The Raymer enterprise., 1920-04-01

people should have vote In making
up the verdict
When you consider this new atti-
tude Of labor In conjunction with the
growing popularity Of "direct action"
II indicates that the labor movement
Is losing faith In law and political ac-
tIon. am not saying that their ex-
perience with politics. their betrayal
by men they have supported, the Do
fault Of political parties to carry out
prediction pledges. may not be re-
sponsible for distrust In political
government. am not denying that
capital has had the ear Of government
more than It should; that property has
been given more thought than human
beings. am concerned with the dan.
Eei that these Innovations promise, Q
danger to the working men themselves,
q menace to law and order. without
which no one is secure. without which
there can be no freedom.
Political Action Called Failure.
! heard q speech In London that
deeply impressed me. It was applaud.
ed by several thousand men and won.
en-ayerage good British working peo-
pie. Most Of the men wore service
badges. The speaker. q clean young
Englishman of about thirty-6ve, said
Political action Is failure. We
vote and we are betrayed. Political
parties are the agents Of banda Of
capital. Tier purpose IL to keep the
workers apart. knowing that divided
we are poweriess. The only time they
are willing We should unite ID when
war calls for men, What did We win
In the war? Nothing. We thought we
had stake in The game, that the hand
We We're playing was our own. Now
that II is over we have discovered that
we won nothing
what did the working man ever
get by voting. except the worst Of itf
The word vote comes from 4 Latin
word. meaning 10 wish.' Who ever got
anything by wishing?
I'VE are like the story In Bellamy's
Looking Backward. You remember
he spoke OF coach. On top Of this
coach the capitalists sit In the sun
shine enjoying the ride. On the side
Of the coach. hanging BY their finger
nails and toenails are the hundreds Of
thousands who make up the middle
class. Millions Of men are pulling the
coach. They are sweating and trudg-
ins--they are the working men. Run
ming along the side of the coach are
millions more. fighting to get Z chance
to get hold Of the rope and pull the
coach. They are the idle. There ID
only one thing to do. That ID to stop
pulling the coach, let 20 Of the rope.
Don't wish aboVt It; do 1t. The fellows
on the top Of the coach don't do any
wishing-they boss and drive"
The crowd cheered. There Is some
truth In the speech. 1t Is true that
the working man has not had q square
deal, but the fact that he has not had
fair treatment does not make the plan
Of direct action q sane, wise plan.
Revolution would only lead to blood
and disorder and leave the very men
who feyolted In worse plight than
they are now. The millions who are
the majority have an Infinitely better
weapon than force. They have the
ballot. They are in the majority. Men
must think their way out Of the will
dsrness. They cannot fight their way
out. When they try to they 60 deeper
In,
Bolshsvlsm Finding Favor.
l found the word bolshevlsm In the
minds and on the lips Of the working
people Of Europe. expected to 6nd
them antibolshevik II for no other rea-
son than that bolshevism came from
Russia and the bolsheviks made peace
with Germany while the allioG we're In
death struggle with her WITH the re-
suit In doubt. ! found them confess
Ing their faith in bolshevism. speaking
Of II as a new religion, resenting the
obstacles their own governments had
placed In its way.
In Ireland. the last place I expected
to nnd leaning toward bolshevism, l
found an open devotion to It. The Irish
people are In many respects the most
conservative In the world. The only
radIcalism they have ever shown IL the
revolutionary spirit expressed In up
risIngs for freedom. The Irish are q
people Of reminiscence and tradition.
The Celtic mind Ia devoted to form
and custom. l was present at the Irish
Federation Of Labor convention held
In August. 1919. at Drogheda. The
delegates to this convention. repre-
sentlng 800. 900 union men and women,
went on record almost unanimously
for bolshevism. later learned that
few Of them, II any. knew exactly
what bolshevism was. ! asked \ lead
Ing spirit Of the convention II he be-
lleved In communism. the abolition Of
the private ownership Of property.
and he said, "Of course not; that's
rank nonsense: socialism; impossible
and Impractical" The pro and con Of
bolsheyism has from the beginning