The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-03-18
AS WE SEE IT
BY T. J. o'FLAHERTY.

CONTINUED from page H.
fact is that the labor leaders are az
loggerheads over the issue, or more
correctly over Dever and Thompson
and their respective hackers. They
passed the buck to the local unions,
knowing that the great majority of
them will not have time to consider
the question before the vote is taken
on April z.
TT was amusing to hear Oscar Mel
4 son charge the officials of Local
556, of the stationary engineers with
having delivered the local" to Dever
Had this charge been made against
Nelson and his reactionary cohorts by
a radical, his cries could be heard in
heaven. But this kind of language is
perfectly legitimate in dirty capitalist
politics. They all do it. The gentle
man from Virginia calls the gentle
man from Minnesota liar and then
begs permission to withdraw his re-
marks. There is no hard feeling after
the election is over. 1t is only one
Of the many ways the political crooks
have of making living.
ONE of the delegates was so deeply
~ moved over the perfdy of Dover
and his cohorts for putting over "the
biggest traction steal in history" that
he regretted the scarcity of ropes
around the city hall. He thought the
perpetrators of this foul scheme
should be dangling at the end of them.
ut seems the revolutionary sentiment
that was so prevalent here years ago
has evaporated," he unused. One ex-
pected him to recite the declaration
of independence and bring down the
house but he refrained. He did not
want to disturb the delegates.
RATHER funny tho, that at the
" very moment this venerable dele
gate was mourning over the days
when there was life in the labor move
ment, lively battle was being waged
about two blocks away, with work
ers, who resented the attacks of the
stool pigeon, Abramovich, on Soviet
Russia doing the heavy part of the
scrimmaging. Revolutionary senti-
ment is not entirely dead, by any
means. It is very much alive. But
it is foreign to the oflcialdom of the
trade union movement in the United
States.
ONE delegate thot the Dever ordf-
" nance would be good for the build
ing trades. Those who favored DeYer
we're afraid to say so openly. A few
wanted a vote on the question. They
were strong for William Hale Thomp-
son, tho nobody mentioned that
gentleman's name, but he was run
ming the show.
ONE of the delegates commented on
~ the lack of confidence the
members of the local unions have in
their leaders. They know these lads,
are performing for their bourgeois
Bosses" he confided. II have never
known it to fail, that anything these
boys support goes down in defeat. The
injunction judges they opposed were
elected by overwhelming majorities
They feel that they are getting some
thing out of its and they don't pay
any attention to what they say" This
is largely true. The labor takers have
some political influence as bourgeois
citizens and where they are able to
compel the members Of their unions
to vote for them, under threat of pen
aliEing them on the job. But the rank
and file have no confidence in them,
and for very good reasons.
THE Dever ordinance should be de-
L feated by the workers at the polls
on April 7. But in doing 80, they must
not imagine that the Thompson and
Hearst combination will give them
anything better. Both sides look on
this city as fine place to loot. Only
when the workers themselves organ
lie politically into a revolutionary
party that aims to overthrow capital
ism and organize society on a non
profit basis will the transportation
problem in this and other cities be
solved. The Workers Party is the
only party in the United States that
Offarc qlfQh O solution