Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1908-10-01


last election our law courts had prac-
ticallv declared trades unions to be
Illegal associations.
They didn't say so in so many
words. but that was the practical out
come OF the decisions handed down
by the law courts. We had injunctions
issued against trades unions and
trades union funds and trade union
officials. We had pickets sent to
prison. We had all the circumstances
with which you are so familiar in this
country.
THE Labor party drafted a bill to
remedy that state OF affairs. and the
object OF course OF the bill was this:
That a trades union and trades union
funds should not, under any cireum-
stances. be the object of a suit at law
at the instance of an employer. The
object of the bill was to make IT i'm
possible for the employers through
the law courts to cripple or interfere
with the work of the trades union
movement during a trade dispute.
Now remember there were only 5Is
workingmen in the house OF conn.,
mons out Of GO. That both the lib
ersl and tory parties were against
our bill That naturally the house
of lords was against the bill. That:
practically every newspaper in Great
Britain was against the bill, and at
the back OF all that we had the re-
port of a royal commission opposed
to our bill.
4 Significant Victory.
The liberal government brought
in a bill Of its own in opposition to
ours. We refused TO accept IL. They
passed il through its first stages in,
the house OF commons and defied U.S.
We then brought forward our own
bill, and by force Of argument and by
the strength of the labor vote in the
country the liberal government in ,
the end dropped it's own bill and
adopted ours. which at this moments
Is the law OF the land. (Applause.)
II want to say to you men that ~
we had nothing else standing to our
credit except that one act IL would be
worth all the money that has been
spent i'm connection with our entire
labor movement.
Why Divide Politically?
a week ago | saw the great parade
on the streets Of New York organized
by this central body. l admired the
men as they marched in thousands in
ranks through your streets And the
time as thousand after thousand
marched past was Why is il that
these men can be so united on Labor
day and so divided on election day2'
(Applause.)
What is the secret of Il? Why Is
IL that labor all the world over Is
weak in politics? why? Because we
allow our enemies to set us fighting,
when we ought to be combined to
fight them. not merely during the
strike, but also at the more effective
point of the ballot box. And remem--
ber this. remember this; That the
enemies OF labor are not scared when
the working class leaves the republi--
can party to go over TO the demo-
cratic party. or leaves the democratic
party to go over to the republican,,
party. No matter which OF those par
ties you are under. you are under
them all the time. But what does
scare them is when organized labor
leaves both parties To form It's nwF
party. C,pplause)
The Influence of Combination.
And So a small party influences.
politics to an extent aud degree far
beyond its m'r" numerical strength.
We have won our success because we
have FOUND a means To unite the
trades union movement and the So
cialst movement into one great fight
Ing whole. We NO longer have the
spectacle uf thrs" two sections Of the
labor mov,m' MT, tho socialist and the
trades uHionist. lighting. Tho two are
combined and work together unitedly
and vote for each others candidates
with tn" result that | have already
indicated.
suppose at next election, suppose
at this coming campaign Eugene v. ..
Dcbs tapplausc) polls two million
votes, as he may well do, the press
will then be- up against a fact which
IT will be compelled 10 recognize and
bc fair,
suppose, before next election. four
years hence. the trades union move
mcnt was to come out from both the
democratic and the republican parties
and join up with the socialist movs-