Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-08-05
O'CONNOR PLEDGES.
SUPPORT TO HARDING
President of International Long
shoremen's Association Has
Conference With Presidential
Candidate

Marion. O.. Aug. 3-senator Harding
held conference to-day with T. V.
O'Connor Of Buffalo. president Of the In
ternational Longshoremen's Association
at which the labor situation was discussed
generally and the candidate was assured
of the support OF the labor leader. Mr..
O'Connor later gave out a statement COW
ering his views.
Previous to his conference with MIR.
O'Connor, Senator Harding had conferred
at length with Senator Harry S. New of
Indiana, chairman of the Republican
Speakers Bureau on matters pertaining
to the speaking campaign. To what ex-
tent If at all the front porch campaign
will be deviated from is understood TO
have been discussed.
Senator New asserted that no one in
authority has said there would be no
deviation from the plan and then pro-
ceeded to discuss the handicap of a front
porch campaign now as compared with
the Harrison campaign in 1SS and the
two Mckinley campaigns in 1896 and 1870.
OF only are railroad rates higher but il
is impossible for the railroads to furnish
enuipment to conduct excursions to the
candidates home as in past years, he
said.
A statement issued by Mr. O'Connor az
ter the conference said in part:
IT am for Senator Harding, because
believe a change of administration abso-
lutely necessary to restore confidence in
this country. I know Senator Harding
Is a real man from whom labor will
always get square deal without any
blare Of trumpets or brass bands.
haa rd pn0d n
leaders that are going to deliver the la
Dor vote this year. but | want to say that
nobody will deliver it. Labor is thinking
as never before. and is going TO vote &c
suit itself In 1916 | was away from home
and lost my vote. but If had been there
| would have voted for Wilson. Blu
the Democratic Party has since then los
it's claim for confidence of the country
We must restore popular confidence ir
our government in order to put an enc
| to the unrest that exists. The fact 4.
| that the world is in bad scrape, and il
| the United States does not keep its fee
on the ground the world can't
II deal with all the nationalites ex.
cept Asiatics in our organization. ant
! know that there Is a general desire
to get away from entangements with
European concerns. There is a good dea
! VI dppi hlnoHS lnc men less con
| ditions which they observe in F,urops
| may reach heAe. They are determined tc
avoid anything of that kind if they can
ut seems very plain to me that Labor
must support the Republican party this
| year II the Democrats should win, tn.
| government would be turned over to thu
control of the solid South and the ma
! chine-dominating Democratic States o.
| the North. The solid South will be tn,
dominant partner and the South ha.
been utterly reactionary in its attitud.
| toward labor. 1t is completely out of stel
with modern attitudes toward such cues
tions as women in industry, child labor
| limited hours of labor. employers labilit,
/ and the like.
| Former Senator Bailey is campaigning
for the nomination for governor in Texa
with the open shop as his platform. hav
never asked the absolute closed shop
but I certainly could not assent to tn
view that the southern Democracy take
of the problems OF labor"