Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1924-10-08
International Labor Unions
Excluded From LaFollette
Convention All Except
Own Followers.
RADICALS IN POWER
BAN SOIL TILLERS
Blacklist Includes Their De-
tenders in Congress.

/ Ior ETeSlueil by an aggregation OF ma
tional and international labor unions.
, The public, and particularly the farm
er, had no voice whatever in his so
called nomination. There has existed
for over three years an organization
known as the Conference for Progress
sive Political Action, composed of l6
or IS national and international labor
unions, the majority of them railway
labor organizations.
The officers of this Conference for
Progressive Political Action are on
the whole the national and information
al officers of the labor organizations
composing the conference. The chair
man or president of this conference
is William Johnston. president of the
International MachiniSts union, and
the director of the railroad strike in
1922. Mr.. Johnston was recently can
didate for governor of Rhode Island
on the Socialist ticket. The headquar-
tiers of this conference is in the Ma
chinists' building, Washington ID. c.,
building owned by the International
Machinists.
This conference hello it's annual
meeting in st. Louis in February, 1924,
adopted a platform, pledged itself to
launch third party, and adjourned
to meet in Cleveland July for that
purpose The convention in Cleveland
| on July was therefore nothing but
the adjourned meeting of the Confer
ence for Progressive Political Action.
The delegates to the Cleveland conven-
ton were merely delegates from the
labor organizations comprising the
Conference for Progressive Political
Action, plus a few scattering dele
gates from the Socialist party and
few radical organizations such as the
League for Industrial Democracy. The
Conference for Progressive Political
Action established its own rules re-
garding whom it would admit as dele
gates and these rules were SO framed
that no one not in hearty accord with
the views of the labor organizations
comprising the conference was admit
ted. Out of approximately 1000 del
egates. less than % We're farmers or
representatives of alleged farmer or
CARNATIONS.
The officers of the Conference for
Political Action were the officers of
the convention. William Johnston, So
cialist leader, was the temporary and
also the permanent chairman. After
organizing the convention, resolution
was drawn up and sent to Senator La
Toilette asking him to lead in fight
for a third party. Not single farmer
or representative of bona fide farm
er organization signed this. petition.
The so-called platform adopted at
this convention offers absolutely moth
ing to the farmer. 1t consisted prac-
tically altogether of recital of the
alleged grievances of organized labor
and a demand for the enactment of
their legislative program. Not a farm
err was q member of any of the COM
mittees of this convention, neither the
committee on resolutions nor creden-
tials, nor organization, nor nomina-
tons. The chairman of each of these
committees was an official of some in
ternational labor organization. The
| personnel of these committees were
| either officials high in International
railway labor organizations or officials
high in the Socialist party. and other
| radical organizations.
The convention went on record in
| behalf of the candidacy of LaFollette.
LaFollette was officially notified of his
| nomination by a committee appointed
Of mo
| Federation of Labor and no member Of
| this committee was farmer. LaFol-
lette acknowledged his nomination in
| the form of q letter addressed nor to
| the people of the United States or
the farmers Of the United States, but
to the American Federation of Labor.
The campaign committee handling
the Observation-Disclosures movement is
| the National Committee of the Con
| ference for Progressive Political Ac-
ton, plus number Of Socialists The
| addition Of Socialists to this commit
tee was demanded by the Socialist
party as the price of their support of
the ticket. This demand was made
at a meeting of the committee held in
| washington July Il, al WHICH uihe
representatives Of the Socialist party
were present and insisted that they
be given 10 per cent of the commit
tee. Their demand was granted
There Is an executive committee of III
handling the inside stuff of the La
Toilette Wheeler campaign. No farm
err is on this committee. The cam
paign headquarters of the LaFollette'
Wheeler movement is 40S Machinists
building, Washington, d. c.
The Conference for Progressive Pc
litical Action issues weekly publica
tion known as Labor. The farmer
has no part in it, 1t is managed and
edited wholly by representatives Of
labor organizations. 1t is their Off
| nj conpaipn DuhlipatiOn.