The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-07
A MORE ENLIGHTENED VIEW

Railway aTrainmen doesn't permit him.
 self to take too seriously the declaration
 for LaFollette on the part of American 1 Federation of Labor leaders at Atlantic
 City. On the contrary, Mir. Lee lets it
 be known that his order does not off cially connect itself with any party, but that rather it gives it's membership the facts as to leach mans record and lets the Individual make his own choice. Ger tainly that is the more American way of doing. For a group of men to pre- sume to tell the great body of American workingmen how they shall cast their
 ballots partakes of despotism foreign to the American way of thinking.
 On this point Mir. Lee sharply observes: Labor leaders who attempt to make con- gressmen and others believe they carry the vote of the membership in their vest pockets are only kidding themselves, and I have been surprised at the number of public servants and others who seem to believe that labor's vote can be traded to about the same extent as any article of merchandise" Indeed, such whole sale delivery of vote, if it were possi- ble, would be contrary to the spirit if not the actual text of our laws. What Amer ica needs in this matter of voting is not group voting, but individual voting, where each citizen votes according to his own conception of right and wrong. If there is any voter who cannot make up his mind on the basis of facts, certainly he does not deserve the privilege of the franchise. But the American working man does have the ability to think for himself, and his independent spirit cer- tainly will not permit him to allow a few men at Atlantic City or anywhere else to decide his balloting for him.
 The Railway Trainmen are more for tunate in having leader who can say: q propose to place before the member ship the records of the three candidates, the records of their parties and the plat forms on which they are running, in or der that the members of the brotherhood will have the essential facts necessary to make a choice of candidates. No word of mine will be in any way persuasive as to choice. The brotherhood is composed of men of fine intelligence. would not presume-I would be ashamed to indi- cate voting policy; for that would in- dicate that have less faith in their in- teT'~~~~" than I have. have never de- ceived myself that such membership through my influence could be delivered to any political party at will"
 It appears that the above policy would have commended itself to all the wiser leaders of labor. It is all right for the leaders to say that the labor policy is adherence to principle, and not to party or men. But when the leaders go step further and pick out for their member ships the principles, the party and the men, it appears that they have ventured into wilderness of difference of opin- ion. As MT. Lee also suggests, they are undoubtedly deceiving themselves as to their ability to deliver the labor vote in a block to anybody. This has proved so in the past, and it is more than ever likely to prove so in the case of the pO- litical wildcatter from Wisconsin whom some labor leaders have picked for all labor to support.
 This is the time for the return to san ity and to proved principles in govern 1hent. Ill-considered experimentation in fundamental affairs by men of neither intellectual nor political responsibility would be a most haEardous thing for the people of this country to permit. To no group in our citizenship would it prove more hazardous than labor, which de- pends for it's well-being upon the na- tional prosperity based on national con- fidence, neither of which would be long with us, if the political privateers should succeed in boarding the ship of state.