Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1920-01-02


thrift and often through privationS
turn 1t over TO. or at least divide il
with. the professional agitatorS. the
loafcrS. the lazy. the ShiftlcSS and
The nr'cr-do-wcllS.
That doctrine. forcign-born. i,
the product of Il German mind. II
appeals nightly to those who are
unwilling to tread the long. steep
road to economic independence,
marked as ii is by the slow and
plodding steps of most Americans
. who are carrying on the trade and
! business of this country today.
Many honest and patriotic Amcri-
! can workingmen have become en-
! amorcd of and confused by the pro-
! positions put forward by their
leaders, such as the ''Plumb Plan
/ for Matchmaking the railways. but
not all of them have been fooled.
by any means. am firmly of the
opinion tho number of members of
| the railway unions who favor the
Plumb Plan are actually in the min
GRITTY. You will find tho railway
men are Americans and that they
! will not follow Mr.. Plumb and his
naturalization plan into that new
| political party launched at Chicago
few weeks ago. When that crowd
wrote into their preliminary plat
form demand for the repeal of the
Espionage Act and for the release
of the anarchists and traitors who
were aiding Germany and stabbing
in the back the American soldiers,
it revealed the spirit of its spon-
Sors. 1t hung out a sign the Ameri-
can workingman will see mt long
range and he will avoid that party
rs he would Il pcStilcncc.
ii is moi unnatural that some
members of labor organizations
! should be led aStray and invciglcd
into supporting socialiStic and COM
nunistic schemes put forward BY
ambitious and designing leaders
who are getting control of some of
the organizations. Have not some
OF us supported candidates and plat
forms of political parties either be-
cause we did not cXpcnd the time
and labor necessary to thoroughly
understand the questions involved
or were unwilling TO break away
from the political party with which
we had been affiliated? We did not
want 10 be branded as dcscrters or
boilers.
How much harder is il for the
members Of labor unions to break
away from them? He feels that the
organization has brought him bet
ter wages and shorter hours. He
hppn ;,y,
everybody except his own orsaniza-
ton members and officers. Those
officers and leaders of the more
radical type have pcrsistentiy i'm
pressed upon them thai all public
oiiIcIals, unless elected out of the
labor organizations and controlled
by them. arc vcnal. corrupt and
dominated by The corporations and
capitalists. Those leaders have
sought TO convince the members of
their organizations that by standing
together they can control elections
and make public officials do their
bidding. Those leaders. backed as
they claimed to be, by the votes of
their members, have gone to YOUR
State legislatures and to Congress
and cowcd the weak members into
most disgraceful surrcnders. You
have seen those leaders sill i'm the
galleries of the Senate and House
OF Representatives, with pencil in
nand. noting the votes of members
OF those bodies, and brighten the
members into passing the Adamson
law under a threat of tying I'D all
the railroads in the country. Yuu
have seen them intimidating Con-
grcss into writing into its acts a
provision cNcmpting labor unions
from the operations of the statute
and force into an appropriation
bill a provision withholding the use
OF public money from the Depart
nlcnt OF Justice in the prosecution
OF labor unions or u labor cOpSDir-
aCy.
In my, Own State when ] SUGGEST
cd to The Legislature The passage of
an anti-rcd flag law | incurred the
enmIty OF lot of the radical lead
crS and when the bin actually came
before The Legislature great mass
meeting was held by these radicals
in the Capital City. addressed bv
niothcr Jones and placards were
dlSplaNed III parade with aDDro-
prIatc threats and abusc7-all on the
theory We wanted TO suppress free
speech. The Legislature refused to
be Intlmidatcd for once, and ibc
ahlirch-1aS measure became u law
lie lirst in the country.
when J asked the Legislature TO
create q State Police Force. our Ma
tional Guard having been taken into
me Rcgular Army and sent abroad.
inc Indignation OF the radicals knew
no bounds. They came in droyes
ana we were charged with wanting
10 prusSlanisze the State. The