Montana labor news., 1933-12-07
The Washington Scene


Continued from Page One)
lifting of their class to economic eman-
cipation. | think of the splendid de-
tense of class prisoners after the war,
the resistance to Mitchell Palmer's
fascism, Glenn Plumb's heroic effort
to enlist the workers in the movement
for social ownership and democratic
management of railroads and mines;
Eugene V. Debs' flaming defiance of
the reaction which capitalist courts
brought in those years against all who
challenged the old order.
When my service to Federated Press
began, the leadership by w. q. Foster
of 100000 steel workers in the great
est strike ever known in that industry
was f%ront-page news. Victor Berger
was still being excluded from the
House because Judge Lands had sem
fenced him to prison for pointing out
that the workers could only lose by
an imperialist war. Membership in
the American Federation of Labor had
risen from 100000 in 1914 to over
1000, 900 in 1919-20. Organized en-
ployers, alarmed at the growth of la
Dor demands-stimulated both by the
boom years of the European war
munitions trade and the regime of the
National Var Labor Board, and by
the revolutionary success of the Rus
sian workers-had begun to mobilize
for their general attack.
@#*
There followed years of merciless
warfare by American capitalism
against American labor. This con-
flict found the workers hesitant as to
how far they dared resist. They gave
way first On public ownership de-
mands. Then union membership be-
gan to crumble. Triumphantly the
capitalist press announced gain after
gain for industrial leadership" while
many Of the higher union officials
lined up with Harding, Coolidge and
Hoover as conspicuous opponents Of
a class attitude on either the indus
trial or the political field. And the
fact that in 1924 LaFollette, en-
dorsed by the A. F. of L., the rail
brotherhood chiefs and the Socialist
Party, polled less than 100000 votes
when he ran for President on a plat
form of moderate reforms, proved that
the American wage earners and farm
ers were no more advanced than their
spokesman. They still believed in
capitalist rule, un~restrained by reform.
Federation membership was only O.
$4,000 when the 1929 convention was
held. An attempt was made to or
ganize textile workers in the South.
There was talk Of organizing the au-
tomobile workers in Detroit. Sen.
Norris was trying to induce Congress
to pass an anti-injunction law. Then
came the stock market crash and the
depression. Labor leaders agreed not
to ask for higher wages, in return for
the employers pledge that wages
would not be cut. Million after mill
lion Of workers were dismissed. And
presently wages collapsed.
###
In the last four years Washington
has been in continual confusion, be-
cause an outworn economic order was
dead. There flash across ones mem
board is regarded as a definite de-
fiance hurled at Lewis, who was
slated to be named. 1t was under
stood that the unions would be rep
resented on these boards, as part of
the apital-labor-governmen tieup ex-
pressed in NRA. Sec. of Labor Per-
kins is reported to have argued with
johnson for an hour to include Lewis
OIL the board.
The latest f~lareup between the I'M
ions and the MIRA administration was
followed by a statement from Presi-
dent William Green of the American
Federation of Labor in which he said
that Labor is ~resentful over the fact
that it has to fight for even the mini
mum of representation upon boards
and administrative organizations Gre
ated for the purpose of administering
industrial codes of fair practice" He
made specific demand for labor rep
r%esentation on the soft coal code au-
anI I'll thu L..wI. - -. l.