The Connecticut labor press. (New Haven, Conn.) 191?-1921, 1920-07-17
ORGANIZED LABOR
in CONNECTICUT
ENTERS POLITICS
State Central Committee Chosen
to Garry on partisan
Campaign.
WILL DEFEAT ITS ENEMIES
No Decisions Yet Arrived at
Pending Efforts to Have
Friends Nominated.


With representatives of more than 50
organized trades present, and coming
from all parts of Connecticut except
| the southwest corner of the state, the
| Trades Council hall selected state
central committee to carry on the
| political campaign this fall as outlined
| by the A. F. of L. non-partisan plat
| form and then discussed probable nom
| 1nees informally but made no hasty de-
c1slon. Only ~ members were appoint
| ed to the state committee as starter,
the remainder of IS places being left
in abeyance until the delegates present
could go back to these districts and have
the rank and file in those sections gen.
orally select the committeeman.
The meeting was held at the call of
the {. +. of L. executive board follow
ing instructions issued at the last con-
vent1on. The response was even more
general than expected and left little
doubt of the sincerity with which or
ganized labor in Connecticut is going
into this campaign tbs fall Every dele
gate present reported that his organ
ization was keen1y interested this year
and was determined to work to the end
to elect men that would more fairly
represent the worker in Congress and
state offices than the present Congress
and past legislatures have done
NO decisions to oppose or support
any candidate were arrived at although
Senator Brandegee's well known atti-
tude of antagonism toward Labor was
freely discussed If nominated, as he
likely will be, Senator Brandegee's re-
election will undoubtedly be opposed by
the Labor organizations but no formal
action to that end was taken in view of
the uncertainty as to who will be the
nominee against him.
The several congressman about the
state were also discussed and it was
agreed that with the possible exception
Z OF Congressman Lonergan of the First
district none of the other Connecticut
congressman had record that con-
tanned any, very great showing of sup
porting the working man. Congress-
man Lonergan has announced his inten-
ton to retire and therefore no endorse
! Iment of him could be made. Neither
could any endorsement or opposition tic
the others be. made but the committee
: VIII set to work to try to influence the
! nomination of men known to be Just tc
+ Labor and then to throw its support to
: eiectlng them. State and even Local
/ officers will be followed in the same
manner and in fact the campaign en-
tered into with vim from the pri.
nar1es to the casting of the last vote
The idea of state labor party was
!. frowned upon it being the general opir-
! ion that the time is not ripe for such a
party and to try any such thing would
be solely throwing Labor's influence
8 away and perhaps allowing the uncon.
! tested election of avowed enemies oi
: Labor. Therefore the non-partisan p1ar
: of electing the friends and defeating The
enemies will be carried on
President OMeara of the State Fed
Grafton called the representatives of tn.
CITY Central bodies, state organization
and local Building Trades Council tt
II order at p. m, and announced the frs
/ business of the conference was to elec
a chairman.
1t was voted that President O'Mear;
e act as chairman.
Chairman O'Meara called for sugges
t1ons from those present as to how the,
thought best to proceed in conformin,
to the call of the conference. After
lengthy discussion E. J. Adams, repre-
:, = setn1ng the non-partisan political com
y mittee of the American. Federation O
! Labor, addressed the conference, set
= = ting forth in detail the policies of tn
4 committee in charge of the politica
o~lisAIiSo VI lIlN "a L. O1 L..
The following organizations wer
represented at the conference: Centra
Labor Union Danbury; Central Labo
e Union, Derby; Central Labor Unior
6 Norwich; Central Labor Union, Tor
n rington Central Labor Union, Will
, mantle; Central Labor Union, STAN
IS ford; Central Labor Union, Water
e bury; Trades Council, New Haven
& State Building Trades Council, Water
bury; Building Trades Council, Ne,
Canaan; Structural Building Trade
Alliance, Hartford; State Council o
Carpenters; State Electricians; Stat
~ Sheet Metal Workers; New Englan
# Conference Board of Mo1ders; Stat
~ Trolleymen's Organization; Stat
Painters organization; State Bricklay
7 ers organization; Personal Libert
- League.
: Secretary Ornburn moved that til
~ conference proceed with the election G
state central committee composed c
one representative of each central labc
union, each state organization and eac
z building trades council and that a sui
committee be appointed to draft men
| bers to the state central committee frol
| districts not represented at the confe
ence. 1t was carried.
The following elections resulted:
| c: L: u, Danbury, John H. Rile,
c. L. u, Derby, Herbert w. Garnsel
c. L. U, Norwich, Thomas Sheeha1
c. L. u, Torrington, Charles Moor,
c. L. u, Stamford, J. H. Chillingto
18 Clinton avenue; c. L. u, Willimal
tic, F. w. Kraus, 156 Oak street; C..
O, Waterbury, William Pelletier, P.
Box 81; Trades Council, New Have
George West; State Building Trad
Council, Waterbury, Charles Mulhc
land; Building Trades Council, Ne
Canaan, George johnson; Structur
Building Trades Alliance, Hartfor
Frank Cooney; State Council of Ca
penters, Thomas O'Brien, Hartfor,
State Electricians, Hartford, Villa
Dermont; State Sheet Metal Worker
New Haven, Frank A. Stanley; Ne
England Valley Conference Board
Molders, New Haven, John FL. Dun
State Trolleymen's Organization, Hal
n