Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-09-23
RECRUDESCENCE OF
BRYANISM

their recent labor legislation, Demo-
cratic leaders have suddenly swerved and
actually grasped this rife Of criticism
aimed at them TO use It ms a club on their
opponents. Instead OF continuing to
apologize for the railroad wage increase
law, they have abruptly decided 20 boast
Of It and use It as an appeal for the
labor vote" Instead Of condoning II as
Mr.. Wilson does in saying that "the sit.
uation must never arise again, but Il has
arisen," to explain predcament he
plainly regretted ever had arisen, his fol.
lowers now take the stand that the wage
Increase law was just the opportunity
the Democratic party had been waiting
for to give labor its duel
To prove the vehemence with which
they intend to stir UP or create class
prejudices, they go the length OF an
nouncing a plan to capture Pennsyl-
vania's electoral vote through the co.
operation Of its 100000 railroad men
working night and day for Wilson"
These were the tactics of Bryan, which
failed three times and will fail always.
There are no classes here to understand
class appeals.
There is one thing that goes" In Eng.
land that never ''goes" here. Over there
the lord Of the manor (or his cousin, dis
guised as a RadicaD can say to a crowd:
"Laborers you are and laborers you will
remain, and the best you can do is TO
elect influential men of my class with
Liberal sympathies" They either swal-
low that or go in a body into the Labor
party, which includes the Socialists. In
the Labor party here. calling itself the
Socialist party, there are hardly any la
borers. The Socialists in America are
nearly all highly educated and leisurely
men and women engaged in the arts and
in literature, sliding occasionally into
gentlemanly philosophic anarchsm. They
are the very people whose habit of mind
makes them see class distinctions that do
not exist, because they are entirely out
Of daily touch with Industrial workers.
Bryan thought he could perform the
feat Of coalescing these idealists with the
men who worked with their hands. He
thought he could infuse Socialism under
another name into the ranks of the work.
ers and draw a sharp class line. He, too,
talked of carrying Pennsylvania because
Of its great industrial electorate work.
ing night and day" for him. Wilson saw
the mistake of the Commoner He once
knew that labor did not want to be
labeled as a mass of insurgent servants
patronized by highbrow idealists, de-
prived of all interest in various national
issues and restricted to the one issue of
I'VE want more pay" He knew there |
could not permanently be a Labor party |
because in America there are so many |
thousands Of men constantly leaving the |
workshop for the office. so many fathers |
in the workshop with sons In the office, |
so many fathers in the office with sons
in the workshop. so little chance for class
spirit.
How desperate, then, must be the Will
son campaign manager when he takes
up Bryan's broken weapon and goes after
the labor vote! He suddenly forgets the
lesson OF Bryan and tells labor not to
Mexico. but only the wage-in-
crease law; not TO consider the tariff, but
only the wageincrease law. The swerve
In policy becomes more sinister when we
turn to New York. There 100000 men
are stirred TO a temporary revolt. And
they, too. are to forget all other issues
md think only Of the wage-increase law.
They want more pay and here is the way
% get It.
Why not. indeed. an act of Congress
king the wages OF all engaged in inter
tate commerce-that is. everybody? II
hat is not the lure 70 the unintelligent
n centering attention on the railway
wage law. what is it7