The Socialist and labor star. [volume] (Huntington, W. Va.) 1911-1915, 1914-02-27
"A BETTER
BUSINESS
5 Y ST T N -
BY LUCIEN SAINT.

! Washington, D. e., FeO. a. A
better business system" is the phrase
used by President Wilson to describe
the hope of his administration. and IN
a "Reco d of Achievement" issued by
the Democratic National Committee
of this city,the workers Of the country
! can for the first time fully realize that
every effort of the Democrats has been
! to help business and do nothing Tor
| the lab0ring man Of the thlrty-one
achievements" of the administration
only one has anything to do directly
: with labor: this is the amendment to
the Railway Arbitration Act, hurried
I " enacted because of the obvious i'm
PROJECTIONS OF the existing law
Ii is clear that the Democratic
party has done nothing for labor, and
from the best sources of information
in the Capitol, it is equally clear that
the Democratic party is not planning
to do anything for labor.
In fact the Democrats in Congress
have shut down on labor legislation
and have refused 20 resurrect bills
which they talked about and even
voted on when Taft was in the White
House and when there was, therefore,
not the remotest chance of their en-
actment into law. Among these bills,
now dead, are the convict labor
goods, abolishing the. interstate traffic
in contract-made goods; the antrim
junction and contempt bills: the bill
exempting labor unions and farmers
organizations from prosecution under
the Sherman antitrust act; the sea-
mans bill, doing away with the in
voluntary Servilude OF Senmen under
the present archaic laws. and requr-
ing steamship lines to make provision
for safety: the national child labor
BILL minimum wage legislation; old
age pensions; and workmen's COM
pensation. Not word is being said
about this superficial kind of reform.
The record of achievement" is full
of half statements calculated to mis-
lead the workingmen who is not fa-
miliar with the true situation at
Washington For instance, it is stated
that, as a result of the exposure
made by President Wilson, the lobby
has been eliminated from the halls OF
Congress. The lobby has not been
eliminated. The National Association
of Manufacturers is still on the job,
and everybody knows it. The steam
ship lobby is also on the job. and as
these words are being written the
United States Chamber of Commerce,
representing nearly a third Of mil
| lion of business men, is holding q
meeting at which it is cooperating
with Wilson's cabinet officers to shape
the pending trust legislation,
The Democrats also take credit for
| the income tax and direct election
of senators amendments to the Con-
stitution, both of which were adopted
before they came into power. They
point with special pride to the schemes
of the Navy department to make the
navy attractive" to young men. and
the fake dissolutions Of the trusts are
heralded as splendid works of states
manship. Reform in the rules of the
House bringing an end to Cannon
methods" is also credited by the DEM
ocrats to themselves. Of course this
is absolutely false, for the end of Can
nonism, which happened four years
ago. was the signal for the beginning
of the Underwood tyranny, of which
the Democrats are the chief benefc-
iaries.
Woodrow Wilson's achievements"
in short. have profited two parties
the Democrat party and organized
business. They have not profited the
workers. They have not reduced the
cost Of living, raised wages, or cut
down long hours of toll. These achieve
ments have been many and the list is
impressive to look at: but they don't
amount TO hill of beans.
LET US OPERATE THE MINES
The ST. Louis Post-Dispatch scath'