The Washington socialist. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1914-1915, 1914-11-12
COMRADE JAMES MAUREI
ELECTED TO PENN.
LEGISLATURE
FIGHTING SOCIALIST TR
UNIoNiST WINS AFTER
FIGHT.

Maurer, the worst hated and fea
representative of the working class
Pennsylvania, has been elected as /,
member of the legislature Of this
state.
Feared by the Manufacturers as
ISOLATION and their lackeys both in the
senate and house, and feared and
hated by the agents whom the indus.
trial bosses hire through political Of.
flee and actual cash payments to try
and keep organized labor in the lead
ing strings of the capitalist class
party.
Four years ago he made n most
magnificent one-man fight against the
political power of the Industrial mas
ters on the floor OF the legislature as
the sole representative of the work.
ing class of this great state. He was
marked sor slaughter by those whom
he had fought so relentlessly and
went, down to defeat in the next cleo
ton. 1t was a dear victory, however,
for the robber class. At the next
convention of the State Federation of
Labor he was elected its president,
replacing an administration whose
sole aim seemed to be to keep or
ganized labor marking time while
those who fattened upon their toll
waXed ever fatter with spoil The
Federation began to grow in both
numbers and fighting ability. At the
next session of the legislature
Maurer, with an efficient committee,
at Harrisburg and stayed
there until the session was over.
Never before had the plant legis-
lative tools of capitalism had their
actions subjected to such pitiless
scrutiny, and many legislative
snake, fashioned to suck more eff
GENTLY the very life's blood of the
was not only skotched, but
killed.
Marked for Slaughter.
Orders went out that at all hazards
his reelection as president of the
State Federation must be prevented
and the agents Of the political pirates
who represent the lords of the mills,
mines and railroads of this state were
at Erie in full force to accomplish the
will of their masters. But they reck-
oned without an aroused working class
who fought them to a finish in one
Of the stormiest sessions that organic
ed labor in this state had ever known,
and Maurer was triumphantly re-
elected by the fighting class-conscious
workers of the state. His election as
a legislator representing the great
city of Reading gives
new hope to both the political and in
dustrial worIing-class movement in
Pennsylvania.
Use New Tactics.
The election in Reading marks a
new departure in Socialist tactics The
in Reading determined to use
their organized power to compel the
three capitalistic newspapers to give
hem the publicity that the numerical
strength of the party justified them in
demanding. Three years ago they
called a boycott on these papers who
were giving them no space in a cam
paign and in five days brought these
sheets to time. The trouble was,
however, that after getting the space
the publishers tried the old trick of
twisting and distorting the statements
Of candidates. This year, however,
this was provided against. A press
bureau was opened and every day the
press of the city was handed type
written copies of the talks of the So
cialist candidates and speakers from
All the editors of the papers
knew that copy was kept of all mat
ter handed out and that they would
twist it at the peril of not only a boy
colt on the subscription department
but upon the merchants who adver-
tised in the offending papers.
The result was that the Reading
comrades had $4,000 circulars deliv-
cred every day in Berks county in
which were intelligently set forth the
issues of the campaign. Organized
power won as it always will.
OF course, all of this would have
to nothing if it had not
been for the individual and group
work of the comrades. Every poll
was manned and a watcher kept on
the job until the vote was counted.
No chances were taken of losing the