The Butte daily bulletin., 1919-06-07
The.I w. w. and Political Action
BY PAUL LNDGARD.


against the land and Slave-owning
system in the south. The capitalists
of the north, wanted politically free
wageslaves, they wanted schools in
order to educate those wageslayes in
the complex and diversified, scieti-
tific processes of industry. 1t want
ed high protective tariffs and it
wanted the markets of the south
The plantation owners of the south
wanted free trade, did not want
schools; they wanted to send to Eng
land their raw cotton and receive in
return the finished products. at the
lowest prices, from the then highest
developed industrial country in the
world. The yet undeveloped indus
tries of the north could not compete
with the better machine equipped
English capitalists. hence the high
tariff was necessary, the ballot was
given the wage workers. who of
course in their own interest voted
with the capitalists in their endeavor
to establish more industry and there
fore more jobs.
The ballot, given the workers in
the thirties, did not settle anything,
the civil war, in the sixties, did. how
0sVl' l. VI CC, pui' teu
force, and the north with the great
est industrial resources. won out
Coming now up to date.
The /. w. w. was organized in
1905, first with political clause in
its preamble, which was removed by
a referendum vote of the member
cause of the conviction by the major
i
essary, but in order to prevent the
force Wrangling of socialist and So
cialist labor party contendants, which
took up all the time of the new un-
ion, and no organization work was
possible. Each side trying merely to
make the organization a tail to it's
respective political kite.
The removal of the political clause
and the withdrawal of the politicians
soon caused the real propaganda on
the industrial field to bear fruit;
organization was now going forward
at a pace quite commensurate with
expectations. For some years an
anti-political propaganda was carried
on, which in time subsidized to a point
where no political, instead of anti
political attitude was adopted, as the
wi iCCl oIlC 1Idl bGlIS tfit UDSltlull
of the organization today.
The wisdom of this course is much
clearer in the minds of the member
ship now than in 1908. So much has
occurred since that prove the ballot
box action mere chimera, the
wage worker cannot afford to waste
time and energy chasing, and when
further taking into account the
| a = tlrt tr,o aff
propaganda, the position of the ]. w
w. is strengthened.
The wage worker must not be de-
ceived into the conviction that there
is a way out without fighting, if he
is deceived into that belief, he as
suredly will go along the line of what
promises least resistance, and more
valuable time is lost chasing rain
bows.
The arguments for political action
are these: The political ballot is an
American institution, based on de-
mocracy and civilization, it gives civ
ilized man a chance to adjust mat
ters and disputes in a civilized way
The next contention is that politi-
cal action is a shield, behind which
labor can marshal and organize it's
'oAS~o VIZ IiIS lGi IlGlu. LIE
also the other arm, necessary in a
| light with a tWo-armed enemy and
so on and so forth.
In the first place, it's rather un-
convincing, in the face of late hap
penings, to speak of civilization than
less one connects it with blood, muir
der, misery, fraud, untold suffering
and force, the savage and the barba-
,,tn II
with conscientious qualms, conduct
ing himself in civilized way on a
civilized battlefield than less, per-
haps, the entire absence of fair play
and decency might shock and dis.
gust him. The barbarians of the
north of Europe, for instance, did
not kill women and children, and 8
fight face to face with an enemy ol
known skill and valor, was his hearts
delight The contention that polit
ical action is a shield behind whiel
labor can marshal and organize its
forces on the industrial field, falls
also rather flat in view of experience
for instance: The Workers Interna
tional Industrial union, with the po
litical clause left in the preamble
had it's organizer and militants JAILED
ana CluDDeu, Ill llS strikes at 1at
erson, N. j., and other places.
The non-partisan league using onl,
the essense of civilization the bal
lot-and its organizers were tarred
feathered and Jailed the same as ]
w. w. The shield proved paper, no
steel. The last Butte city election
showed the fraud of the ballot sys
TEN itself, and the impeachment ant
onsting of Duncan in 1914 show
what would have happened to Dunn
had he accidentally been elected, ant
had stood by labor.
But, say some, the political fielt
can be used for propaganda purpos
es. The L. w. w. has proved tina
the industrial rostrum is just al
available, and is also just as legal
since both the strike and labor or
ganization has been so recognized
and as for an American institution
both are older than the ballot as ap
piled to the working class.
! The |. w. w. has been the mos
: prosecuted simply because it ha
> been the most aggressive, and b.
= virtue of its correct teachings, tn
! most dangerous to the profit system
hut let the A. + of L. or for tha