The contennial celebration of the birth of Samuel Gompers, British-born Jewish labor leader, first president of the American Federation of Labor, was opened here during the week-end with a dinner addressed by President Truman, Vice-President Alben W. Barkley and leaders of the labor movement in this country.
President Truman, in a surprise appearance at the dinner, attended by more than 1,000 guests, lauded Gompers for his “great contribution to the welfare of this great country of ours.” He told the gathering that be considered Gompers “labor’s great statesman” and “the originator of the great movement to set labor free.”
Vice-President Barkley, a friend of the late labor leader, stated that “Mr. Gompers humanized and enriched the American way of life.” He added that the late labor leader found America the land of promise and helped to make it a land of fulfillment by fighting to win the “battle against sweatshope and starvation wages, against industrial serfdom and oppression.
Reporting the stories that define our era. When history unfolds in real-time, the Jewish world turns to JTA. Your support ensures we can document the complexities of war and the resilience of Jewish communities with integrity.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
