The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-23
LABOR I'M POLITICS.

"A chicago press d1Spatch OF recent
date contained the announcement that
the labor organizations Of that city had
decided to enter into politics The first
essay of the labor people in political
life will be to elect a mayor. They are
fired by what they call the example of
their brethren in such cities as Bridge
port and San Francisco, and have de-
cided that the cause Of the Iaboring
population can be best advanced by
electing a city executive that will be
a member of union and will represent
them and, we presume, them alone, Of
the tremendous composite population of
is to be trades union platform, and
the demands of union labor in all di-
rections are to be strictly enforced in
the administration of city affairs when
the labor mayor is elected.
The Globe notes that the Rev.
David Morgan, of this city, has caused
his protest against such action to be
printed in the columns of the recogniz-
ed organ of organized labor in this
state, the Minnesota Union Advocate.
Mr.. Morgan tells the members of the
trades unions, Of whose cause he has
been a fervent and consistent advocate
for years. that they should individually
and collectively exercise all possible
activity and influence as citizens in di-
recting the currents of political life,
but that when they bring their organi-
cation and movement into the under
taking they are seriously endangering
their cause and organization alike
without doing any possible good for
themselves. sreieet
Mr.. Morgan is entirely right. The
warrant which the Chicago labor peo-
pie advance in justification of their
course has really no existence. The
mayor of Bridgeport was not elected as
labor candidate. He was taken from
the stoke hole of a local factory and
Being a hard-h headed, shrewd and per-.
fectly upright old Irishman, he has
given the city an excellent administra-
ton, and the masses of the taxpayers
are now as anxious to keep him in Of
flee as the most ardent member of
labor union can be. In San Francisco
the laboring people nominated one of
their own number in a situation which
involved local party political chaos He
was elected, but not as trades union
list candidate. His membership in the
local musicians union, his associations
and his natural disposition have all
united to secure in his administration
unusual prominence for trades union
members and trades union principles.
But the mayor thus elected had too
much good sense to pretend that he
owed his election to trades unionism
alone, or that he should be guided only
by trade union opinions and influences.
No surer way could be chosen to de-
stroy the trades union movement than
the one of Transforming it into a polit-
zeal, and, particularly. a local, political
machine Local administration has
nothing whatever to do with labor in
terests any more than with the interests
Of any other and all other classes Of cit
liens. The politician in the labor move
ment will necessarily give his approval
to such movement, as likely to result
in satisfying his itch for office. But
every thoughtful and disinterested
member of a labor union must neces-
sarily regard such movement as es-
sentially suicidal in it's effect on the
cause with which he is identified.