The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1920-04-02
s1.5o A YEAR
The British LaDSS Savement.
BY Felix Morles
ARTICLE 1.-THE sITUl a,A
TODAY. oH,A
LONDON-Underneath its

ONDON-Underneath ItS prN
orderly exterior, in slow but So ~
thorough going British manner England
IS now being steady transformed into
n state completely controlled by pro-
ductive labor. The upper class opposi-
tion is very strong, and the ignorant
conservatism of large sections of the
workers an obvious drawback. Yet
month by month unmistakoble and
permanent progress towards new era
is being achivied, and the goal now
we'll in view is something sufficiently
advonced to make the economic out
look of Gompers and Gary seem
Identical by contrast. Ruthless as is
the present policy of British militar-
ism in the subject countries of
Ireland, India and Egypt, it is now
Just as important for American labor
to appreciate the growing power of
Socialism in England proper as 1t
is to condemn the effects of dying
imperialism in her forcibly held do
minions. With the exception Of Rus
sia, and perhaps Italy and Ger
many, England has more nearly aut'
grown capitalism than any other
great nation. She is incomparably
ahead of the United States in this re-
spect.
Three things about the present labor
movement in England impress them
selves Immediately upon the visitor
from America. They may be summed
imp by saying that in spite of the
greater pressure of the war more il
berty, Justice and common sense have
been left alive in England than in
the United States. There is first far
greater measure of freedom of speech
and press on this side. For instance it
is difficult to find either labor mass
Injecting where the proceedings ore not
closed by singing the Red Flag anil
cheering the Russian soviet republic,
or n reputable newspaper which
characterizes such outbursts as sed
itious. unEnglish anarchistic, and the
like. AS for police and secret service
raids, suppression of radical news
papers, Imprisonment and deportation
of agitators such things may be
common N Ireland and the United
States but they are virtually unknown
here. If an alleged labor paper is so
extreme as to be rediculous nobody
buys it. If an agitator prattles Of
limpracticle tactics he is laughed at.
This keeps everyone in good humor.
There is no cOssack terrorism, no
bomb plots by anarchists or capitalists,
no underground discomfort, no imita-
3 ton of czaristic Russia.
The result is no danger of revolution
from the standpoint of the government,
no wasted time for the workers in
having to struggle for the most fund
amertal of rights and real and rapid
progress along lines of radical social
evolution. There are many elements in
this situation which cause grave anx.
!ety to the traditional governing class,
but all efforts to check the tide only
Jesuit in an increase Of the power
and solidarity of organized labor. \
point for America to realize is that
the present state of affairs in Ireland
land other subject countries will very
soon he altered in accordance with
the principle of selfdetermination
when labor gains control of the gov
eminent. The British Labor party is
working as hard in behalf of Ireland
as is Sim Fein.
A second striking difference to the
United States is found in the English
labor leaders. The majority of them
are real leaders, men of vision and
ideals, democratically chosen, grad
mates of factory and mine who make
il their business to encourage rather
than repress radical ideas among the
rank and file. This results in al
most incredible difference in the at.
mosphere of the two movements op-
Jimism, harmony and progress along
fundamental lines being the dominant
characteristics here. 1t is the fact that
the radicals are in command of En-
giist labor that makes the psychology
Of Gompers something to the NOV.
cment here. There is no blinking the
cact that men like Fob Smillie, Bob
: Williams, Frank Hodges, and Others
who have large share in the control
Of English balor policy would be in
Moundsville or Atlanta if fate had
, made them citizens of the land of the
free. Ramsay Macdonald told me that
lie doesn't consider Gene Debs more
radical, yet the strength and sohesion
of the British miners is such that
their government dare not touch this
labor general Several most prominent
in the labor movement here would
scarcely believe me when ] remarked
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