United labor bulletin., 1912-09-19

edited by John Flannery, noted labor
leader, and secretary Of District S,
United Mine Workers Of America, says
Of Gov. Wilson's Labor Day speech:
There is no exaggeration in the state
ment that there was never a more con-
summate Intellectual humbug before the
| country than Governor Woodrow Will
son, of New Jersey. The fact that he is
the Democratic candidate for president
of the United States makes his case all
the more pronounced and fragrant. We
have on several occasions pointed out
the public denunciations of labor by
Governor Wilson, denunciations made
against trade unions when he was a col
lege professor. two or three years ago.
| OF course these denunciations were
based on scholarly theory and SO were
his answers to these charges.
So far in his political campaign Gov
ernor Wilson has not met a charge that
has been urged against him relative to
his attacks on trade unions and immi-
grants fairly. He has at every stage
lodged the issue which goes to prove
that he is veritable humbug, which
word has been by many wise men in
terpreted to be an imposter.
| On Labor Day, Governor Wilson made
speech at Buffalo, on Labor" at least
he said it was on labor. When it was
announced that he was going to address
an audience of wage workers and the
general public, every trade unionist in
the country felt certain that he would
refer to the many criticisms that had
been made on him because of his at
tacks on organized labor. 1t had been
thought that he would embrace the op-
portunity to fully explain what he meant
when he said that trade unions We're
tyrannical and deprived wage workers
of their personal liberty and so forth.
But, Governor Wilson did not in any
manner or form refer to the false and
bigoted charges he had made against or
ganized labor. He merely made one of
those meaningless talks for which he
has become so proverbial since he
came a presidential candidate. He in
dulged in glowing platitudes about what
American labor is and what it was doing
throughout the world and what it should
have.
| There was more apparent effort at
lodging the issue than Governor Wilson
made in his Buffalo speech. Instead of
dealing with the question in a manly
manner and trying to answer his critics
he beautifully endeavored to show that
the protection planks of the respective
parties were far above the labor
planks." He said that the labor planks
were only efforts of sympathy and every
body professed sympathy for labor. This
astounding statement of Governor Will
was surprise, but it was artful mas
much as it permitted the governor to
switch from an unpleasant matter,
something he could not satisfactorily ex-
plain. to his favorite subject, free trade.
In discussing the latter he made another
remarkably misleading statement and
every wage worker in the country should
think about it. He said:
Il would like to know what you ever
got out of it that you did not get out of
it by the effort of organized labor
OF course Governor Wilson in the
foregoing refers to protection. In this
statement Governor Wilson entirely
overlooks the most important feature of
the general question. He fails to notice
the exceedingly vital element of the
amount of money available for organ
lied labor to secure a share of. The
more money there is at the disposal of
labor most certainly the better chance
will there be for organized labor to Sc
cure larger share, and of course vice
versa Those who believe in the power
of trade unionism for good and its power
to secure for labor more than labor
would get without organized effort know
that organized labor can secure much
that labor would not get without being
organized But, what We do believe in
protection claim is that protection pro-
vides more money for labor to divide
than does free trade. This fact is easily
proven Let us take England for an ex-
ample. Labor is more solidly and more
effectively organized in England than in
the United States, but organized labor in
England cannot and has not secured as
high wages and as high a standard of
living for labor as organized labor has
done for labor in this country. Eng
land is a free trade country and the
United States is protective one The
real basis of this fact is that protection
of American industries yields more
money for labor than does free trade for
labor in England. History teens with
facts proving this contention absolutely.
II would seem as If Governor Wilson
has been forced to lose faith, more or
less, in his free trade doctrine for in a
speech more recent than that on Labor
day he said:
when people talk to you about the
danger of free trade and the folly of n
free trader, do not be afraid that you
Will meet free trader in the dark any
where. because there is not any free
trader who can get abroad in America
at present. All that We are considering,
therefore. in considering the policy OF
protection, is relative freedom in trade.
Now to say the least the statement
Just quoted shows the governor to be
the veriest shufher that ever was be-
fore the people. The man is really SO
much a theorist that he believes in
everything. He evinces the desire, in
every speech he makes, that he wants
to believe in all kinds of doctrines SO
that he could comfortably be recognized
as one of every party, clique or coterie.
But, If Governor Wilson is so fondly
in sympathy with labor why does he not
tell us what he thinks of injunctions,
1t will be noted that in none of his
speeches since he became candidate
has he ventured to discuss that part of
the Democratic platform which deals
with injunctions. The reason is obvious. |
Governor Wilson is not believer in
trade unions as We have them in the |
United States. He wants the kind of
unions that are advocated by such men |