The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-01-08
LABOR LEADERS.

UNITING TO USE THE BALLOT FOR
SELF-DEFENsE.
There are honest labor-leaders and
there are scamps. The latter seek
positions in the workingmen's So
cieties in order to sell them out. Mr..
Jacob Hanger, one OF the members Of
the Executive Board Of the Wisconsin
State Federation OF Labor, is quoted
in the National Advance of Milwau-
kee. thus:
why is the local council opposed to
GOmpers?"
Because he has ideas that do not
agree with ours. He is against politi-
cal action. We believe that it is only
through politics that we can accom-
plish What we seek. We have tried
strikes and are about through with
them. The workinyman can hope to
better his condition only through the
ballot, and that was the reason the
council wanted independent political
action. During the A. r. U. strike
what did he do? He could have
saved one of the strongest organiza-
items in the country il he had acted
promptly when the strike began. l
believe that if he had acted the A. r.
U. would have won the strike. AS
for Mcbride we do not favor him on
general principles"
One well-knOwn delegate to the
council, who is among the leaders Of
the socialistic element Of the council,
but who would not permit his name
to be puhlis he'd, said: "This action of
the convention in New York about
winds up its prosperity. You may see
the local council pull out within a
month. The matter looks very sus-
picious. When fellows like POmeroy
from Chicago can run a convention Of
that kind there Is something wrong
If those now in control work it right
they can make big money from the
parties. And thatis about what they
are after. Pomeroy Is in New York as
a Representatives OF the walters union
and it is openly reported that there is
no such union in Chicago, and that
the old political parties are paying
the per capita tax to the American
federation Of labor for the alleged
union. l have spoken to q numbe
OF other leaders OF the council and l
find that they all feel about the same
as l do. l think tnat we are strong
enough to swing vote to cut away
from the national order at any time
we want to, but nothing will be done
until the delegate to the convention
returns to the city and makes his re-
port.
ut is about time the people woke
up. Gompers wants grie vances set
tied by strikes. That is all nonsense.
We have had little experience i Y
that line and what have we accomp-
lished? What good is a strike going
to do when trust, like the tanners
trust, decides to shut down the works
for sixty days and throws the men
out of employment until the trust can
raise the price Of leather as high as
they want it? Is a strike going to
change it? Not much. The ballot
alone can remedy that. The old par
ties do not care to change the system
and attack the trusts, Sc all that is
left for us to do is to change it our
selves. This we can do Olly through
politics, but Gompers and Mcbride
and few others, who are running the
convention. cannot realize this"
The American Federation of Labor
held its annual session in New York
recently, and resolved that it's mem
bers would not endorse the Populist
party or the Repu blicans, Democrats
or Prohibitions! Certainly one Of
these parties must be more favorable
to the working people than the others,
and some must be inimical to them;
and here they deliberately emascu-
late their powerful organization and
resolve to all divide up,and so neutral
ize each other that nothing can be &C
complished. Ii you hitch powerful
team Of horses to the front end of a
wagon and another equally powerful
team at the other end, the wagon will
stand still. The same result is OBJ
tanned If there are 10000 or 1000, 900
horses at each end. The wagon may
be torn to bits, but no practical re-
suits will be achieved. 1t is Plutoc-
racy's game to set the workingmen
pulling and hauling against each
other in four different directions,
while it grins and steals. And the
whole Labor m, vement is infested
with these purchased tools of the
horsepower. We remember the
scamp vino at St. Louis tried TO divide
up the Peoples Party convention by
raising the eiglt-hour.day question.
1t was discovered he was not dele
gate to the convention, and had been
turned out of every Labor union in
Missouri. He was hustled bodily out
Of the National Convention, and
kicked into the middle of the street.
We had another chap who, in our
State convention, in 1894, tried to
split up the assemblage by insisting
upon putting the sub-treasury plan
into our state platform, when he had
neither wheat nor oats nor barley nor
anything else to deposit in q govern
ment warehouse, except suit of
clothes; and he could not have
hypothecated that without being ar
rested for indecent exposure. He
lighted his bomb and tossed it nto the
convention. but there was no explos-
ion: it tizzled and went out with
dreadful!y bad smell; for there wasn't
another individual in the whole con-
ention who would second his motion.
The Labor element must go for he
fellows who sell them out. Their all
is at stake, and the all of their childre n
and their children's children:-and
the men who, for few paltry dollars,
would betray them, deserve to be
hung by the neck until they are
dead.
OF course we do not mean to say
that every man who takes AN unwise
Is h.r II