Gunnison news-champion., 1924-09-05
A Davis Testimonial
That All Can Accept

Colorado Springs Farm SeSs:-
served with John W. Davis in the |
SiEry-third Congress. He must have
been about % then. Ny principal rec
objection Of him was MS speech, or
rather legal argument in favor Of the /
Clayton AntI-injunction bill. Davis |
was = member Of the house judiciary
COMMITTEE, Of which Clayton was the
chairman. Perhaps you recall that the |
Clayton act was a big issue at the
time Of is passage and Is yet, for
that matter, as the big interests have
never taken kindly 20 it. Davis argu-
men- vas an eye-Opener. Il was the
most brilliant defense OF d measure
heard while in Congress. Il was un-
answerable ard crushed the 0pposi-
tIon to the Clayton act in the House
and is influence was felt in the SEN
ate. At that time West Virginia was
the strongest corporation borough IN
the United States. For West vir-
ginian TO champion such a measure,
and 10 champion il in Congress stamp
ed him as a man Of courage. To have
called Davis reactionary al that time
would certainly have raised langh
on both sides Of the house. The fact
D., Davis was looked 20 in the House l
by the Progrs- siye forces. yes, and By
the labor people, 70 put a legal front
or their measures, as WAS Borah in 1
the Senate ] have never met Davis /
since. but know. Of course that he be- |
came the leader Of The American Bar, !
= very great achievement. and that as /
aUliSitur-ga general under Wilson's ad- |
miuIstratlOH. he continued his course 1
Jas cOngrs~-maH with respect to pro- |
ares=ive policies. 4 friend Of mine in I
Pueblo happened 20 have the good for l
tune 90 b. n Washington and hear his 1
argument in the supreme court for the |
Adams0n eIght-hou law. lie said he !
dinut kupw there was such . man. He /
wa overwhelmed by Davis display OF /
ability.
Getting out idc Of Davis congress
sioua' record. ! noticed in the papers 4
recently thIt Sam Gompers, man for
whom ! have always had the greatest i
admiration says that Davis speech OF /
acceptance is all right, hut that the
Democratic national platform isn't.
Mr. GOmpeTs knows better than to !
perpetrate q thing like that. He was
not in favor Of endorsing LaFollette,
but he was not able to withstand that
pressure His work has been done.
and done well. BUT IT Is DONE. Ii
believe, though, il would have been
the crownIUg achievement OF his
career II hc had opposed the mis-stcp
which has been taken by organized la
Dor. He says u is not a step toward I
formation Of Labor party. but il is a
step that can only be retraced with
sore feet.
LaFollette himself takes particular
pains to make il clear that he Is not
organizing 4 third party, but is an in
dependent candidate. This is an adj
mission that there is no need for a |
third party, and It carries with il a /
very large assumption, to-wit: That |
one man. an independent, with no par
" organization behind him, can set
the country right. As the colored gen
tlcman said after listening to J ell
Bailey: He certainly do recommend /
hisself.' Gompers Is by far the |
greatest man American organized la
Dor has produced. He and some OF
the others were against the LaFollette 7
endorsement, but could not stay the .
tide, and 80 he has submitted grace I
fully. He knows, however, that ii /
Davis were president he would be
persona grata at the White House, as
he was with Wilson.
| noticed in the statement issued by /
the executive committee of the Ameri- .
can Federation of Labor. when il COM |
mitted itself to LaFollette's candidacy |
some glowing paragraphs with respect I
to the brilliant record OF achievement I
by the labor forces in national legis-
lation since they adopted their non
partisan policy in 1906. Whence came |
these achievements They came
largely thru the Democratic party. |
They came largely thru men like John 4
w. Davis in the Democratic party /
And it seems to me that they consti-
tute an argument against the step
which has now been taken by the
American Federation of Labor and the
railway organizations
II. in the LaFollette committal. the
labor forces could have pointed to 4 i
different record, record of disregard
and detail of the claims of labor, by
the Democratic party, then the foun-
dation would have been laid, in reason
and justice, for the new departure.
II one wants an argument against the
need of an independent movement at
this time in American politics, he will
find plenty of material in the state
ments OF ITS proponents about the
Democratic candidate and the record
of progressive achievement under
Democratic leadership.
As Mr.. Bryan argued the other day,
Senator Wheeler was getting every
thing he wanted, everything he asked
for, in the present Senate. and he was
getting these things not simply be-
cause of a handful of insurgent
Republican senators, but mainly be-
cause he had back of him practically
the unanimous support of the Demo-
cratic senator's. l feel sorry for
Wheeler. He may stay in the Senate
the rest of his life, but he will never
again be the figure he was in the last
session. Bryan used a word in CON
nection with Wheeler. the full import
and significance of which cannot be
L 4 !. 1 i