The Labor enquirer., 1886-11-06
THE LESSON OF THE ELECTION.

L
There are lessons in the election Just
passed and it is we'll that labor should
try and learn them. Had organized
labor in this state gotten itself in shape
before the nominating conventions of
the two old parties and had agreed on
who were Its choioo aud what its prefer
ences were, as regardsthe men who are
known as the friends oflabor, then they,
the workingmen, could have signife to
the old parties who were the men most
suitable to labor, and worthy OF its sup
port. No such intelligent action was
taken, and the result was that the old
parties baited their machine party hooks
with just enough "workingman" bait to
catch the labor vote and labor's strength
Was so divided as to be useless>to it.
Had organized labor acted as an intol-
ligent unit the sickening soectacle OF
the two ablest and best Intentioned
men, towards labor, in the state, would
not have been presented as pitted
against each other for congress. .Et
Had labor acted as it ls to be hoped it
Will act before long, it would have seen
to it that the two honest friends of labor
, were not against one another but on one
and the same ticket where they could
get the undivided support of the men
who know them as their friends.
One particularly prominent point in
the lesson of this election is the fact chat
one of the old parties recognized that
man must be nominated for congress
who could draw to the party the sup
port of the labor element. =.
This was evidently the intention, as 1t
is well known that the nominee for con-
gress on the democratic ticket would re-
ceive but verv weak support from tn g
men of wealth. 4 minister who in these
latter days breaches the real, pure Jesus
Christ religion, can expect very little
from the men of wealth besides condem-
nation.
This was without doubt we'll under
stood by the party which nominated
Myron W. Reed and the fact that it was
80 we'll understood shows the power
within the grasp Of the men who labor,
and how we'll this power is recognized
and would be feared, were the men
who labor intelligently aware of the
power thev hold, and prepared to use
this power in their own defense. The
man who looks for solution of the labor
problem outside the realms of fair DAYS
pay for fair days work." can also feel
encouraged from the lesson of this elec-
ton.
He can see that the man who gets
down to the bottom of the labor ques-
tion is the one who is gradually coming
closer to the hearts of the common peo-
pie.
Henry George in New York did not
draw around him, with such wonderful
unity, the toilers of that city because he
preached superficial doctrines or advo-
Gated temporizing with existing evils in
the Industrial and social worlds, but be
drew around him in solid phalanx the
toilers of the metropolis simply because
thev at last had come to recognize him
as preacher of the only doctrine which
brought to them the hope of redemp-
ton from the hell of wage slavery.
Our election here has proved that the
working people are beginning to dis.
crminate between the man and the
principle.
Rev. Mvron Reed did not get the sup
port of the great BODY of the working
men simply because he was democrat,
or because he was Mvron Reed but be-
cause he preached the real religion and
the real principles of the greatest Social.
ist that ever lived-Jesus.
The lesson of the election, which
worklngmen ought easily to learn, Is
that they must unite if they enter poll
tics with the intention of being more
than, as heretofore, a cats paw to rake
out the machine political chestnuts from
the 6re of partisan politics.
The lesson for political leaders, in the
election, is that workingmen are begin
ming to see that d party" ties must be
broken that their salvation lies not in
following blindly the leadership of men
who represent only their own selfish
and corrupt interests, but in following
man who represents principle such as
carries with it some hope for the bur
den- bearers of the world.