The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1908-07-23
LABOR IN THE CAMPAIGN.
springfeld. Mass. Republican:


then, to be an important factor in
support of Mr.. Bryan, because of the
Denver declarations concerning la.
boris special issues? The Republi-
cans at Chicago proceeded on the
theory that there is no labor vote"
which can be delivered to one side
or the other. Mr. Gompers's million
workingmen marching in solid col
umn to the polls excited the ridicule
Of Speaker Cannon, Congressman Lit
tlefeld and the attorneys of the var
ious employers associations. But the
theory prevailing at Denver was of
the contrary sort; and, in view of the
large concessions made to the de-
mands of labor leaders in the Denver
platform, it remains to be seen
whether concessions of this character
avail anything in votes to the party
making them
That Mr.. Roosevelt believes in the
reality of a labor vote too formidable
to be ignored was shown by his var
ious utterances in recent messages to
Congress and his approval of the in
junction plank which was rejected at
Chicago. While in the elections of
the past Is years in this country
there have been very slight indica-
tions of the existence of a coherent,
unified body of voters primarily de-
voted to the interests of organized
labor, it is to be remembered that
such a group of electors is brought
into selfconscious activity only by
special causes; and doubtless the
presidents anxiety has been due to
the fact that he discerned such
causes in the making. The growing
irritation of labor unions over the
use of the power of injunction in in
dustrial disputes was given an un-
usual stimulus by a series of judicial
decisions in the spring of this year
which the labor leaders assail as an
tagonistic to their interests. The
situation thus created. it must be, con-
fessed, is strikingly similar to that
created in England by series of anti
labor decisions prior to the parliament
tary general elections of January 1906.
The famous Taft Vale judgment and
others bearing heavily upon the use
of certain mildly coercive weapons by
strikers threw the entire body of the
trade unionism into a panic, and for
the first time in many years union
ism in England became a powerful
and united force in party struggle.
The influence of the labor vote in
the last general election of Great
Britain was so marked under the con-
ditions described, that in studying
our political situation the recent
British experience may well be con-
sidered. The liberal party through.
out the United Kingdom made COM
mon cause with the trade unions.
the liberal candidates in great mum.
bers pledged themselves to suppor:.
in Parliament the new labor Iegisla-
tion which the trade unions desired.
No one doubts that this cooperation
helps very materially to give the
party its unprecedented victory; ;\and
the fear of trade union hostility
aroused by that election was GER
tainly enough to bring about the
enactment of the new labor laws by
the next Parliament without the
slightest obstruction by the conser.
vatiyes still firmly intrenched In the
House of Lords. Lord Lansdowne
graciously permitted the trades dis
pute bill TO pass on the ground that
the country, in the recent elections,
had given clear mandate in its
favor.
So far as the demands~o of organized
labor are concerned, they are today
much the same in this country that
they we're in Great Britain three
years ago. No issue Of Socialism Is
here involved. II is Jan issue concern
ing the legally established rules and
regulations of labor warfare, the la.
Dor unions insisting that their war
powers are being 80 far restricted
that they cannot realize through or
ganization and strikes that degree Of
protection for labor's interests for the
sake of which the right of organiza-
tion and the right to strike were
originally conceded by the state.
This is the position of both Mr.. Com
pers and John Mitchell exactly as it
was the attitude of Richard Bell and
other English labor leaders in the
struggle which resulted in the return
OF the liberals to power. Yet, in COM
pairing the situations in the two coun-
tries, one cannot safely argue that
like conditions will yield like results
since there are many other factors
so variable in their significance. The
Democrats In America may not be
able to draw the solid labor vote in
any such degree as did the British
liberals, particularly if Mr.. Taft in
his campaign should virtually rewrite
the Republican platform by making
persoIEl pledges more satisfactory
from the labor point of view. That
he could do this, however, without re-
pelling that conservative support
which seems essential to his election
is very doubtful; and, as between the
two candidates, it would appear hope
less for Mr.. Taft to seek to outbid
Mr.. Bryan without exposing himself
10 CALLING criticism.
We are no nearer than when we
started to a determination of the