Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1923-04-13

declaration that it is not to be done
by legislation! Why then make it
a political issue if it Is not to be done
by legislation? Now whether it is
done by legislation or whether it is
proposed to be done by legislation
or by the concentrated efforts OF
economic concentrated power OF
bankers, big business and the rail-
road executives; whether it is done
by legislation, political or economic
power, let the issue come if it is to
come and American labor will meet
the issue upon any field of activity
no matter what it may be.
Interests Plan to Go Outside of Law
In Fight.
1.-THE logical deduction from these
declarations by these interests is that
the antagonism to labor is not to be
predicated upon legislation but is to
be effected by the assumption of
power outside of the law and outside
OF legislation. | think that it bears
comparison to the Fascist in Italy
and wonder who they are going to
choose as the Mussolini of the Amer
lean reaction. If that is to be the
political or the economic issue, | re-
peat that American labor and in my
Judgment the American liberty-loving
people, will be glad to meet it. Prob
ably the ytoo have the Mussolini con-
eept of human rights and human
liberty. Quite recently that new die
tatorship has declared that the con-
cept of liberty as it has been under
sood and practiced is dead and that
Mussolini and his cohorts are riding
rough-shod over the decomposed fig
ure of liberty.
In this year of grace 1923, the
spirit and the fact of liberty in the
United States lives, and there are
enough liberty freedom-loving men
and women in our country who will
not hesitate to meet whatever event
uality may arise by reason of
this new Fascist in the form of the
bankers and big business and rail-
road executives. l have an abiding
faith in the people of our Republic
that they are not ready to bend the
knee to any such group as tried to
prevail upon the President to make
antagonism to labor the issue of his
campaign.
American trade umoniSm as rep
resented by the American Fedora
ton of Labor is a constructive move
ment, a rational and natural move
ment OF the working people for a
better life, participation in some of
the things worth while in the work,
in the home, in the play, in leisure,
in culture, and to make each day a
better day than the day that is past;
norma, evolutionary, rather than
revolutionary. American organized
labor vail live long after those who
are prodding the President with this
new tangled notion of hostility to
labor will have gone by the boards
and been forgotten.
No Telling What Politicians May TRY.
During the war, before the war
and since the war there has been no
greater organized movement for AM
eriean progress and American peace
and American patriotism than the
much misunderstood, and misrepre-
sented organized labor movement.
We are proud of our record, proud
of our achievement and proud of the
contributions we made in any and
all Of the hours of need of our eoun-
try.
DO you really think, Mr.. Comp
ers, some one asked, "that any poll
ltical party viii write in an open shop
platform
Il don't KNOW" he replied. "There
are some people for whose conduct,
FOR whose thinking, no account can