Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-17

the 1. w. w. when they exact big con-
cessions from the A. F. Of l. leaders.
For the I. w. w. leaders are forever
telling the workers that the A. F. OF
L. is too friendly with the employers.
This was the I. w. w. policy at Law
renee. Fighting not only the EMPLOYERS,
but the A. F. Of l., they accused them
both together. They asked the workers
there with its aristocratic organizations
for all these years, and that, like the
employers, 1t had not bettered the con-
ditions Of the common working people.
And they whispered that there was q
reason-that the A. F. of L. leaders dined
and wined with the employers, and that
in all probability the employers would
turn to the Central Labor Union and
John Golden to get the strike called on.
And this last happened.
John Golden is the head Of the A. F. L.
organizations in Lawrence. He is well
thought Of in all circles both in Lawrence
and in Boston. He ranks down east just
about where John Mitchell ranks in the
spoken Of know him well and they turned
naturally to him as the man to handle
the situation. And they made big
mistake. l think. when they did that
They should have known that the I. w.
w. leaders. anticipating Golden's agency
made him the bete-notr OF the strikers.
They had got SO that when I was up
here before two weeks ago, an orator
Golden to draw a boot from any crowd
of any nationality. The audience might
not know any other word the speaker
spoke, but they all understood that John
Golden was a signal to laugh and yell.
were used to symbolic the A. F. Of L..
"aristocratic labor" and q suspicious
intimacy with capital.
Turned to John Golden.
Well, in the face Of all this, the mill
men did turn to John Golden and the
Central Labor Union. I explained at the
time that the owners were afraid to settle
with the I. w. W.; nay. they were SO
fearful of sabotage that they did not want
to settle without having their employees
organized by leaders who would oppose
sabotage and passive resistance" And
the pegotiators saw the need Of some
organization, not only to prevent the
destruction Of goods in the making. but
also to make and keep q contract and
afterward to appoint committee to sit
down with an employers committee to
tackle the problem presented by the bad
labor conditions Of the whole textile in
dustry.
But the employers wanted John Golden.
the labor leader they had checked to the
point where he had been discredited, and
so last week Mr. Golden went to Law
renee. The papers mad 1t. They said
John Golden had taken charge and would
bring the strike to an end. He began,
to the obvious mystification of the news
papers, by calling his unions out on
sympathetic strike. There were the skill
ed workers, the ar.stocrats. who have
stayed in themills They came out: I'VE
told you so. John Golden comes here
calls a fake strike and then tries to
drive you all back in a panic with his
aristocrats."
49, Go,a.r PofIad an6 ro+ .,, .h.t
the whole fraudulent game helped to
drive home to the mass Of the workers
that the 4. r. Of l. was not their friend.
but the employers: not the representative
of labor. but Of capital. And the I. w.
on.
There was some talk after that OF hav-
ing Sam Gompers come to Lawrence to
try his hand at 1t. He was sent for. The
r W. W. men'knaw Of 1t. and they wish