The Washington times., 1920-07-20


"As a matter OF fact, the plan OF
the labor party leaders was narrow
err even than a trades union move
ment. for the platform they drew was
So extreme that even in the organized
labor group, those who were not So
cialists or communists, would go in
only if coerced by this moral disci-
pline which the labor party leaders
have already established over the
rank and file of their organization.
THE rank and file itself of the
Labor party convention, as / got its
point of view, was not made up Of
extremists at all. They were just
average human beings. If let alone.
they would have been satisfied with a
political platform going as far as our
! ST. Louis platform; that Is, public
ownership and operation of railways,
public ownership and private opera
tion of the principal natural re-
sources. no land held out of use for
monopoly or speculation, civil liber-
ties and full protection for labor's
rights and an Endorsement of its share
in the management of industry.
"CLAss Consciousness
But union discipline was strong at
Chicago, class consciousness was
| strong, too, and the excitement OF the
convention swept sober thought away.
So that the labor crowd stood as
unit for an extreme and little thought
out platform. Under the same cir
cumstances, they would, in my opin-
ion, have embraced with equal unani-
nifty sovietism or its antithesis, an
archism, or our st. Louis platform, if
Buck, Bennett, John Fitzpatrick and
| Edward Nockels had presented these
programs to the convention with suf-
ficiently fiery gestures and phrases
On the other hand, and by the same
token, if the leaders OF the Forty
eighters had presented anarchism or
sovietism, the labor convention
would have rejected them with a
hurrahs, not on their merits or de-
merits, but because they came from
men whom they were told to dis
trust.
AN incident will illustrate to what
extent class consciousness was in the
saddle. On Wednesday morning, after
the conference committee had been
working practically without sleep for
two days and nights, l went to the
convention and fell asleep in the
back of the hall. The amalgamation
was already put through at this time,
and / was awakened from dreams OF
a new great party and called upon to
address the gathering of Forty
eighters. labor men, and farmers. I
! had no speech prepared and was not
! expecting to have to make one. The
| dominant idea in my mind was that a
class platform and name would smash
! our whole project higher than a kite,
and l made an appeal. as moderate
| but as strong as ] could. upon the ono
point, that the convention should not
! ha Of n ~
women gathered there, by founding
a party devoted to tho interests OF a
| small minority of our one hundred
and ten million Americans. My re-
marks were received with about the
appreciation that convention Of
| Sim Feiners would have accorded to
a speech from Sir Edward Carson.
HONEST "MUsHHEADS.-
"EvIdentIy whnt I have already de-
scrIbed made the situation compli-
Gated cnouSh, but IL was rendered
more difhcult stiII from tho fact that
! the Committee Of Forty -eiRhtcrs was
fnnltrafed by n lot Of honest, we'll
meaning mushhends who, without
nny economic Ideas whatever. cher
| ishrd tho simple faith that you could
form = union OF forces by getting the
discordsnt elements under the same
roof, irrespective OF how thoroughly
they differed In principle.
Little things like revolutionizinE
| tho whole theory and practice Of
! American industry and politics and
! establishing a government OF few
! people, by a few people and for few
! people did not matter TO our devoted
/ nushheads. Once under the same
rafters, they we're sure that cat and
dog, monkey and parrot lamb snd
! lion would all become united army
| Of the righteous. marching with brass
bands and waving banners toward n
glorious and Eilded millennium stu.
ated not farther than half dozen
city blocks of by tho Labor party
leaders and turned into militant
evangelists so that not only was
labor solid for eStremism, but our
own group was torn with dlssension.
WHAT To DO NENT.
what sre those who believe In q
third pnrty to DO reStf We should
hipL n over quietly for n week or
Two nrd allow TO sink home the les
IONS ~ our own misrsIcuistiors.
rho need of third party thst IL not
class pnrt, stiiI exists. The r~ed
fnp party With m economic pros,s ~
hat II clear, practicable nrd states
msniike stiII exists. In the arst
ight for these things, We ksv~ becs
trpui.cd WITH loss. nat we have
gained the knowledge TINT n new