The Butte daily bulletin., 1920-02-20
THE NEW SLOGAN OF TRADE uN1oN1sM

s THE NEW SLOGAN OF TRADE UNIONISM
The manifesto American Federation Of Labor receny
eceived by labor bodies in this city and outlining the political
program that organized labor is urged to follow sounds like
and echo from the tomb. 9rM .s& S. a,.--
An analysis of this document shows that it simply the old
slogan reward your friends and punish your enemies by
which labor been placed in far political action isl
concerned in pitully helpless condition.
1t is hard to understand the heads of international
ions and the executive council of the Amercan
of Labor faced with the record of their OF
disastrous failure could recommend program that out
grown twenty years ago
Ii may be worth while to briefly the achievements
attained under the plan urged by the poltca committee OF the
American Federation Of Labor.
They may summed up in word-nothing. Worse
that power and position of labor has steadily been
eerorang during the last decade and reached its climax
when the injunction issued against the coal miners their
strike funds tied and they were made into clons
overnight
This happened after Sam Gompers declared since
the passage of the Clayton anti trust act that labor for the
first time the history the United States, free.
The dsgraceul history Of laborabor leaders, rather
during the period need not be into in detail is
enough say that labor tied hand and foot and that the
officials Of most Of the unions accepted fat positions from the
administration victories for the labor movement
the signing Of The armsce flood Of oppressive
unloosed designed to further hamper and in many
instances actually prevent legitimate activities Of the work
The espionage act against the Of which not one
labor official protested, given and strange meanings
by the courts
The coal strike crushed and the revolt Of the
llnderpad and ovcrworked steel mill slaves.
press campaign directed against all labor organizations
attorney general the for recommending cSis
aton would make freedom Of speech and assembly
moclery would have made strike and strikers
criminals.
the officiadom of the rades-unon movement were
protest and they have temporarily succeeded in hay
ing this legislation postponed No doubts that it will be
brought up for consideration at the first opportunity
The ails ulr to overlooking with men and women OF
working class European nations stand nstonded at the
ranncal of the oicialdom of The United States The
in full swing and authority is lined
solidly with the rcacolary forces of capitalism.
is laughed at and cered There representation
i'm congress state legislatures worth speaking Of Labor
appeals its and its wishes concmptuousy
spnrned
The advantages gained during the labor scarcity of the
period have been than discounted by The rising prices
of all commodities
Street is in The saddle and riding rou6hshod over all
groups Of labor
failure old guard Of the union movement cinGs to
halt the imperialism by furnishing friends and
warding enemes!
Without vision without hope ignorant of the underlying
wrought change national fabric
TO leaders for the workers of Amer
ica nothing slavery of the most abect type.
There enough Indications however, that labor
is beginning to drs this blind adherence to the traditions
of past age and beginning to strivefeeby it is rueor
something than days work for fair day and
jobs for labor leaders without responsibility to
and file. In word there is somewhat dim, but
strongly fixed idea that the slogan should be:
The world the workers and world in which all must be
workers.