Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-01-27
.NEWLABOR PLATFORM
IS ANALYZED; ASPECTS
OFNDUSTRLAL UNREST
Political Action Is With Old Parties.
Fitzpatrick and Gonpers Repre-
sent Conflicting Ideas.
BY RAY sTANNARD BAKER.
ARTICLE y.

BY RAY sTANNARD BAKER.
ARTICLE y.
One striking product of the present
tpheavaI of industrial unrest is new
national labor party. born at co''SeH-
ton at Chicago last November
1t is important to inquire II we are 10
understand the present SITUATION just
what this movement represents VINO
compose il, and how much II IN ans
We know what Il tremendous power the
labor party is becoming ~ 'iie Fo'i''cS
IF Creat P-itain Does this new move
ment presase similar deVe'oP'nei't III
America?
attended the convention AT thlcago
as I also attended the convention OF the
British labor party in London June
1918. at which the widely heraided re-
port upon reconstructIon--reaiiE the
declaration of the new general policE OF
labor in the British lsies-"as adopted.
Several features of the convention at
Chicago are worthy of note. In the
first place. the fact that it was held at
Chicago is significant. Labor is more
closely organized, more sell conscious,
more advanced in its views. in Chicago
than in any other American city. 1t
was the first large city to have a local
labor party: in the last campaign
(19I9) it polled 5000 votes for John
Fitzpatrick for mayor twhlc the So
cialist candidate polled $4,000, out of
a total poll of over 100000 votes. This
then was the friendliest atmosphere for
such convention that could be found
in the country.
1t was an Unexpectedly spontaneous
convention 1t was run from the floor
and not from the rostrum. 1t was not
cut and dried | think the number of
delegates who came (there were about
SOC from thirty-five states) rather sur
prised the promoters of the enterprise
A great many false reports We're dis
seminated about it that the convention
split hopelesSly on several issues; one
of them prohibition and that the dele
gates from the Farmers Non-Partisan
League. with Gov. Frazier al their head
had withdrawn. AS a matter of fact
it was an unusually harmonious conven-
ton which did the work it set out to
do, and Gov. Frazier did not withdraw
because he was never there, and the
non-partisan league fraternal delegates
remained to the end. The new party
was organized and is preparing to place
candidates in nomination not only for
national offices at the election next fail.
but also to enter as many local and
state campaigns as possible.
Split on Political Action.
action have long existed in the ranks Of
orga niZed labor in America One of
them is represented by the conservative
wing of the a. F. of L., headed by Com
pers. Gompers has always fought indie
pendent political action or a distinct la
Dor party He has been for the policy
of working just as the corporations have
always worked, as the Anti-Saloon
League and the Woman Suffrage Asso-
citation have worked. within the old par
. Ix-l NH,
islatures. or by supporting this or that
candidate upon declaration Of his
views concerning certain demands of
labor. He has never even been as adj
vanced in his method as the Farmers
Nom Partisan League of the Northwest
which accepts the old two party system
but tries to seize control of one of them
from withn-aS ii has succeeded IN do
ing in North Dakota.
Gompers' policy for years was attack
ed by the radical wing of the A. r. of
L., led chiefly by the socialists, and once
or twice he was nearly unseated. The
war smashed the old socialist party, but
by no means altered the view of the left
wing of labor regarding political action.
And the convention at Chicago was in
reality the independent expression Of
these radicals. Some of it's chief lead
ers. like Max Hayes and Duncan Nc
Donald, president of the Illinois coal
miners. were formerly members of the
SOCIALIST party. us cHltl iedUef. JOnH
Fitzpatrick represents the Chicago
crowd which, while maintaining their
position within the A. f. of L.. are more
or less openly in revolt against GOmpers
and many of his policies. The Chicago
convention was countenanced by Com
pers in no way. nor did any national
union send official delegates; the con-
vention was a rank-and-file movement
made up of delegates from local or CEN
trail organizations in thirty-five states.
Fitzpatrick Typifed Conventional
The spirit of the convention was
rather well typified by the personality
of it's principal leader. John FitZpat-
rick. Fitzpatrick was born in Ireland.
is horseshoer by trade. worked as
a youth in the packing houses at Chi
cago He is Catholic and a total alb
stainer He has been for years active
in the labor movement and president
of the Chicago Federation of Labor.
He is powerfully built man, smokes
a pipe continually, is whirlwind
orator and much trusted by his fol-
lowing. He is an excellent organizer.
but he represents type of labor
leader that is passing - the fiercely
oratojcal. denunciatory. heavy fight
ing type, which came up, doing great
service. in the hurly-burly of the
early days of labor organizations. He
knows well the strategy of strikes,
but has done no real constructive or
political thinking-has no statesman
like plan.
His argument for a new labor party
is based upon the cOnviction-which
is shared by very large and growing
proportion of organized labor-that
the two old parties are controlled by
capitalists and Wall street: that the
courts are used by employers inter
ests to defeat the aspirations of labor;
that many public offices are filled by
Labor haters,' and. there being no JUS
tice or right to be expected from Ell
Their of the old parties, the only alter