The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-09-27
FOSTERS OLD PLAN:
DESTROY ALL TO WIN
Senator Pomerene Shows Ruth
less Methods Advocated
by Strike Leader.
PURSUE MEN WHO $50 IN,
Damage Machinery in Any
I Way; Injure Railroads to
Invite Wrecks.
Special pespatcA 10 TIE suN.

|
of William z. Foster. moving spirit Of
the present strike in the steel industry,
and his radicalism were held up to the
view of the Senate to-day by Senator
Pomerene (Ohio). He attacked Foster
and Fosters record with a vengeance. He
did not spare Samuel Gompers, who at
a hearing earlier in the day before the
Kenyon committee made the statement
That Foster was no longer imbued with
the desire to scrap the whole Govern
ment as he had been. as a younger man.
1t was Of Fosters record within the
present decade that Senator Pomerene
dealt.
Il was told a few minutes ago." said
Senator Pomerene, that Mr.. Gompers
appeared before special committee of
the Senate which is now investigating
the steel strike. and that his testimony
about Mr.. Foster was that he had been a
syndicalist and an /. w. W., but that he
has since reformed. l have before me a
copy Of the Christian Science Monitor Of
Thursday. September 26, and IN a news
article from Chicago that paper says:
I'm letter published In Solidarity, the
official organ OF the I. w. W., on Novem-
! Der 4, 1911. William z. Foster, secretary
Of the national committee for organizing
Iron and steel workers. urged the I. w.
| w. to work, within the American Fed
Grafton of Labor to make il a revolu-
tionary organization. Mr.. Foster at this
time was a member of the 1. w. w.
4 usNA It,
l. w. W. publication. the Industrial
Worker, at Seattle. His advocacy of
boring from within the trade union
movement did not please the I. w. w.
membership, and caused his defeat.
Advises syndicaIist Methods.
/ This letter appears in the files OF
| Solidarity at the office of the United
States District Attorney in Chicago. 1t
reads in part as follows:
4 am satisfied from my observa-
ton that the only way for the /. w. w.
| to have the workers adopt and practice
the principles of revolutionary unionism
which / take is its missions to give
| up the attempt to create a new labor
movement, turn itself into propa-
| ganda league, get into the organized
| labor movement, and by delivering up
better fighting machines within the old
| unions than those possessed by our
| reactionary enemies, revolutionize these
unions, even as our French syndicalist
fellow workers have SO successfully
done with theirs
| This letter was signed, Yours for
revolution, William z. Foster"
| Senator Pomerene went on to READ
! from the writings of the man, said by
| Mr.. Gompers to be so harmless, the fol-
lowing definition of sabotage:
The. most widely known form OF
| sabotage Is that known as putting the
| machinery on strike The syndicalist
| goes on strike to tie up industry. II his
| striking fails to do this IL strike break
| ers are secured to take his plaCefe ne ac-
complishes his purpose by putting the
machinery on strike through tenn
porarily disabling it. If ne is rail-
roader he cuts wires, puts cement in
switches, signals. &C, runs locomotives
| into turntable pits. and tries in every
| possible way temporarily to disorganize
the delicately adjusted railroad system.
"If he is a machinist or factory worker
and hasn't ready access to the machin-
cry. he will hire out as a scab and
surreptitiously put emery dust into the
| bearings Of the machinery or otherwise
| disable 1t. Oftentimes he takes time
| by the forelock and when going on strike
| puts the machinery on strike with him
| by hiding. stealing CT destroying some
| small Indispensable machine part which
| is difficult to replace.
| Sabotage Is Upheld.
GAS is the case with all direct action
tactics even conservative workers when
on strike naturally practise this form
| Of sabotage, though In a desultory and
| unorganized manner. This is seen IN
their common attacks on machines. such
| as street cars automobiles. wagons, &C.,
manned by scabs.'
"And now this man, with that record
which he himself wrote in 1911. is
parading himself before the public as
one OF the friends of labor.
God help labor when 1t gets into the
clutches Of men Of that type.
'I have before me a copy of the PAM
! phlet which was issued by Earl C. Ford
| and William Y. Foster-this same. Will
lam z. Foster-and has printed upon
the first page, Published by William q.
Foster. 1000 South Paulina street. Chi
cago.' I am going to read paragraph
| or two from II.
HE believed in direct action; he be-
| lieved in sabotage, as he discusses
sabotage approvingly. I am not going
| to read all he says on that subject, but
| want to read a paragraph. Now note
their method Of treating scabs. 1 read
| from the pamphlet:
The scab: A large portion of the
! Syndicalists' success in their strikes IL
! due to their energetic treatment of the
strike breakers. According to syndi-
calist ethics, a poverty-stricken work.
| ingman, In his predicament, can do any
| thing save scab. He may beg borrow.
steal, starve or commit suicide, and still
retain the friendship and esteem OF his
fellow workers; nut let him take the
place of striker and he Immediately
| outlaws himself. He becomes 80 much
vermin, to be ruthlessiy exterminated.
Alarmed by the Revelations.
Senators, do not think am a pessi-
mist" he resumed. 1T am an optimist,
but 1 am not Understanding the seri-
ourness OF present conditions.
but with this feeling OF unrest pre-
vallng as II is to-day and with men of
! the type OF Foster, who has no respect
either for the law of God or the Jaw of
man. to be placed at the head OF a labor
| organization or movement In the In
| terests of labor, shocks ones reason. All
| that men of that kind can do or will do
| Is to ruin the cause OF labor.
1.-The vast majority of the laboring
men, as the vast majority Of all men
\ and women, are law abiding, but when
kind what can you expect but the de-
struction OF property? And when we
arrive at a time when property is not
safe. life itself Is not safe
Now, Senators. when recall the fact
! that tha entire ra2OurCaS NJ this country