The Connecticut labor news., 1921-05-06
TAFT WARNS OF CLASS WAR BEING
 FOSTERED HERE
Former President Raps Socialists and Also Takes Shot at
 Organized Labor.

Former President Taft, speaking at Representative Government in the United States charged the Socialists with attempting to cause class war III the United States and warned of the dangerous tendency in organized labor toward a general strike. He blamed the unions also for the bitter nights that have been made III various parts Ot the country against the establishment of state cOnstabulary forces. lie described this opposition as due to the consciousness of the labor leaders of their own potentiali- ties as breakers of the law.
 "Witness the bitter fights that have been waged by organized labor against the creation of state COnStabuarleS to maintain law and order i'll the sparSely settled communities of our. states, said Mr. Taft Rural crimes and lynChlngs are shocking and show the absolute ne cessity for such state protection, but for fear the state constables may be used to enforce the law in case of violence due to strikes, labor unions oppose this much needed reform"
 The occasion of Mir. Taft's speech was the opening of the James Stokes lectureship on politics of New York University. Many distinguished edu- CatOrs and political economists were in the audience, as well as a large repre- sentatiOn from the student body of the university.
 "A dangerous disposition has been manifested within recent years in or ganized labor" Mir. Taft continued, ito threaten general strike III tleld ot activity like transportation and coal mining the continuity of which IS essen- .. IL r. ,f IL. 0-C1a to choke the country and Congress into a compliance with the economic demands of this particular class of labor. This is the selfish and Bolshevist use of a combination of a minority to compel a majority to yield ot its demands.
 Were a party to be based on such plan as this 1t would threaten the public safety. But we may count on the two gr-at parties as an obstacle to this. The fealty of great body of laborers to one or the other of the great parties prevents the successful organ ization of such a labor class unity in this country.
 No man is able to deliver the labor vote i'll an election, and the labor lead CTS have been wise enough therefore not to encourage the organization of a la bor party They know too well that an effort of that sort would disclose in the ballot only a comparatively small num- Der of working men who wish to subOr- dinate their political activity as Ameri- jeans to the narrow class policy of a labor party.
 Then there are groups whose inter est in other countries than this IS so intense and exclusive that they would ignore the welfare of the United States by dragging us into conduct forcing war with friendly country. Such is the purpose of the Irish extremists in re- spect to Great Britain. Similarly, the pro-Germans would involve us with France.
 The danger to the body polite ir these days is the attempt of a class to use the government for itself and tc ignore altogether the rights and benefits of the rest of society. The Socialist party is seeking to arouse dlscontent against the well to do and to create a class war"
 In concluding, MT. Taft said:
 "In the consideration of the faults disclosed by our representative system of government and in making allowance for those faults, we cannot omit the burden that our form of government has had to carry in our attempt to asslmllate so many millions of foreign born who have come to this country as a refuge and as place where they can enjoy our equality of opportunity.
 We were more successful in the be- ginning in making these immigrants part of our body polite than we have beer of late years Then the immigrants were of better class. When they came here they were distributed in such a way among the native born as that they berather in the spirit of our institutions and became Americanized very much more quickly and more thoroughly thar the immigrants who come today.
 Millions of them do not speak our language, many of them have a preJu- dice against all government, and do moi have the sympathy with our institution: which makes for real assimilation.
 They use this country only as { means of earning livelihood, and no with any idea of supporting the gov ernent and becoming a part of 1t, bu rather with the hope of some day over coming it i'll the interest of vague Socialist or anarchistic state in Wh1cf they are to share in the wealth they Set and envy It is they who form tht nucleus of the Socialist party. It is they who strengthen the anarchistic group.
 It is they who are with us but no of us, and 1t is they who are easily made the instruments of demagogues or the tools Ot COrrupt1OnStS. They present great difficulty Still, in the next gen eration. with education for their chll dren, with the accumulation of propert! enough to create conservative tendencle: n them, we may hope for better things
 "While we all deplore the war th' searching investigations and test Ot the loyalty of these men and the analyst of their tendency and purpose were mos useful in the solving of the problem the! presented We may hope that the pres ent serious movement for the American ization of these elements of our popula ton will lessen the danger of their pres ence in our community