The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-11-20
Naturalization Progressing
Backwards

The American Federation of Labors executive
council is seeking out every measure which smells
of progress and wiping out of its program. At
FL Paso, the executive council retreats from the
position Of the Portland convention of one year
ago. where it expressed itself favorably toward the
government ownership of super-power, and says,
"Industry must solve its own problems or we face
the alternative of state intrusion which must in
evitably lead to bureaucracy and breakdown"
Outside of the ironic situation of the union
bureaucracy sitting in the midst of brokendown
labor movement solemnly condemning bureaucracy
and breakdown, there are other elements of this
report of the executive council deserving Of com
ment.
Particularly in the mining and railroad trans
portatiOn industries of this country the system of
private and corporate ownership produces limit
less chaos in production and ever increasing mis-
cry to the workers
Through private capitalist ownership of the coal
mines the union fields are being used to break
the union in the organized fields for the benefit of
the operators in the organized districts who are,
unquestionably, in league with and supported by
the operators in the non-unon fields
The cry competition is closing the union mines
down" is pure buncombe. The mine operators, un-
ion and non-uniOn, in a conspiracy to wipe out
the U. NJ. w. of A. And John L. Lewis is quite
agreeable to this program, or the U. M. W. of A.
would do some real fighting for naturalization of
the mines.
In the railroads the workers are continually and
loudly harangued by the companies, their repre-
sentatves in congress and their propagandists
everywhere to the effect that the poor corporations
are barely making both ends meet and that the
starving widows and orphans who have Invested
their hardearned money simply cannot afford to
grant wage increases. Indeed, they can be saved
from the poorhOuse only by reductions in wages
Yet who is simple minded and so unmindful
of the the history of how the railroads of this coun
try were built and maintained as to swallow
this pih-le of invested capital and poverty? The
railroads of America were built at the expense of
the public treasury the public land or both and
were handed over on a platter to bankers of Wall
Street. These worthy gentlemen have played with
them, ruined them, got the government to repair
them at public expense hand them back and
guarantee profits on 're-organized" capitalization
with whole oceans of watered stock piled onto the
backs of the railway workers Yet the railroad
unions have not only failed to fight for nationalist
ton, they have even given up the mild demand for
application of the Plumb Plan
The Trade Union Educational League has raised
the banner in these two basic industries for ma
tionalization of mines and railroads providing
that such naturalization be undertaken under
strict control of competent miners and railroad
workers and viii exclude bureaucratic commits
sons OF lawyers and capitalist politicians
1t may be that some protest will be made against
the retreat in the struggle for naturalization by
the A. F. of L. Certainly if the convention at
FL Paso does not act in favor of naturalization of
railroads and mines the workers in these industries
will be betrayed once more by the labor bureau
crazy.