Evening star., 1924-06-17

would be a third party in the field in
the 1924 campaign.
AT this conference with Senator
La Follette.' said the temporary
chairman. "he manifested no oppo-
sition to the proposed convention and,
least of all, on account of any ele-
ment which might participate in it,
The impression we got was that SEN
ator La Toilette would be candidate
unless death or some other unfore-
seen eXigency arose"
Mr.. Mahoney said that after the
call for the present convention was
issued in March thousands of in
dorsements were received.
Whispers About Communism.
Then something happened" he
said. Stories of Communist control
and intrigue began to emanate from
Washington-down where they put
across the Teapot Dome steal. the
looting of the Veterans Bureau and
many other shady and scandalous
transactions. Finally the organ of
the sixteen railroad organizations,
known as Labor, issued statement
that June II was Communist-infect-
ed. 1t urged every one to stay away.
This was as disconcerting as 1t
was false. 1t was true that some of
would be eligible under the call, but
at the outside they would have not
to exceed ten votes in the convention
of nearly a thousand.
This assault was pretty well re-
pulsed, and again assurances began
to pour in from all sections that the
proposed convention would be one of
the greatest political gatherings ever
held in America
Then came Senator La Follette's
~ h1 G
had an evil effect on the convention
attendance.
Labor Politicians Blamed.
The unusual character of the at
tack inclines one to the belief that
it was not of his making, but was
hatched up by labor politicians in
Washington. These men are opposed
to the organization of national
Farmer-Labor party and they induced
Senator La Toilette to assassinate a
movement that threatened to dis
pense with the service of high-priced
labor lobbyists"
Mr. Mahoney said that the con-
vention formed a response to a senti-
ment for a distinct third party. He
brought out that the resolutions Of
this convention urged the delegates
Ito make every effort to cooperate
in order to act unitedly in the cam
paign."
He concluded:
mo permanent relief can come to
those who live by labor until the
power monopoly to control natural
means of transportation is broken
and this can be done only by the
workers themselves. 1t is not a mat
ter for a Moses to lead the enslaved
out of the house of bondage. but
rather for the oppressed to strike off
their own shackles.
Weary of Expedfents.
The miserable palIiatives that
occupy the time of the politicians
only complicate the problem and dis
appoint the people. This new party
that we are about to organize must
strike at the root of the trouble, and
destroy the power of the few, by spe-
cial advantages, to despoil the many.
This convention will not be re
spectacle when it undertakes this.
Not only will big business assail it.
but some of our time serving progress
sives and special saviors will de-
nounce it as dangerous and radical +.
our big task will be to lay the foun-
dation Of d movement that will pro
vide place for every earnest human
being to help along in the movement
for our common emancipation"
Mr.. Mahoney reviewed the history
OF the Farmer Labor party in Mime.
sofa, emphasizing opposition which
was encountered. He declared that
legal methods, including the Consti-
tuition and laws of the nation and
state were ignored land Iaw-abiding
citizens were tarred and feathered,
their homes painted yellow and their
families ostracized because they
dared to exercise their guaranteed
civil rights"
For United Action.
1--WE were not attempting to i'm
pose the will of a minority on the
majority" he, said. but. were seek
ing to educate the wealth producing
classes that they had common
| united political action. This is where
the essential danger Of this move
| ment lies to the privileged and rul-
| ing element. Once let the men and
women on the farms and in the in
dustrfal centers understand that they
have common interests against legal
lied robbery and that the government
can be made to function for their
benefit, it means the end of exploiter
| and social parasite"
served as a, laboratory in which to
work out the principle of political
organizations which must be en-
ployed on a national scale before the
great work can be DONE" He said
that the work in a state Is limited
| because "the great questions involved
are national in their scope"
| A blockade in credentials COM
| mittee made for a slow assembling
Of the convention. At the hour set
for the call to order only a hundred
| delegates were in their seats, but
the lobbies of the big municipal audi
| torium were jammed with delegate
| trying to convince doorkeepers that
| they were entitled to admission Only
| those who had received official badges
| were successful.
There was a scattering of specta-
| tors in the big galleries, peering over
| the national colors, draped around the
| square of railing.
Clouds of uncertainty hovered over
| the convention, rumors ranging from
| deliberations to an open split with
| either the union labor and farmer
! group or the representatives of the
communist organization bolting.
Bitter StruExle On.
two elements in bitter struggle for
control They split rather definitely
yesterday on the question of organ
| ization of a national party with a
ticket to present to the voters. The
Communists favored that course, but
| the more conservative adherents OF
| the movement preferred that the con.
| vention indorse Senator La Toilette
as a presidential possibility and at
| tempt a coalition with the July
Cleveland conference. Minority an6
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