Evening star., 1936-09-07
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

dent Roosevelt and Gov. Alfred M.
Landon Of Kansas, the Democratic and
Republican nominees, stuck up their
lightning rods. The President sent
message to labor on the eve of the
| national labor holiday. He pledged him.
self to work for "a national economy
which is so finely balanced that the
| worker is always sure of a Job which
will guarantee a living wage" He also
delivered "flre-side" talk, particularly
| to the workers, over the radio last night.
| In fact, the appeals of the Roosevelt New
|. Dealers to labor are becoming more and
more pronounced as the campaign pro-
| ceedS-some Of the Republicans say
| these appeals are more and more frantic.
For the Republicans say, and some of
them believe, that the G. o. P. will have
| its share Of the labor vote.
As Governor of Kansas, Landon issued
| Labor day proclamation to the workers
| in his State. He makes a Labor day
| speech at the American Legion State
Convention at Wichita. The efforts of
| the New Dealers to make it appear that
Landon is unfriendly to labor are not
getting across to the extent the New
Dealers had hoped. The Kansas Gov
| ernor, in his Labor day proclamation,
pointed out that it was q Governor of
Kansas who so years ago first estab-
| lished Labor day." and that the Nation
| had later accepted the holiday on a
| countrywide scale. He had several sig
| nihcant paragraphs in his proclamation,
| in the light of the Roosevelt campaign,
among which were the following: I'VE
| should remain SteadfaSt in the belief
| that the concern of labor is the concern
| of all; that labor should be free to
organize for fair consideration; that this
| right to organize and promote such con-
| Sideration must remain forever free from
| governmental or any other form of CO.
ercion. This day has no room in
it for class divisions and prejudices. No
| good citizen would contribute to them"
The Socialist candidate for President,
| Norman Thomas, spent his time telling
labor that the New Deal was sham and
that labor derived no real lasting benefits
| from it, and that, of course, the G. o. P.
| was no better. Thomas attacked those
labor leaders who are promoting the New
| Deal candidates, declaring that they are
| misleading labor. And there you have it.
****
| While the political candidates were
making these bids for the support of
the voters who labor, organized labor
| found itself divided on this Labor day
as it has not been divided for years in
this country. The parting Of the ways
between the American Federation Of
Labor and the Committee for Industrial
| Organization had come. One-third of
the membership of the A. F. of L., the
| 10 unions which have affiliated with the
| c. I. O., have been declared no longer
members of the A. F. of L. William
Green, president of the federation, has
| declared the G. /. o. a rival labor
organization, a rival of the federation,
and that there is to be war in the field
of organization henceforth. John L.
Lewis and his C. I. o. followers are
still contending they have not been read
out of the federation and that there is
some way for them to get back.
Lewis has been the fair-haired boy at
| the White House during the Roosevelt
administration. And Lewis took his
| union, the United Mine Workers of
| America, into the Roosevelt camp at the
| outset of the presidential campaign this
| year without waiting for an instant to
see whether the American Federation of
Labor would cling to its traditional
non-partisan political position. Green is
| Democrat. He has declared himself
| for Roosevelt. But the American Fed
Grafton of Labor has stuck to its old
| policy of not indorsing formally presi-
dental candidates, up to date. The
shout has been started in some quarters
| that a vote for Roosevelt is vote for
John Lewis; that if the New Dealers are
| put back in command of the Govern
ment all the cream will go to the c. I. O.
and that the A. F. of L. will become
| back number. That is something men,
| bers of the A. F. of l.. who are still
| faithful to the old organization are
thinking about quite bit these days, as
some of them frankly admit.
**
| Labor's Non-Partisan League, which is
| working hard for the reelection of
Roosevelt, has as one of its foremost
| members and officers John L. Lewis.
Lewis is to make radio address, with a
national hook-up, tonight. 1t will be
interesting to see how he deals with the
row between the C. I. o. and the A. F..
of L. in this address. or if he leaves it
entirely out of the picture. The league
is out to make a big political day of
| Labor day, for the benefit of the New
| Dealers if it can be done.
1t looks more and more as though the
Roosevelt New Dealers would have to
bestir themselves in the great farm
States of the Union if they are to win q
victory this year. Not many months ago
| it seemed as sure as death and taxes
that the farmers would all fall in line
| for the reelection of Roosevelt. They
| may, in the ma jority, do that very thing.
| But 1t does not look so sure by any
means Take the case of Iowa. That
| State has received tremendous sums of
money for complying with the A. A. A.
program. It has gone Democratic in
| 1882 and 1884. But the straw votes there
| today give Landon lead. Many of the
Roosevelt leaders do not believe, however.
| that Landon will be able to pry the
| farmers away from the New Deal,
particularly when the checks for soil
conservation begin to roll in, as they
| will from now on. And these checks to
the farmers will go into all the other big
| agricultural States. 1t is true that the
drought has put crimp in the farm
situation in many of the States. But
! there again the Roosevelt administra-
| ton has had an opportunity to come
| forward with large sums OF money to
| give to the farmers.
* X
Will President Roosevelt deal out lot
| of plums before the election-plums in
Tho cboro If ipoporta q pt Efnderol iohc-or