SAM GOMPERS AND "DUG."

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 53, 4 March 1925, Page 10

SAM GOMPERS AND "DUG."

DEMOCRAT AND DEMOCRAT. AX HISTORICAL LUNCH. A correspondent writes to the "Manchester Guardian": —The death of Samuel Gompers, the American Labour leader, revives the memory of an incident of the war. In August, 1918, the Foreign Office specially requested that Mr. Gompers, who was about to visit the front, should be entertained by Sir Douglas Haig. I was detailed to accompany him, and after much difficulty, owing to our line being in a fluid state, a message was received that the Com-mander-in-Chief would be delighted to give him lunch at Havrincourt at 1.30. As I had been in the trenches just at that spot I tried to warn Mr. Gompers not to expect too much.

Nevertheless he was amazed on arrival to find only heaps of stones and the debris of war. Sir Douglas Haig was punctual, and insisted on his American guest "walking with him in order to see how rapidly the engineers were throwing bridges over the Canal dv Xord. He took him for some distance, speaking words of encouTagement to the men whom he met, while Mr. Gompers groaned several times to mc that he hoped lunch would not be long delayed. At last, about 3 p.m., Sir Douglas said cheerfully, "What about lunch here?" Mr. Gompers looked round. There were four big horses near by and no signs of the headquarters' lunch that he expected. With a smile the Com-mander-in-Chief handed him some army bread and cold meat and offered him coffee out of a thermos.

It must be confessed that the two found little in common to talk about, except when Mr. Gompers stated that in his opinion the British Labour party devoted far too much attention to politics and not enough to industrial reforms. A few minutes later, when lunch was over. Sir Douglas got on to his horse and rode eastwards and Mr. Gompers turned to mc saying, "The finest gentleman I have met since I came to Europe!"