Omaha daily bee., 1920-01-28

shop or child labor products OF
! goods brought from other countrie:
that are prdueed by cheap labor toi
the purpose of under-selling ths
American product"
A maximum working day OF eight
hours and 44-hour week.
| Abolition of unemployment by va
rious methods.
| Continuation Of wartime soldiers
and sailors insurance and the extern
/ sion of such life insurance by the
government, without profit, to al
Alen and women.
All government work to be done
directly, not by contract
| Union label on all federal, state
or local government supplies and
materials.
Full political rights for railroad
and civil service employees.
Home rule for municipalities.
Amendments to the United States
constitution to be submitted to the
direct vote of the people. -.
Initiative, referendum and recall:
Here are 81 planks--a mixture OF
political, economic, social and finan-
cial reforms-representing big and
little ideas from every source, and
intended to attract all groups OF re-
| volt
No Large Vision Revealed.
And yet, although it welcomes to
its ranks workers Of both hand and
brain" in support Of the principles
| of political, social and industrial de-
mocracy," it reveals no large vision
as do both the British and French
labor nlovements-of broad peblic
and national needs. Take the single
matter of large and efficient produc-
ton, which is today for the publics
of all nations becoming crying is
sue. In both England and France
immediate and large production is
being recognized as truly the con-
oern of labor as we'll as OF other ele-
ments of the population. Here, for
example, are some sentences from
the resolutions of the British labor
party;
What the nation needs is un-
doubtedly great bound onwatds in
its aggregate productivity. But this
cannot be secured merely by press
ing the manual workers to more
strenuous toll, or even by encourag-
ing the captains of industry to q
less Wasteful organization Of their
enterprises on ofit-naking basis.
What the labor party looks to is a
genuinely scientific reorganization
Of the nations industry, the equit-
able sharing of the proceeds among
all who participate in any capacity
and the adoption Of those systems
and methods Of administration and
control that may be found best to
promote. not profiteerlng, but the
public interest"
The French confederation Of labor
at its congress at Lyons in Septem-
Der also shows that it sees clearly
the need of greater production, es-
pecially since the war. Its resolu-
ton says:
ITO continue production in order
to satisfy the needs Of men, to in
crease it in order to put at the dis
posal of all a greater total Of con-
sumable wealth, these are questions
to which the world situation result
ing from the war has given formid-
able importance.
The labor movement a{firms that
it should and can answer to this zp-
peal, but it also declares that any ef-
fort in this direction is irreconcilable
with the maintenance of the present
regime. That appeal to labor to
which all laborers are ready to re-
spond must henceforth rest upon the
complete recognition of the rights of
labor
Problem Greater Here.
It is baby unfair to compare
this young labor party with the
much older and more experienced
movements Of Europe; but we must
try to see exactly where it stands.
1t faces much greater problem, in
other ways, than the British labor
party. Here the new party has not
even the support of its own group,
as in England, for the powerful fol-
lowing Of Gompers is in opposition.
1t thus represents only one wing Of
the labor movement
America is also huge country
with far more diversified interests
than any European country. Here
the agricultural and s,nall-town vote
is still enormously powerful; and
the new labor party has not yet con-
WINGED even the radical farmers of
the northwest. While it expresses
the old revolts, it lacks as yet any
flaming creative vision or moral
appeal which, in America particu-
larly, IS essential to any strong
popular movement.
And yet it is plain to see that
American workers and American
farmers are rapidly awakening to
political consciousness; to the ne
cessity of some political expression
to supplement the direct econclric
pressure of labor and cooperative
organizations and strikes. No one
who talks with labor leaders or al
tends labor gatherings can avoid
this conclusion. They all agree to
it, but differ as to method. The fu-
ture is at present largely in the
hands OF the old parties and the old
party leadership. If the old parties
offer programmes of reconstruction
which convince the labor groups as
being genuine and honest, they may !
hold for some time the great masses
of organized laber now wavering
between the conservative policy of
E86S&E