The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1920-02-06

the aborer America affords equal rights and op-
portunities for all.n
The above falsehood is closing paragraph of the
many leaflets distributor by the Loyal American League Of
Cleveland the to the American Protective League of
notorious fame Leaflets of this character distributed in
practically every large manufacturing plant Cleveland for
the instruction OF the workers along the lines their
nomic masters would have them learn And it different
from the Others in the amount Of fashood contained
Cleveland has afforded striking instances of the
power of the ballot in the hands Of Cleveland workers Very
recently the socialists elected two city councien and
director the school board After short service in the in
erests Of the workers. the two councmen ousted by the
vote of council according to instructions from above Their
places Immediately filled by republican and democrat
chosen by the council W About the tme the school
board member, A. H. Hitchcock whose activities in the in
eres the teachers and pupils had brought down upon him
the hatred Of all business interests Of the city, fra
ed by enemies Of the workers and he put away Atlanta
prison for two years charge of obsructng the sale of Ii
bery bonds In this has the socaed power Of the
ballot operated in the city of Cleveland.
Then there is the Of Berger Twice elected to Con
gess he is denied admtce by the politician puppets who
the seats in that deectabe institution BY this perfid
GUS act, thousands Of American citizens have been dis
anchsed the power of their influence their ballot de-
stroyed by the dictatorship of capitalist interests The Loyal
American League pirate Of the power Of the workers
ballot and attempt to deceive them with their silly sophistry
but the wdeawae worker watching events with sharp
eve and forming his conclusions and choosing his
weapons for the commng struggle with his exploters.
We may also mention the socialists Of Albany as an eS
ample of the questionable value Of the workers. ballot The
issue there not yet decided but whichever way goes we
must keep in mind that if the assembly believes it proper
policy to pursue will at any such time deprive the recall
can workers of any political force Whether the socialists
allowed to be seated not the issue will be decided solely
upon the grounds Of political eypedecy and upon legal
and moral grounds.
In the face of these proofs Of the supremacy of capitalist
interests the power Of the ballot the hands Of Arican
workers. they be blamed if faith in the country constu
onal guarantees succb to swift and violent death? The
workers have witnessed repeated assaults and yolaonpQ
their political liberties and the supposed sacredhess Of the
ballot They have with what craness of
mneons their historic nights Of citizenship violated
when they attempted to those rights in their own interests
They being taught that their soced rights are theirs
only when used to keep their masters power and them
selves in slavery to them
The American worker learning the difference between
rights and privileges He is being taught in the hard
school of experience that rights conferred by constitutions
under capitalism to be Of value him in the struggle
for larger life and freedom He has seen himself divested of
these rights repeatedly l learning that the only rights
worth any thing to him those which he himself takes by
his united power with bis fellows He is learning that his
rights merely privileges conferred by capitalism so
long they allowed to be used in the workers. inte
rests When an attempt is made te hem they are sna
ched away and whether the sacrednes of the constitution
lis violated or not cuts no ice.
But we 90 not to infer that workers should not use
the ballot Far from it. But we do assert that it has second
airy value in his struggle for economic liberty AS means Of
propaganda it has very positive value and should be used
to the limit Let vote as we srke-a together and for
ourselves and if dsfranchsed when the ballots are
counted then let us tell tn world Of it and thus educate the
workers In the class character of capitalist political nsitu
tons.