Federation of Labor.—The American Federation of Labor was organized in 1881. It was the outgrowth of the old National Labor Union, which nominated David Davis for president in 1872, and by this political action lost its power and prestige as a labor organization. On Aug. 2, 1881, a convention met at Terre Haute, Ind., to reorganize the old union or establish a new one which should be national in its scope. Nothing was accomplished at that convention, but at another, held in Pittsburgh, Pa., in November following, the "Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions" in the United States and Canada was affected. On Dec. 8, 1886, the name was changed to the "American Federation of Labor." The organization consists of four departments; 120 national and international unions, representing about 27,000 local unions; 39 state federations, and over 600 city central unions, the total membership in 1910 being about 2,000,000. At that time Samuel Gompers was president of the national organization, and Frank Morrison, secretary, with headquarters in Washington, D. C.

On Aug. 12, 1907, delegates from a number of labor organizations in Kansas met at Topeka for the purpose of forming a branch of the federation. The convention lasted until the 15th, when the state federation was formed, with the following officers: President, S. A. Bramlette; vicepresidents, H. W. Coburn, Grant Parker, Lee Gunnison, C. A. Tygart, J. Hansel, Pratt Williamson, E. E. Brunk, G. L. Callard, J. E. Palmer, J. J. Jones and Frank Curry; secretary and treasurer, W. E. Bryan. A constitution was adopted, in which the objects of the federation were stated to be "to promote the industrial interests of the members and of wage-earners generally; to collect and publish facts regarding the injustices practiced upon individuals and collective workers; to assist and encourage the formation of unions; to urge upon laboring people the importance of buying only union made goods; and to collect statistics relating to the labor problem," etc. The membership in the state in 1910 was a little over 42,500, being weaker then than it was twelve months after it was organized.