Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-10-01
GOMPERS AND THE RADICALS

|TNfiE significance of Mr.. GomperS's formal
i break with labor leaders now in the
saddle in England is broad and deep
broader and deeper than surface Indications
would lead the ordinary reader to believe.
Events in Europe, and particularly in Brit
ain. have been shaping rapidly toward a
crisis between the elected representatives Of
government and the elected representatives
Of labor. Lenine has lost in Russia He is
trying to win in England and in Italy.
The British Labor party expanded tre-
mcndously during and Immediately after the
war, aud for time il was led by able and
conservative men, who desired to make il an
efficient agency for the advancement of
purely democratic purposes. More recently
an energetic group Of British labor leaders
hav" come under tn" influence of Moscow.
The means by which the Bolshpvists achieved
that conquest was indicated when the editors
Of the Herald. the Organ Of British radical
labor, admitted that half n million dollars
was sent from Russia to help their news
paper. Transport strikes and the organized
efforts of the miners unions to intinidatr
England revealed the desire of radical labor
men to dictate. through the Labor party.
to Parliament and the premier.
Efforts Of foreign agitators to change the
traditional policy of the American Fedora
tion Of Labor have been futile But gentle
mems agreements Of n sort have been in
formation between the conservatives in
British and American labor. It il through
the British Labor party, therefore, that the
agents of bOlsh"vism have more recently
been trying to influence trade union opinion
in this country. They offered not out and
out boshevism but diluted brand The
British Laborites clearly followed the lead
pf RusSio whom tlDV Sn intunpnnJ -,
among transport men and miners as to leave
the empire unable to wage even II defensive
war without their consent. In England
therefore, the effort of radical labor men has
been to establish sort Of SupcrgOvernmrnt
Of trades unionists whose orders the Parla
ment and the people would have to take in
every important instance.
1t is inconceivable. of course, that any
! agency but the elected and established gov,
ernmcnt should have the final decision in
any matter of national or internatona
| policy Yet if the American Federation Of
! Labor were to follow the example of tho
British Labor party, Washington would hav,
to have the consent of the federation bpfOr,
preparations for any sort of war were un
! dertaken even though the country were sud
| denly mpnaced by powerful enemy. Ii il
not surprising that GOmpers bluntly refused
to sanction the scheme for informal ant
International CO. operation of labor organi
cations to thrust the established gOvernmen
into the background. The chief of the fed
Grafton merely acted in accordance with
policy clearly enunciated for American labo
at the recent conference in Montreal wher
the world was informed that trades unionist
in this country would in no case act in an
way to aid or encourage soyietism.
What is significant is the extent to whic
Lenine's propagandists are pushing thei
efforts. To suppose that they want nation
allied railroads or nationalized mines alon
is TO reveal a dangerous innocence of Bol
sbeyist aims. They want, instead to trai
all their converts to belief in direct acton
II fs direct action that left Russia in chao
and prostrate before 80 small an adversar
os Poland. 1t is direct action that is steer
ING Italy's industry system into utter dis
orIor The Communists in Italy are swift
cutting off the commerce of their countr
from a world that does not and cannot kno
how 10 deal with them. And this is pre-
";selv what Moscow desires, since the ali
of J,enine, clearly stated a hundred time
;s NOT order but chaos. Boshevism doesn
sesk 10 compete with democratic institution
II seeks frankly to destroy them in ord'
,hat II may experiment freely and build 4
own particular empire Of tyranny above II
ruins. u ~