Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-08-29
THE SOCIALIST SITUATION
wrer Who Does Not Believe Socialism VIII Work for he Good
 of Any CowmuDly
Editor Evening Democrat: {:

l
 always harping on, is his great con
 cern for the working man. He
 pictures in vivid colors the great
 wrongs that the workingman endures
 at the hands of the capitalist and
 these wrongs he would right. And
 hence he would have the working
 man identify himself with the social
 ist party even to the extent of unit
 ing labor unions with the socialist
 party. Indeed his boast is that in
 many European countries they are identical. And repeated efforts have
 been made in America to effect the
 same purpose. The socialist would
 use the trades union to spread his
 revolutionary propaganda and he is l not backward in proclaiming the fact. Says one writer in Socialism
 and Trades Unionism: The trades 1 unions offer splendid opportunity
 for our propaganda" and
 another writer, Max Hayes, tells us in Trades Union
 ism and Socialism" (page 23)
 the time is rapidly approaching
 when a plain declaration of socialism
 can be made without injuring the
 unions by frightenings the ignorant
 members, who are nevertheless neces- sary to carry on our economic strug-
 gles."
 As will appear later on socialism would disrupt the labor unions and
 have tried to, and such disruption
 would be distinct loss for the work tnpmqn The nIi1c nf 1a hnr
 unionism have been mani-
 fold, but they have been more acci-
 dental than essential and have in A
 great measure been eliminated by
 Judicious management; whilst the
 good they have done in shortening
 hours and raising wages and in a
 general amelioration of the working
 mans condition, more than counter
 balance the evils. Labor organiza-
 tion," says Brooks, (page S44), "in spite of every unhappy fault that can be laid to it's charge, stands for
 the higher standard of living. To break it means longer hours, lower
 wages and bitterer competition among the workers" Andrew Car negie would scarcely be an accepta-
 ble candidate for labor union presi- dency, yet he tells us ("Gospel of Wealth." page 114, My experience has been that trade unions, upon the whole, are beneficial both to labor and to capital. They certainly edu- cate the workingmen and give them a truer conception of the relation ship of capital and labor than they could otherwise form. The ablest and best workingmen eventually come to the front in these organiza- tions."
 When we consider the uniformity of industrial station and the demo- | cratic spirit of labor organization, ] it is no wonder that the socialists cast loving eyes on it as an avenue | which would afford continuous, an effective and to the socialist cheap, inexpensive means of carrying on his | propaganda. That 1t is the socialists l object to thus get control of the | labor unions seems clear from their | whole history. As far back as 1889 | the socialistic element of the Central | Labor union applied under the name | of Central Labor Federation for ad- | mission to American Federation of | Labor. The application was reject ed on the grounds that the Central | Labor union being a political party, was debarred from afiiliation with | the A. F. of l.. Some two years later the question was fought out at De- troit, when the Central Labor union elected one Lucien Sanial as a dele | gate to the A. F. of l.. convention. | After stormy debate in which both | sides obtained a hearing Sanial was rejected by vote of 1899 against | 535. Apparently satisfied the social ist element, however, immediately began warfare upon what they l dubbed the pure and simple trades ! unions" Finding that but little progress could be made under the mask of friendship, the socialists in 1S96 declared open war upon the trades unions and under the leader ship of Sanial, De Leon, Kuhn and Vogt, endeavored to weaken the forces of the A. F. of l.. and in the various mills and factories through out the country engendered much bitterness. Up to this time there was no suspicion but that the social ists were good labor unionists. But from the time of the Rochester con- vention in 1900, when the socialistic party made overtures to Debs, the mask was removed and the main pur- pose of the socialists was made evil dent. and whilst hitherto the hated capitalist had been the object of their bitter inyeetives, 1t is a ques- ton If their powers of villification were not centered thereafter with greater intensity upon the A. F. of L. Their policy has been to throw discredit upon the leaders of trades to neutralize, if not to render abortive, their efforts. to beIittle their victories. and 1t may be doubt ed if they had greater animosity to- ward John D. Rockefeller than to- ward John Mitchell and Samuel Com pers.
 The purpose of the socialistic wing is the submersion of the eco- homie policy of the labor union to the political policy of the socialist. Many of the socialist party still re- mained in the ranks of labor and in Indianapolis convention of 1891 + called upon socialists to build up and unify the trades unions and labor organizations. How little sincerity there was in that resolution is mani fest from the Denver convention of 1892 when the A. F. of l.. gave them an opportunity of displaying their interest in labor unions, asking them