The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1906-07-28
THE ENEMY ADVISES
LABOR PARTY SUGGESTED BY A NEW
YORK NEWSPAPER.
Adoption OF Thls Plan would Mean
Continued Defent For the Wage
Earners--Line OF Advance Is TO Ter
inmate RuIc OF the Few.

Continued Defent For the Wage
Earners--Line OF Advance Is 10 Ter
inmate Rule of the Few.
The New York Sun In an editorial
outlining the political plans OF organ
lied labor concludes with a suggestion
for different programme Beware
OF advice from your enemy Is sound
maxim. The suggestion ISL f
'fIf the American Federation of La
Dor Is 10 20 into politics methodicalIy,
why not put up organized labor candl
dates In every district. as they do In
England? Then progress could be
gagged and union labor could hold It's
representatives responsible for their
votes In congress-
In other words. the advice Is to form
labor party. IL this advice were to
be adopted it would mean continued
defeat for lnbor's political programme,
for under the existing system Of party
government in this country the monop-
ollsts with their billions OF wealth
wrung from the people have an over.
whelming advantage, as Is evidenced
by the fact that In congress there is
not one representative OF labor
No: the line of advance for the wage
earners and for society in general is
to terminate the rule Of the few by
establishing the peoples sovereignty.
This has been accomplished in state
affairs In several OF our common
weaiths- for example. In Oregon and
South Dakota--aRd the movement in
other states and nationally Is verging
on success.
Party government Is passing out of
existence, being supplanted by the
next higher form, that In which the
voters possess veto power through
the referendum and direct legislation
through the initiative. The voters are
the sovereign power. and the system
as a whole IS guarded representative
government.
Temporarily it Is impracticable in the
United States to form labor party.
Party government In America Is vastly
different from the English system.
There the fusion that is necessary to
carry q measure takes place in the
house Of commons. An agreement Is
reached as to each piece OF legislation.
for the labor members can support
some of the government measures and
vote against the rest Here IN the
United States however. fusion must
take place when the nominations are
made, and II always wrecks the small.
en- party. The organization OF labor
party, therefore, is not the line Of adj,
vance in America.
The line OF advance for organized
labor, as Is pointed out above, Is 10
demand that party government as a
whole be terminated by establishing
In the voters right TO a direct ballot
on public questions. Political parties
win continue 70 exist, but they will be
shorn of final legislative power SOW
ereign power. A demand for this
change was clearly set forth Eve years
ago by President Gompers In bis an
nuaI report TO the convention Of the
American Federation Of Labor al
Scranton, and the convention unani.
mously Endorsed the recommendation.
President Gompers said:
"One Of the great Ills from which the
political morale of our country suffers
Is the party domination, which in turn
Is usually dominated by political
boss, We find our people arrayed in
parties against each other when In
truth many find themselves In sympa-
thy with measures for which the OPP
poslte party is the sponsor Under the
party system, which implies the party
boss, that which Is supposed to be the
lesser Of the two evils is chosen. To
stand for measures and principles SO
that we as workers may have an OPP
portunity Of petitioning for favorable
or vetoing vicious legislation and each
question or measure being determined
upon Its specific merits or dement's arc
some Of the causes upon which the
American Federation OF Labor pred
icates Its demand for direct legislation
by the initiative and the referendum"