The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, 1910-01-05

excite a wave Of sympathetic enthusi
asm for him. which would carry the
delegates of their feet, and result in
his reelection.
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 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 unneces.
sarily antagonized men to whom or.
gained 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.
lied labor in this country would be
much stronger with leader who was
more in touch with conditions as they
actually exist, and who would bring to
the front the new policies which organ
lied labor must adopt If it expects to
even maintain its present standing, to
say nothing of making future progress"
We quote portions of another article,
"Organized labor, through its lead
ers. must recognize the mistakes of the
past if they expect to perpetuate their
organizations or to develop the move
nent 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 a selfish motive the
organization will become tinged with
a spirit of selfishness, which has never
appealed to mankind in any walk of
life at any time since history began.
1T can be said In extenuation of GER
tain 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 persona;
ACKNOWLEDGMENT causes men who have
been earnest and sincere in their ef-
forts in the start to deteriorase into
mere politicians whose every act and
utteranee 10 tinged with the desire
to cater to the baser passions Of the
working majority in the societies o.:
organizations and this is undoubtedly
true when applied to the present Lead
ers of the Federation of Labor. We
mention the Federation of Labor par
ticularly in this article. because that
organization is the only organization
Of labor which has yet found itself In
direct opposition to the laws Of the
land. There are other organizations of
labor whose leaders have made mis-
takes. but they have always kept them
selves and their organizations within
the bounds of the law and respected
the rights of every other man in con-
sidering the rights of themselves and
their constituency; whereas, the motto
OF the Federation 10 just the reverse,
and unless the leaders conform them
selves and their organization in accord
ance with the laws of the land, the
leaders and the organization itself
must be disintegrated and pass into
history, for in America the common
sense of mankind is developed to
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 majority OF
the citizens of the country.
This must have forced itself upon
the leaders of the Federation by this
time. II it 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
in general, and the Fed
Grafton of Labor in particular, stand
before the bar Of public opinion, hav-
ing been convicted Of selfishness and
to rule all the people Of
the country In the interest Of the few.
The people are patient and awaiting to