Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1944-09-15
Danger!
Working Men
Voting
By Ben Dor

CnOlCe OF WndL 10 DelleNe.
(You can do that when you
don't have to pay attention to
the facts.)
Take the matter of the
labor vote in the November
election, for instance.
Labor is voting, they say,
not because union men want
to, but because our leaders
are telling us to vote. And
these leaders, the story goes
on, are interested only in cap
turing the Democratic Party
for their own selfish purposes.
If you don't believe this
story, the reactionary press
offers you another one: poll
tical action by labor doesn't
make any difference because
workers aren't going to vote
anyway and the money being
spent by political action COM
mittees is just being wastedl
Not only do both of these
stories appear in the same
press; they sometimes appear
right in the same article. Add
the two together, and they
cancel each other out. Try to
follow their reasoning, and
you come out no place
which is exactly what the
profiteers and grafters are
after.
Among American labor lead
ers there are a few who would,
if they could, use the votes
of labor men and women for
their own purposes. 1t Is easy
enough, however, to pick
these fellows out because they
follow the exactly same line
as the reactionary press. They
don't want large numbers of
workers voting either.
The critical question in
every election is, how many
people are going to cast their
ballots? Anybody who has
ever studied elections knows
that the larger vote cast, the
more it is that the liberal side
of the argument will win.
The reactionaries in and out
of labor know that political
machine keeps control of an
election only when the vote is
so small that few votes can
swing it.
This is the crucial point in
the whole issue. This Is why
labor's political action is driv-
ing the reactionary politicians,
the machine politicians, and
the stooge press into a frenzy.
They know that II labor Is
successful In getting out a
large vote I'm November, their
goose Is cooked. They know
this, not only because of the
scientific studies which have
been made of the subject;
they know 1t also from some
thing that is far more impress
sive, and that Is their own
past and-for them-bitter
experience.
That's why the reactionary
press is shrieking at labor at
the top of its voice. They
want labor to stay away from
the polls. That's why Con-
gress Is in a turmoil of
speeches and Investigations.
The reactionaries there are
scared to death that labor will
actually turn out at the next
election.
That's why they made 1t so
hard for a soldier to vote.
They don't want the soldiers
ballots TO be counted against
them.
For the votes of the people,
the vote of soldiers in over
aIls as well as soldiers in uni
form, are the stuff that will
put the phOneys and grafters
out of office in November.
You can't kid the people.
Abe Lincoln's statement on
this particular point is well
known. Another one of his
remarks which is not so well
known is especially important
in these days when reaction
aries are busy trying to slam
election booth doors in the
faces of the workers of this
country. What he said was:
"All that harms labor Is
treason to America. IL any
man tells you that he loves
America yet hates labor, he Is
a liar. II any man tells you
that he trusts America yet
fears labor, he Is a fool. There
Is no America without labor.
and to fleece the one Is to rob
the other"
am sure that, il Abe Lin
coin were here today, he'd
say something like this: For
get this nonsense about ma
chimes and go out like the
proud Americans you are and
mark your ballot for the cam
didate of your choice. Never