The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-09-19
By JIM RANDOLPH.


In the preceding article, it has
been shown by concrete evidence that
the A. r. of L. and Railroad Broth
erhoods' "nonpartisan" policy Of
looking for friends" in the Republ-
can and Democratic Party, always
leads to disastrous results for the
American working class. The candi-
dates Endorsed are no better than
the others, for the simple reason that
any candidate Of the Republican or
Democratic Parties is puppet in
t he hands of the capitalists or he
would not put be put up by them as
a candidate. To the examples I have
given I could add thousand more.
Some Of the Endorsements given by
the A. F. of L. and the railroad
brotherhoods are simply fantastic.
For instance, after Alex Groesbeck
in 1880 was picked to run for gov
ernor and endorsed by the notorious
open shop Michigan Manufacturers
| Association. he was then endorsed
by the Detroit Federation of Labor!
Senator Joseph T. Robinson, the
democratic floor leader, is a J. P.
Morgan man, attorney for four of its
power companies; yet he went to the
Senate with the endorsement of the
Arizona Labor Journal" organ Of
the A. F.. of L. in that state.
The Mooney Case.
From the point of view of sheer
betrayal, perhaps the worst example
on record is what organized labor"
in California did after Tom Mooney
was framed and sent to Jail. Fickert,
a tool of the street railway corpo-
rations who were out to get Mooney,
was the official who framed Tom
Mooney. Yet, right after. as Mooney
tells us in his pamphlet tom Moon
ey Framed by Labor Leaders," (p30)
organized labor in San Francisco
rallied around the banner of the in
famous and labor-bating Fickert in
the recall election" Shortridge, one
Of the San Francisco politicians i'm
plicated in the plot to keep Mooney.
in jail, likewise went to the Senate
with the endorsement of labor lead
ers of that city. Stephens and
Youn each serving two times as
| Governor of California, and both re-
sponsible for keeping Mooney in Jail,
were at all times supported by the
leading California labor officials.
Not only do the A. F. Of L. and
Railroad Brotherhood officials sup
port Democratic and Republican can
didates; they are also, in most cases,
part and parcel of the Democratic
and Republican machines. President
william Green Of the A. F. of L., for
example, is a leading Democrat and
a former Democratic Ohio state leg
islator. That is why he is roofing
for Franklin D. Roosevelt for Presi-
dent. But Green, though a Demo-
crat, is impartial enough to sit on
Hoovers Unemployment Relief
Committee" which is headed by the
open shopper Walter Clifford, head
of the wage cutting American Tele-
phone and Telegraph Co.
VOLTS Friends.
An even more outrageous case is
the Vice President of the A. F. of L.,
Matthew Vol, big gun in the Re-
publican Party. He is also acting
President of the National Civic
Federation. an organization of bank
ers, manufacturers and labor takers
which carries on a bitter campaign
against the Soviet Union. Vol at
tackled the National Hunger March,
asked Congress to outlaw the Com
munist Party, cooperated with the
Fish Congressional Committee in its
; red batting activities, and demanded
q Congressional investigation of the
Amtorg, the Soyiet's trading corpo-
ration here His friends in Washing
ton are the most reactionary senators
Bingham, Watson. Reed, Moses and
Smoot-Wno quote him in tariff de-
bates as demanding this or that tar
if rise in the cost of living "in the
name of the A. =. of L." This worthy
is now calling for the reelection of
Hoover.
Same in Local Politics.
The facts are equally sordid in To-
cal politics. In New York City, as is
well known, the A. F. of L. organiza-
ton is to all intents and purposes a
branch of Tammany Hall. All the
Tammany sachems turned out re-
Gently to honor at a dinner. Presi-
dent Joseph P. Ryan of the New
York Central Trades and Labor
Council Al Smith. Jimmy Walker
Police Commissioner Mulrooney. Nc
Ccoey. Curry, end al the district
leaders and ward heelers Ryan and
his Central Trades and Labor Coun-
Gil will stand up for Tammany even
when Tammany hasn't the stomach
to speak for itself When Jimmy
Walker and his clique voted them
selves salary increases in 1930-while
refusing any unemployment relief
even stauch Tammnyites were silent
but Ryan and the A. F. of L. organ
izatlon were there to Justify Tam
Tany's salary steal When District
Attorney Grain was up on charges
by the Bar Association in 1880. fol
failure to prosecute grafters and
racl;eteers, Ryan end the Central
Trades and Labor Councils were
among his few defenders, Ryan stat
ing that Grain was all right with
organized labor"
Even worse, if possible, is the sit
uation across the river in Jersey City
where Gear" Brandle is not only
boss Of the A. r. of L. but is also
the right hand man of Mayor Franz
Hague of Jersey City. Democratic
boss of the state. Brandle started
: cut as a gunman, then became Bus.
2 mess Agent of the structural Iron.