The San Francisco call., 1910-01-02

which would place him In the light OF
a martyr to the cause of uniOnism, and
excite wave of sympathetic enthusi-
asm for him, which would carry the
delegates off their feet, and result in
his recollection.
That his long leadership and this
apparent impossibility to fill his place
has gone to his head. and made him
imagine that he is much greater a man
than he really is, is undoubtedly the
case, and accounts for the tactics he has
adopted in dealing with questions
before Congress, where he has un-
necessarily antagonized men to whom
organized labor must look for recogni-
ton of their demands, and where labor
measures are often opposed on account
of this very antagonism, which would
otherwise receive support.
There is no doubt but what organ
ized labor In this country would be
much stronger with a leader who was
more in touch with conditions as they
actually exist, and who would bring
to the front the new policies which
organized labor must adopt If it ex-
poets to even maintain its present
standing, TO say nothing of making
future progress"
We quote portions of another article
/ a reprint, from the same labor paper:
"Organized labor, through its lead
ers, must recognize the mistakes of the
past IL they expect to perpetuate their
organizations or to develop the move
ment which they head. No movement
no organization, no nation can develop
beyond the intellects which guide these
organizations, and if the leaders are
dominated by selfish motive the or
ganization will become tinged with a
spirit of selfshness, which has never
appealed to mankind in any walk OF
| life at any time since history began.
1T can be said in extenuation OF
certain leaders of organized labor that
the precarious position which they &C.
cupy as leaders has had tendency to
| cause them to lose sight of the object
behind the organization. The natural
instinct in man for power and position
is in no small measure responsible for
the mistakes of the leaders, not neces-
sarily in labor unions alone, but in
every branch of society. This desire
for power and leadership and personal
aggrandizement causes men who have
been earnest and sincere in their efforts
| in the start to deteriorate into mere
politicians whose every act and utter
ance Is tinged with the desire to eater
to the baser passions of the working
majority in the societies or organiza-
| tions, and this is undoubtedly true
when applied to the present leaders oil
the feueTdllOn- we mention the + eu-
Grafton of Labor particularly in this
article because that organization is the
only organization of labor which has
yet found itself in direct opposition te
the laws of the land. There are other
organizations of labor whose leaders
have made mistakes, but they have
always kept themselves and their or
ganizations within the bounds of the
] law and respected the rights of every
other man in considering the rights o1
| themselves and their constituency
whereas, the motto of the Federation
is just the reverse, and unless the lead
ers conform themselves and their or
ganiZetion in accordance with the laws
of the land. the leaders and the organi-
zation itself must be disintegrated an6
pass into history, for in America the
common sense in mankind is developed
to a greater extent than in any Other
nation on the earth, and the people
who are the court of last resort in this
country, will never allow any system
to develop in this country which does
not meet with the approval of the ma
jority of the citizens of the country.
This must have forced itself upor
the leaders of the Federation by this
time. If Ii has not, the leaders must be
eliminated The organization which
they head has done many meritorious
things In times past and the people are
always ready and willing to acknowl-
| edge the benefits which their efforts
have brought to their constituency as a
whole, but at the present time labor
organizations in general and the Fed,
leration of Labor in particular stand
before the bar of public opiniOn, hay-
Ing been convicted of selfishness and .