Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1882-05-04
Political Action.

Chicago Expres..
Many of the agricultural, mechan-
lea and other trade organizations
have persistently ignored politics and
forbidden the discussion of political
questions in their associations, and the
result is they have never accomplished
a thing for which they have been con-
tending.
They have met, organized, con.
tributed money, made able speeches
and written vOluminOus documents
setting forth the!r grievances, only to
be laughed at by their oppreSsors, and
ridiculed by a subsidized press. They
regard the issues between themselves
and capitalized monopoly as moral
and not political, and they labor for a
moral reformation of capital rather
than to control it by legislation.
They seem to forget, or not to COM
prehend, the fact that all the power
possessed by capital to Cypress labor
is derived from legislation. They
seem not to know that politics is the
vital force of capital, the holy re-
ligiOn of combinations of wealth and
corporate monopoly.
If they will study the records of
congress, and even state legislatures,
they will see that nine-tenths of the
legislation is in the especial interest |
of capital and corporations to fortify |
them against the growing murmurs of
labor and to grant them special powers
and privileges to rob and oppress in
dividual enterprises. Because labor
organizations have ignored political
action, political parties have ignored |
the labOrer, and hence h0 has neither
voice or representation in congress.
Without political action the labor
organizations are as helpless as are the
Cinnamon or as were the slaves at the
south.
The average congressman fears moth
ing but the ballot, and respects moth
ing but well.directed and ably CON
Quoted political action.
Five million labOrers in rank and
file, shooting resolutions and moral es.
says at Jay Gould, would only amuse
him, and perhaps encourage him to
give the thumb-screw another turn.
But let five hundred thousand, or even
half that number, shoot ballots at his
nefariOus schemes and privileges of
robbery, and he will turn pale and
tremble like an aspen leaf.
Chicago, as well as scores of other
labor centers, and the agricultural dis
-ricts from the Atlantic 10 the Pacific,
have their industrial and economic as
3ociatiOns and alliances. They have ,
for years met and discussed their i,
grievances, they are all familiar with =
.he pernicious laws which have ena- !,
bed capital to oppress them, they are !
unanimous in their hatred of law
'reated m0nopolies, and are agreed =
generally upon the proper remedies, :
Jut because they have ignored political :
lctiOn, the evils increase and multiply,
IS they 60 from their anti.moHopoly 9
to the polls and cast their :
)allots half-and-half for the two old !
PARTIES of monopoly. The votes of |,
he seventy thousand labOrers Of Chi !
ago in 1880 were divided between the
political parties which are the authors
md instiGators of all the evils and :
buses which they meet week after !
week in private to denCunce, and re. :
olive against.
In the present reorganization of the =
abOring and Useful classes, it is to be :.
Ioped that their resolutions and prin. :,
iples will be backed up by practical IL :.
nd united political action. Without
uch action all their efforts to secure
elief will be as futile as would be the
forts of million unarmed soldiers,
tempting to batter down the walls II y
f fortress by proclamation. .
In city elections let all organizations u
gree upon their candidates and vote II II
or them as unit. So in congression- u
!, state, and national elections. Let W
Il outside the dominant parties agree 1. ~
pon the issues, and upon candidates, u
lodged and bound to support them. ~
uccess will follow such efforts, and ie
peedily, too, and instead of frittering ~ ~
way years in aimless exertiOn, the v, VI
Overnment may be wrested from dem l
gogues and transferred to the useful IL
Iasses at the next general election. ~ ~