The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1920-03-12
GOMPERS OPPOSES
LABOR PARTY PLAN
WRITES TO HEAD OF INDIANA
UNION MEN SCORING HIM
ON HIS STAND
on TIME FOR EXPERIMENTS
Formation Of a Political Labor Party
Would Be Exactly in Line with
That Most Ardently Desired
by Opponents Of Labor

Washington, Feb. 223.--Fnrmatlon OF
q political labor party would be def
rimental to the interests of labor ana
exactly in line with that which is most
ardently desired by those who seek to
Cypress labor" Samuel Gompers de-
clared in letter to William Mitch OF
Terre Haute. leader OF the Indiana
state labor party, made public here
yesterday.
Mr.. Gompers wrote in reply to
telegram from Mitch and his aSsocl-
ates supporting the action OF the In
diana state labor party in opposing the
political declaration of the American
Federation of Labor, calling on or
ganized workingmen to elect their
friends and defeat their enemies.
Mitch'S telegram declared in favor OF
making the fight solely through la
Dor party.
BY what right" Mr.. Gompers wrote
"dc you assume to declare the work
and the policy of the American Fed
GRAFTON of Labor to be impractical?
Surely the results achieved in the in
terests OF the workers demonstrate
the utter falacy of your assumption.
by your declaration you assert the
practicability of the course you de-
clare you will pursue. Whist expe-
rience have you had with your po-
litical party upon which to base so
absurd a claim?
when you shall have learned the
lesson Of tie real struggle of labor
and the cause for which our move
ment stands you may become peni-
tent for the gross injustice you have
done by your pretension and your
course.
"The effect of separate political
labor party can only be disastrous to
the wage earners of our country and
to the interests of all forward look
ing people. The votes that would go
to a labor party candidate would. in
the absence Of such candidate. go to
the best man in the field. In no case
would they go to an enemy of labor
There can be no hope for success
of labor party candidates. The effect.
therefore. of political labor party
will be to defeat our friends and to
elect our enemies.
Labor can look upon the formation
of political labor party only as an
act detrimental to the interests of la
Dor, and exactly in line with that which
is most ardently desired by those who
seek to Cypress labor.
THE welfare of American human
ity demands in this hour of national
crisis that there be success at the
polls. This is no time for experiment.
ing with political theories which are
proven false at the outset. The work.
prs of America must see the tactics
of succeGs. They must have results.
Those who are determined to be
blind to the facts of the present and
past will, of course. rush on to dis
aster and calamity. This the Ameri.
can labor movement will not do. 1t
objects and repudiates the fallacies
of blind theories and will have moth
lies that are suited only to the pur-
poses of labor's enemies.
Your telegram is an affront to the
labor movement and an assault upon
the interests of that great body of
Americans who are determined that
the present campaign shall result. not
in the destruction of our liberties. but
in the opening of the way to national
progress and the enlargement of OPP
portunities for human welfare safety
and happiness