GOMPERS, Samuel, American labor leader: b. London, England, 27 Jan. 1850. He came to America with his parents and other. relatives in 1863 and became an American citizen at the age of 21. A cigarmaker by trade, he has been known as a zealous worker in the cause of the rights of labor since his boyhood. He was one of the founders of the American Federation of Labor in 1881 and has been associated with that organization in an official capacity ever since, with the exception of two years. In 1908 he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment on account of defying a court order in connection with the Bucks' stove case, which denied the constitutional rights of free speech and free press as well as involved the abuses of the writ of injunction which deprived men of trial by jury and substituted judicial government for constitutional government. The case was ap pealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, and on 15 May 1913, Justice Lamar delivered the judgment of the court as follows: aThe judgment of the court of appeals is re versed and the case remanded with directions to reverse the judgment of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia and remand the case to that court with direction that the con tempt proceedings instituted by the Bucks Stove and Range Company be dismissed, but without prejudice to the power and right of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, to punish by a proper proceeding contempt, if any, committed against it?' Contempt proceedings were again instituted in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia by Justice Wright, who again found Mr. Gompers guilty and im posed the same sentence. The case was again appealed to the Court of Appeals of the Dis trict of Columbia and to .the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court dis missed the case because it was outlawed under the statute of limitations, but sustained the con tentions of the American Federation of Labor that proceedings for contempt do not differ in essence from any ordinary charge of crime, and proceedings in contempt courts should be the same as the proceedings in the case of crimes.
Under the leadership of Mr. Gompers in 1906, the American Federation of Labor inau gurated a non-partisan political campaign to secure necessary legislation assuring to the wage earners lawful opportunity for activities necessary to protect the rights and to promote the interests and welfare of the working people. According to this campaign the wage earners used their political influence to secure the nomi nation and election of government representa tives regardless of party, who pledged them selves and announced their approval of labor's demands. The result of this political policy has been a group in Congress known as the labor group, the members of which hold trade union cards and are affiliated with some labor organ ization. This group has gradually increased until the 64th Congress there was one senator and 17 members in the House of Representa tives. As the result of this political activity labor's demands for fundamental rights were enacted into law in the labor provisions of the Clayton Anti-trust Act, which became a law 15 Oct. 1914. Section 6 of this act contains the declaratory statement that ethe labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce.° This declaration removes associa tions of wage earners from the provisions of trust legislation. Section 20 of the act limits and regulates the issuance of writs of injunc tion in conformity with the demands and con tentions of the workers.
Under Mr. Gompers' direction the American Federation of Labor has become very powerful, and now includes every important union in the country. In politics, its hand has been seen indirectly in the enactment of the eight hour day legislation in reference to all work on government contracts and in enterprises con nected with public utilities, also employers' liability laws. Mr. Gompers has constantly and successfully combatted all tendencies toward Socialism in the labor movement and is an ac tive promoter of industrial conciliation. See