Workmen's advocate., 1890-12-27
LET THE DISCUSSION GO ONl

of labor for the final emancipation of the working class,
 Previously to the convention. the Capi. talst press had allowed itsef to be used-too willingly, by misstatements and baseless insinuations to spread the impression that the question to be decid- ed at Detroit was whether the Socialist Labor party was to rule the American Federation of Labor, capture the prcsi. dency and the other offices and trans form the Y hole organization into a poll tical machine, subservient to the politi cal plans of the socialist leaders. These plans were, of course, understood to be of a wild and violent character, tending to use Mr. Gompers' words-"to hurl the movement head-long into path which will leave the working people stranded and lose the practical and be- neticlal results of their efforts" Mr. Gompers was proclaimed the bulwark who would save the labor movement from the socialist storm, who was de- termined to put his foot down upon the followers of the red flag and keep the Federation within the line of "pure trades unionism" These newspaper articles, that found their way from New York to the farthest town in the coun- try, all had the tendency to deceive tie working people as to the intentions of the parties concerned and the nature of tue issues involved. A number of the delegates, who had been sent with in structions, stated on the floor of the convention and in private conversation that they and their constituents had been laboring under entirely erroneous impressions as to the case of the Central Labor Federation and owing to such misoonception they were forced to take a position, which they had now learned through the debates was untenable and unjust.
 Firstly. the working people ere de- ceived as to the character of the New York Central Labor Federation, the i'm pression being that it was a mere p0iti cal organization, practically identical with the Socialist Labor Party The delegates have learnt and their con- stituents will learn that the C. l., F. is bona fde central labor body, com posed of more regular trades-unions than any central body and is conse- quently growing in membership and prestige from week to week; that, although it has joined in the indepen dent political action of the Socialist Labor party in the last campaign, it has not been "hurled into path which left it stranded,' but on the contrary has gained much by the absence of old party divisions among it's membership and the unanimity of its members on the necessity of independent and honest labor politics.
 Secondly, the public was deceived as to t @ character of the Socialist Labor party. The impression was created, that the S. l.. P. is like any other poiti- ctl party, working solely on political lines, and simply trying to use the trade unions for its political agitation; that, furthermore, it's aims were wild dreams, which every good citizen and trades unionist must abhor, 1t was shown through the debates at Dftrolt that the Socialist Labor party is entirely different from any other political party: u at it is nothing apart from organized labor, but simply another formation of the same force. simply organized labor's political branch, working for the same ends as the economic branch (the trades unions), and therefore always supple menting the economic branch by organ izing trades, assisting in labor's strug- ges and furthering the national and in- ternational consolidation of labor. It's aims were shown to be the true aims of the organized labor movement, so en- tir ely in accord with the logical tenden. cies of that movement that even Com pers, McNeill and the other leading "pure trades-unionists' acknowledged their faith in those aims.
 The issue had been grossly misstated in the press. The debates brought it out sharply. It was not the Socialist Labor party that sought admission, but the Central Labor Federation, repre- sentative trades union body. The Cen tral Labor Federation, in admitting Socialist section did not admit "politi cal party" in the ordinary sense, but it simply recognized the necessity of inde- pendent political action and the Soclalist Labor party as the bona fde labor or ganizatlon, representing that necessary branch of the movement. That the Socialist Labor party is in respect to its aims a bona fde labor organization, has been expressly admitted by Gompers & Co.,; that it is so by it's membership, was never denied. But GOmpers although professing to believe in these aims, that is in the abolition of the wage system and it's replacement by cooperative commonwealth, denies the necessity of independent political action to reach that end, claiming that trade-union ac- tion alone will be sufficient. He there