The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-02-21

tional of Labor Unions for promotion
of mutual understanding, solidarity
and utilization between the l. w. w.
and the revolutionary unions affiliated
with the r. /. l.. u, considers 1t neces-
sary to comment upon the results Of
the general referendum ballot just
counted>by ballot committee elected
from the /. w. w. members in Chica-
go.
In so doing, the r. I. A. G. is not
moved by any desire to gloat over the
confusion and inefticiency within the
/. w. W., made evident by the way
in which this ballot was issued and
handled, but is attempting sincerely
to aid in clarifying issues which it is
the duty of the present leadership of
the Industrial Workers of the World
to explain to the membership at large,
and which duty the regular officials
are at present Sinking.
The ballot was very large one,
Il containing Is provisions 10 be
voted on separately, and carrying also
the names of two nominees for the
most important Office in the l. w. W.,
that of general secretary treasurer.
1t will be remembered that on Dec.
"a, 1924, while the ballot was still in
the field, the r. /. A. c. issued state
ment calling upon both John I. Turn
er and Arthur Coleman, the contest
ants for this Office, to declare them
selves on several most important mat
ters, namely, questions of democratic
Capitalization VS.. anarchistic deem
tralization, for proletarian revolution
or for pure and simpleism," for or
against the injunctionites, for or
against free and open discussion of
policy and principles by the member
ship in the official press, for organ
ization of the unorganized or for rival
unions seeking to destroy other un,
ions, for unity with the Red Interna-
tional Of Labor Unions, or for sectar-
ian isolation and impotence, and sew
eral other matters.
NEITHER of the candidates made
" any statement Of his attitude on
these or any other question CONFRONT
ing the l. w. w. This fact may ac-
count for what seems at first sight
the absolute Indifference and reckless
ness of the membership at large as to
what happened or who was elected
at any rate the figures published in
Industrial Solidarity show that Cole
ftxrrsa hoI
counted" for him, and that Turner
had $40, which added to 81 scattering
votes written in on the ballot, gives
a total of 1880 votes out of men,
bership supposed to be in the neigh
borhood of 10000. No more than four
per cent of the members took the
trouble to vote.
FURTHERMORE, it well known in
radical circles in Chicago that
some votes, not enough to invalidate
our surmise that the stupid silence Of
the nominees produced Indifference in
the membership, but still enough to
swing the election from Coleman to
Turner, were not counted but were
ShAOWA O0t Oh q SCCuuACdlAIy.
There were sixteen ballots from
Ashtabula which were burned by the
branch secretary there for some rea-
son Of his own, but which were known
Of in detail, because the secretary
sent in the stubs of the ballots, and
the stubs showed how every ballot
was voted on every proposition. who
voted and who vouched for him.
Enough Of these votes were in favor
of Turner, to have elected him, but
they were not counted because the
Coleman supporters insisted this was
a ballot committee, and could not
count stubsl And this opinion pre-
vailed!
THE r. I. A. C. holds no brief for
either of these candidates, as in
the absence of any declaration of pol
icy from either Of them it is impos-
sible intelligently TO choose hefween