The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-28
CAPITAL AND LABOR
 ID BE THE ISSUE Unions Threaten to Resent Their Defeat At Chicago POWER SHOWN IN MAINE Succeeded in Cutting Down Vote of Littlefield and Others in Con
 gesslonaI Elections-Mod-
 ern Mark Hanna.
POWER SHOWN IN MAINE
BY SEWELL HAGGARD.

dicted that the coming political struggle in this country would be a struggle be- tween the rich and the poor-eapital and labor We are now on the edge of this struggle; capital and labor are to form one of the foremost, if not the foremost, issue of the coming presidential cam paign.
 Government by njunction-Should the present legal procedure be changed to meet the demands of tho labor unions?
 That is the question that President Gom- pers of the American Federation of Labor raised at the recent Republican National convention. Defeated in Chicago in his efforts to get a straight-out anti-injunc- tion plank in the platform, he has now turned to Denver to secure what he de- sires. Incidentally he is making threats as to what the unions will do to the q. O. P. Whether he will find the Democratic leaders more amenable to his threats than were the Republicans remains to be seen.
 But the fact that the issue has been raised brings up once more the question as to what terror turks in the menaces or the labor union. Under the leadership Df the virile Gompers, who once declared that the American Federation Of Labor would never be thrust into politics, but who has since gone back on his promise, the organization Is dipping further and further into governmental affairs. The Federation took it's first plunge Gin che open) into politics in 1906 when unsuccess- full efforts were made to defeat several congressman who had opposed Legislation desired by the unions.
 One of the men whom Gompers tried to defeat was Congressman Charles D. Lit tletield of Maine. This fact makes the ob- servations of MT. Littledeld based on that campaign particularly interesting. On May 30 last, MT Littleheld, in a speech in the House. discussed all the principal phases of the legislation for which la Dor leaders like Gompers have been clam bring At the outset MT. Lttlef1eld an- nounced his purpose to conclude With some observations, somewhat personal 10 myself, calculated to demonstrate the weight to which the pronouncements or the parties demanding this Legislation are entitled, from the standpontno of the results which they are able to accomplish in a political campaign"
 After setting forth the. complicating fact which would have made his cam paign difficult at any time-the unpopu- larity of Gov Cobb's efforts to enforce the liquor law throughout the state-Mr. Littlefeld had this to say as to the ac- tual results:
 ''..s the result of this campaign the plu- ralitv of the governor, which was 26.Sl6 in 1904. was reduced to S,064 in 1906, the governor losing on his plurality in 1906, as compared with 1904, 1S,752.
 MT Allen, Congressman, In the First district. had his plurality reduced in the whole state from 4,9s1 to 1749, or loss of 3232
 My plurality was reduced from 5,S91 to 1902 a loss of 4,o29 losing 797 more than MT. Allen.
 "Mr Burleigh's Congressman plurality was reduced from 6.S6S in 1904 to 1,791 in 1906. or a loss of 5,072 more than 1000 more than my loss.
 ''Mr Powers Congressman plurality was reduced from S,201 in 1904 to S,574 In 1906, loss of 5,S27. nearly 1900 more than my loss.
 ''The governor lost in my district on his vote in 1906, as compared with 1904, L6 per cent; I lost 2.4 per cent; MT. Allen lost z 2-3 per cent; MT. Burleigh lost lO per cent. and MT. Powers lost 15% per cent.
 "Mr Powers total Republican vote in 1904 was 20 5O1; my total vote was 19,176 My vote in 1906 was 1S.70S from l,5O to 2.O0O more than the vote cast for any other Congressman.
 'It should be borne in mind that 19O6 was what is known as an off year, ana Is being compared with the presidential year 1904 In 1904 I received only 19,17S while in 1906 I received 1S,70S, loss, as compared with 1904, of only 46S. My plu- rality in my district exceeded that of the governor by 3S3
 This statement of MT. Littlefield des- pite his own differences, seems to give some evidence at least that there turks in organized labor real and not an Imaginary menace It is interesting, too, to recall in connection with this campaign that Mir. Taft, now the Republican nom- inee for the Presidency, made speech in MT. Iittlefields behalf at Bath, Maine. singularly Illuminating Is the following paragraph from MT Littlefield's speech of May 30; he sums up the issue in nut shell:
 .'The issues rendered by the leaders of the labor organizations are, shall the boy colt and blacklist be legalized or penal ized and shall the rights to do business he outlaWed or shall 1t be maintained. On these issues I am unalterably against the boycot and blacklist, and I stand un- oualifedly for the maintenance of the right to do business and it's protection by the law. These issues transcend in their vital importance all the issues that now divide the two great political parties. Any candidate, from the President down, that either truckles or panders to such a propaganda in either the Democratic or Republican party deserves to go down in overwhelming defeat"
 Ohio has given to the world another man whose name will be connected in history with that of Mark Hanna in con- ductng remarkable political campaigns; his name is Frank Harris Hitchcock, and he was the pilot of the Roosevelt machine which brought about the nomination of Taft
 Hitchcock was born in Ohio 40 years ago. and was graduated at Harvard. Re- publican leaders at Chicago pronounced him:
 "The best politician in the country"
 After his graduation from Harvard Mir. Hitchcock went to Washington and be- came chief of the division of foreign markets in the Department of Agricul- ture Biology was the special line of amusement he cultivated then. There is, of course, an anology between biology, the science of life, and politics. the science of human nature. But while he was amusing himself with biology, and incidentally studying law at the Colum- bian university, MT. Hitchcock was, as usual, finding his real enjoyment in the practical pursuit of politics.
 From the Department of Agriculture, MT. Hitchcock went to the new Depart
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