The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-09-23

less, the instructions Of the Central
Executive Committee to the districts
in the 1925 campaign declared: There
will be three forms in which the party
will go into the elections: 1, Thru
existing farmer and labor parties. 2.
Thru placing united front lator tickets
on the ballot. 3. BY placing Workers
(Communist) Party tickets on the bal
lot"
The question naturally arises: Why
this nexibility Of tRctics7 Why this
variety of forms7
A MEXICAN political conditions, I'M
"A like those Of England, are such
that a national labor party tends to
come into being by the foundation Of
various local and state labor parties.
gradually converging towards an
American labor party and finally crys-
tallizing when the national sentiment
for their unihcation and for the crea-
ton of single labor party on a ma
tional scale is powerful enough.
Sane In Va, Insane In N. Y.
Economically the United States is a
single unit, but because Of the federal
system of government, the states have
widely divergent laws and distinct ad-
ministrations. Thus, in extreme cases,
men have been known to be divorced
by the laws of one state and yet, mar
rying agadn, bigamists by the laws of
another. There have even been cases,
as the Chalone case, where a man was
insane in New York and sane in Vir-
ginia.
WHEN the interests of big business
w require it, state rights" are
promptly forgotten and by all sorts Of
legal fctions, unified national law
in given field is put across. Con
versely, when capital wishes to block
national law, the theory of state
rights is zealously upheld and the law
is nullifed and declared unconstitu'
tional as an interference with state
sovereignty. in this manner, every
child labor law thus far put on the
statute books has been set aside.
The constitution Of the United
States prohibits the passage of laws
limiting or aibridging freedom of
speech, press, or assemblage, or limit
ing the right of every citizen to bear
arms. But the. constitution has been
so interpreted that any state may free
ly adopt criminal syndicalist laws,
laws forbidding the carrying of arms,
laws forbiddipg mass picketing and
other forms of free asemblage.
Nevertheless, when the war broke
out, national Espionage" act was
effectively used on a national scale
along with the numerous criminal syn
dicalist and criminal anarchy acts of
the various states.
Brakes on Progress.
THE courts of the United States have
L been one of the chief instruments
for blocking legislation which ex-
presses the needs of the working class.
They have always appealed to prece-
dents established in a period when
there was no working class and no
modern industry. Thus Professor Com
mons, who can scarcely be accused Of
radicalism declares:
"The courts blocking the way Of a
new aggressive class with presidents
created to protect a dominant class,
have had, in this country, a high
authority unknown in other lands. BY
vetoing laws which labor in its polit-
ical struggles has been able to secure.
the courts, Joined to divergent state
policies, have excluded or delayed la.
Dor from legislative acts" History Of
Labor in the United States, Vol. /,
P. 81
T ABoR protection measures, child
IL labor laws, regulations Of the
length of the work day, minimum
wage measures, social insurance, etc,
have been construed by the capitalist
courts as state matters and not ma
tional ones, therefore the labor move
ment has had to fight in each state
separately for the passage OF such
laws and consequently, labor political
activities tend to be of local nature.
1t Is only when such laws are finally
passed in a given state that the state
supreme court steps in and declares
them unconstitutional, and, as a last
resort, II the bosses lose, they appeal
TO the national supreme court which
gives the final death blow to the
measure in question.
The Central Labor Union.
A GAIN, the natural basis for political
1 4 activity tends 30 be the local Cen
trail Labor Council in municipal mat
tiers and the State Federation Of Labor
In state matters. These bodies are
much closer TO the rank and file (par.
ticularly the former of them) than Is
the executive council and the national
convention OF the American Fedora
ton OF Labor.
Consequently 1t Is in the Central La
Dor Council that the demands OF labor
for independent political action first
makes itself felt and most strongly so.
MOT only Is the character OF the la
~ Dor movement greatly diversified
according TO tho state (the question