The daily worker., 1924-11-01
PICKET Line
OUT OF date,
SAYS HILLMAN
AmalgGmated Head for
Peace with Bosses


members of the AmaIgamated
Clothing Workers Of America if
Sidney HIIIman, president Of the
organization can help it. The
way to better their conditions,
according to HiiIman, is to vote
for LaFoIIette, join a nice liberal
party, deposit their savings-if
they have any-in a "Iabor
bank" and build up the CO.
operative movement.
All in all a nice little scheme
of class-collaboration, entirely
worthy of the salvation army
apostle Of that cult, William H.
Johnston, but strange to the
tongue of Sidney Hillman, who,
publicly at least, was known to
favor the abolition of the cap
italist system but as painlessly
as possible, it is proper to state.
On Tenth Anniversary.
This new policy was sprung on the
Chicago Joint Board a week ago on
the occasion Of the tenth anniversary
Of the founding of the Amslgamated.
1t is not the policy that made of the
Amalgamated a fighting organization
feared by the capitalists and looked
on with admiration by the rank and
file of other organizations whose
leaders had already knelt down and
worshipped the golden calf. Hillman
had the reputation Of being revolu-
ZIONIST, tho not, of course, to the left
wingePs in the Amalgamated, led by
the Trade Union Educational League,
who knew the difference between his
words and his deeds.
In the next ten years, he de-
clared, the members of the Anal
gamated will not be on the picket line
to fight for better conditions, but only
in case Of need to defend the union.
In the coming ten years the main ac-
tivity will be on the political and CO.
operative fields.
United Front With Bosses.
This means in the language Of Hill
man. on the bandwagon of an Amer
lican bourgeois liberal party and in
the banking business. Sydney is
travelling Tast.lIt tis wen he has drop
ped the mask and taken his place
publicly with the rest Of the labor
lieutenants Of capitalism.
He explained the endorsement of
LaFollette by the General Executive
Board with the flimsy excuse that had
the G. E. B. expected the election of
LaFollette the action might have been
different. The Amalgamated, he added
had to go along with LaFollette or be
isolated from the official labor move
ment, obviously meaning that the en-
dorsement of LaFollette would be
looked up on fayorably by Gompers
& Co. Out of the LaFollette move
ment, he declared, would come a
liberal party not third party, but a
second party since the democratic
party was being pushed out of second
place by LaFollette.
Hillman declared for tolerance in
politics within the union. while at the
same time binding the members to
LaFollette in spite Of the decision of
the last convention.
Rank and File Fer Foster.
The right wing Of the Amalgamat-
ed has failed to swing the member
ship to LaFollette. Outside Of Chica-
go their efforts have met with con-
Iparative failure. Even here Local 269
has declared for William z. Foster
and repudiated the action Of the G. e.
B. in endorsing LaFollette contrary
to the convention decision.
Hillman was scheduled to speak in
New York to the members on the
LaFollette question, but he decided to
come to Chicago. where he was sure
Of less opposition.
The Cleveland Joint board Of the
Amalgamated has endorsed Foster
and Gitiow and the locals of the or
ganization in New York have organ
lied themselves to make shop collec-
tions for the Communist campaign.
The Communists and progressives
in the Amalgamatsd are grateful to
Hillman for throwing of his radical
mask and coming out in the open as
an exponent of class collaboration and
peace with the bosses. The tight in
the Amalgamated will no longer be