Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1908-04-03

Federation of Labor issued from Wash
ington recently an appeal to the work
ingmen of the country for united po-
litical action They ask that candidates
for the presidency, for congress or for
other offices be requested to specifically
declare their positions on such matters
as the abuse of the power of injunc-
ton, the eight hour law, the employ
ers' liability law and other legislation
directly affecting working people. The
appeal has been handled by many
newspapers as though it indicated a
purpose on the part Of the Federation
of Labor to organize a distinctly labor
party. AS q matter Of fact it only eX-
presses a purpose to take such action
as is eminently proper for any such
great organization to adopt That a
candidate for Office, seeking the votes
of workingmen, should hesitate for a
moment in answering questions as to
policies that vitality affect the rights of
laboring classes would unfit him for
Office Here in the United States we
have not developed as we really should
have the methods of free debate in po-
litical campaigns that they have in
England.
There are only a few men in our
public life who invite questions from
their auditors in a public meeting The
man who has most successfully adopt
ed this method is Mayor Tom L. John
son of Cleveland. A speech by Tom
Johnson is an inspiration to any one
who believes in a really frank discus
sion of public questions. Nothing de-
lights him more than to abandon the
platform for the middle aisle and ask
any one who may be dissatisfied with
his argument to question him frankly
and to receive a frank response /
have watched him time and again in
action and sincerely believe that his
readiness to enter upon discussions of
this sort is one of his greatest sources
of strength in his campaigns.
OF course it may not always be nee
essary, particularly on the part of can
didates for national office, to repeated
~ answer the same questions. But /
am unable to see why the Federation
of Labor should not at the beginning
Of a campaign ask the aspirants for
office for an explicit statement of their
views on pertinent matters and then
act accordingly.
The Two thirds Rule.
In all probability an effort will be
made at the next Democratic national
convention to modify or to abrogate
the two-thirds rule. This will not be
attempted before the nomination, fol-
no wise man would care to become q
candidate before the Democratic voters
with the record of having secured his
nomination by overturning established
Democratic practice, however unwise
that practice may be. That it is I'M
wise is coming now to be generally adj
mitted. Democracy means the rule OF
the majority, and one more than hall
constitutes a majority. One more thar
half of the members of the committed
on resolutions can send to the full con
vention the platform by which the
party is to be guided, and bare ma
jority of the convention can adopt tina
platform. The insistence that two
thirds of the convention must unite il
order to nominate a candidate is made
illogical and ridiculous when the ability
of a mere majority to fix its principles
is borne in mind. Moreover, under the
unit rule the. vote of one man nigh
determine how the seventy-eight vote:
of New York or the siXty-eight o.
Pennsylvania might be determined
Just now the two-thirds rule is being
strenuously appealed to by a group o.
utterly undemocratic politicians who
hope to utilize it, not for the nomina
ton of any particular candidate, fol
they have none, but for the defeat o.
the one candidate whom the great ma
jority of Democratic voters desire Il
see nominated. 1t is practical denia
of the principle of majority rule, whicl
is q fundamental of Democracy.
Washington, D. G.