SAMUEL GOMPERS REPORTED DEAD
El Paso, Texas (JFK+50) On December 11, 1924, the death of the president of the American Federation of Labor, Samuel Gompers, was reported by The Evening Star.
The source of the famed labor leader's passing was a dispatch to El Internacional, a Spanish language daily published here in El Paso.
Cause of death was given as the result of a "severe cold and...overworked condition." He also had a "heart condition" which had been aggravated by being in "high altitude."
Mr. Gompers had been in Mexico City attending the Pan-American Labor Conference when he became severely ill on December 6. He had requested to be taken back into the United States to die.
He was 74 years old.
JFK+50 NOTE
Samuel Gompers actually died on December 13, 1924. The front-page story citing his death published in The Evening Star on December 11, 1924 was obviously premature although the headline does describe the death as a "report."
Apparently the source of the story, El Internacional, is now a popular bar in downtown El Paso.
*Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) was born in London, England & emigrated to the United States where he founded the AFL & served as president 1886-1894, 1895-1924.
SG promoted collective bargaining between workers & employers & secured higher wages & shorter hours for members of the AFL.
SOURCE
"Gompers Expires On Train Speeding To U.S., Is Report," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., December 11, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
