The producers news., 1919-11-07

QTOmlSe-Senat0r W1lllam!
Stirs an Irish Hornets Nes
Railway Men Protest Anti
strike Bill-House Expel:
Boston Man for Political Cor
ruption-Old Parties Put Ul
Two of a Kind for Governor
in Bay State.
Washington, D. C.-Genela
conditions have forced the most
serious break between labor
leaders and politicians the coun.
try has known.
The most conservative labor
leaders are for the time being
pushed out into the ranks OF
progressives and radicals be-
cause their political friends
have become impossible. The
conservatives are not conserva-
tive to the point of sacrificing
labor organizations.
President Gompers simply
had to walk out of the rigged-
up conference of capital. and
labor. The public representa-
tves, among them Gary and
young Rockefeller, were nearly
all capitalists. Labor was asked
to give everything and the 9TH
er side would give nothing.
Now the threatened miners
strike to begin on November l,
makes the big break a still big
ger one. While congress is de-
batting about passing the Cum
Minis bill, with the anti-strike
clause, the administration
comes out with the suggestion
that strikes are already illegal.
It seems that during the war,
when labor was urged to put
it's trust in politicians, the poll
ticians tackled a clause on one
of the war bills which may be
interpreted as forbidding work.
men to strike for better condi-
tions. Wilson also declares
that the tempest in the senate
teapot over the treaty keeps up
the war with Germany.
FORCING ISSUE NOW
All indications point to an
agreement among all the big
interests to conduct an uncom-
promising war on labor. Fore
ing of issues instead of compro-
mise is the plan. Politicians of
both parties have to choose be-
tween siding with them, and
with labor. The dominance of
the big interests in old-party
politics forces the choice of the
former. Labor's ''friends" sud-
denly lose all power to force any
group like the steel trust or the
coal operations to compromise
or agree to arbitration. They
suddenly turn the whole force
of the political state against
the workers.
Labor's answer to the break
must necessarily be more thor
ough organization and indie
pendent politics. The interests
evidently feel they have a fight
ing chaice to hold the farmers
political support, and they may
be forcing the issue now be-
cause they see this farmer sup
port of old parties weakening
rapidly. BY the way both trusts
and politicians have raided
farm prices in the last three
months to "reduce the cost of
living" has caused more real
thinking on the farms than the |
interests realize.
IRISHl1ANSWER WILLIAMS |
When Sen. Williams of Mis-
sissippi indulged his anti-Irish |
prejudice to the limit of bitter
and taunting speech a week ago
on the senate floor, he probably |
under-estimated the Irish love
of discussion of any attack up
on themselves. Since that un-
lucky afternoon not a day has
passed but Williams has had to
listen to lengthy denials and
ridicule of his statements as to
the military achievements Of
the Irish in the American Revo-
htionary army and in the fed
eral army Of the Civil war.
The Irish National bureau,
which is a first-class press bu-
reau located here, instantly sets !
it's historians and it's investigat- |
ors to work to prove that the
Revolution and the Civil war
were won chiefly by the Irish.
Their harvest of facts is large
and astonishing. They have
overfilled Williams cup of re-
grets by quoting General Rob-
e1t E. Lee as the final authori-
ty for their claim that almost
all Of the Irish took the Union