New-York tribune., 1919-10-06
The Test

TODAY at Washington there Will be-
Gin national industrial conference.
Labor, capital, the proletariat, the intel
lectuals, the governmental these will
be ably represented. The difficulty is
to get the common public represented.
Formerly it was the governments
business to represent the great major
ty; but times and customs have greatly
changed. For example, it is announced
that the Department Of Labor has
named Bert NJ Jewell to represent the
public The peace conference might as
we'll name Lenne to plead the cause of
the Russian bourgeoisie.
Mr.. Jewell runs the railroad employees
department. of the American Federation
of Labor. From that position he as
sisted to launch the Plumb plan, which
gives to labor the privilege and profit
of running the railroads and reserves
to the government the responsibility and
expense of owning them. He derives
his notoriety from the prediction that
unless all basic industries are speedily
socialized, according to the same simple
soviet principle, labor will see that the
country is damned.
He is to represent the public!
The conference will open without a
programme. 1t shall be free and self
determining. 1t is in itself manifes-
taton of the American impulse to get
together and talk a thing out.
In all such efforts the first condition
of success is a common language-not a
language Of the tongue iself, but of the
mind and heart. One may talk revo-
luton and another may talk American
ism, both in the same tongue, but they
will not be speaking the same language.
Neither will understand the other.
We take it that the fundamental con-
Germ of this conference is America. To
bring beneficial results to pass, therefore,
it must first establish in an unambiguous
manner the traditional and enduring
language of the American people. If
it will do this the country will be thrilled
in all its parts
Let some one who is there to repre-
sent the public challenge all participants
to confession of political faith and pro-
pose that such as cannot stand this test
withdraw.
Do they believe in our form of rep
resentative government?
Do they believe in the right of Con-
gress to enact laws?
Do they believe that all people have
duty toward the law?
Do they concede the obligation of a
minority to submit to the laws enacted
by majority?
These are elementary questions. Yet
so far have we gone in our maudlin
tolerance of groups and minorities who
defy the laws that they cannot be an
swcred without embarrassment by some
Of the most eminent participants ir a
national industrial conference on the
state of America
Mr.. Gompers, president Of the Ameri-
can Federation Of Labor-how shall he
answer?
On Saturday he was heard publicly
repeating his favorite dictum, namely
that labor may reserve to itself before
hand the right to break any law it dis
likes. II Congress enacts the Cummins
bill, in which railroad employees are for.
bidden TO strike, organized labor will
strike nevertheless, he says.
Bert N. Jewell, who is named by the
Department Of Labor To represent the
public--how shall he answer?
in August he asserted the right Of the
railroad unions to throttle the whole
country To prevent the enactment Of y
displeasing law. Specifically he said
IF lyngress adopts the plan proposed
BY Director General Hines and President