest convention of the Federation in its history. The growth of
the organization during the past year
had been phenomenal, and the delegates
before him represented more than three
quarters of a million of organized
laborers.
Much, however, as had been accomplished in the past; much more still remained to be done in the future. On
every hand, we find organization, and
combination on the part of those who
control wealth, and using their possessions to crush out the liberties, to
stifle the voice, and to pervert the
rights of the toiling masses. While it
is true that many attempts have been
made to grapple with this condition of
affairs, puny and futile have been the
results. These combinations can only
be successfully coped with by a compact and thorough organization of the
wage-worker classes of our country.
At the conclusion of the President's
address the convention went into executive session, and the doors were closed.
The usual committees were appointed.
General Secretary Chris Evans then
presented his annual financial report.
In doing so he said: "The work of the
past year has developed many things
that will serve to educate and help to
formulate legislation for the wage-earners. That mistakes have been made, no
one will question, but in the discussions that will arise during the proceedings of our annual gathering, let our
motto be, Legislation for the relief of
the masses, as against the selfish greed
of the few.' Let the knowledge we
have gained by experience act as a guide
for us in the future to avoid, as much
as possible a repetition of the errors of
the past."
The report proceeded to state that
during the term ending October 31, 1891,
two hundred and forty-six charters had
been issued to unions in thirty States,
including fifty-five in Ohio, sixteen in
Pennsylvania and three in West Virginia. The financial exhibit showed
that the receipts of the year had been
$21,346 and that the total expenditures
had been $13,199, leaving a balance of
$8,156. Of the total expenditures, nearly $2,500 represented loans and donations to organizations on a strike.
The statement of expenditures was
rendered notable by the item showing
that the total outlay for salaries on account of an organization with hundreds
of branches and a membership of three-
quarters of a million, but the paltry
sum of $4,000.