The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-03-24
GREAT STRIDES OF.
LABOR PARTY
noted
Representation in Congress and
Legislative Bodies on the
Steady Increase.
By e. G. Snyder.


Washington, d. c., March 24.-The>
growing strength OF the socialist and
labor parties in various sections Of
! this country, particularly in the large
cities, and the certainty that 1t is only
"a question of time till this element of
our political life has defined repre-
sentattOn In congress makes it inter-
testing to note to what extent the labor
parties have gained fOothold in the
legislative assemblies in other parts
of the world. III Great Britain the
size of the parliamentary labor party
was comparatively small until the re-
cent general election increased it sew
eral fold.
There are twentyone countries pos
sessing wOrking-class parties definite
ly organized under the name of labor
or socialism. In fifteen of these coun=
tries the party has succeeded in OBJ
taining parliamentary representation.
Germany heads the list with eighty
enc members in the Reichstag Leav-
Ing Great Britain out of account for
a moment, the countries follow in this
order: France, forty-eight; Italy
thirty-two; Belgium, twenty-eight;
Denmark, sixteen; Austria Hungary,
ten; Holland, eight; whilst still
smaller number are to be found in
Sweden, Norway, Bulgaria, the Grand
Duchy Of Luxemburg, Switzerland,
Finland, and the Argentine republic.
Before the recent general election,
the labor section for Great Britain
numbered four, If the independent
members alone are considered, and fif-
teen, If the group is made to include
labor members within the radical par
ty. In either case the country stood
low on the list-very low indeed for
all and that has reached such high
! level of industrial development. To-
day Great Britain stands we'll up on
the list with labor party of twenty
nine, which is swelled to fifty-four by
the addition of the radical-labor mem-
bers.
In certain countries, though the
labor members are not numerous, their
relative strength Is considerable be-
cause the parliament itself is not large.
In Denmark, for instance, there are
but sixteen labor members, but they
form fifteen per cent. of the total. In
Spain Organization has been started,
and parliamentary representation is
expected to follow in time. The adii-
tion of the Argentine republic to the
list of countries in which labor has
parliamentary representation Is due to
the success of a socialist in Buenos
Ayres in the last election.
The success of the socialist and
labor element In the United States SO
far has been confined almost wholly
to the municipalities. Notable gains
have been made along the same line
in other countries. The socialists have
returned more than hundred mem-
bers to the various landtags of Ger
many, and they hold administrative
control by majorities in nearly two
hundred in Italy. The party Is rep
resented on the cantonal councils of
seventeen Swiss cantons.
But 1t is in New Zealand and Aus
tralia that the socialists have won
their greatest victories. For several
years past they have been in virtual
control of all the federal and munici-
pal machinery there. In Canada the
least headway appears to have been
made, but there also are reported the
beginnings of q movement that is ex-
pected to ripen before long.