The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1950-12-07
THE GREAT
GAME OF POLITICS
They Left Their Leaders
BY FRANK f. KENT

great victory III ONO OF senator kOD-
eit Taft. whom the combined bosses
of organized labor had opposed with
unprecedented unity and violence. Mr.
William Green, head Of the AFL. be-
wildetedly said: I'VE just don't under
stand it. Some of our members must
have voted for him
That this is an extraordinary un-
reinstatement ought to be clear even
to Mr. Green. The provable fact is
that not only in Ohio, where every one
Of the big industrial cities was carried
by Mr.. Taft. but in a number of other
states where the combined bosses had
marked certain candidates for de-
stluction, many thousands Of the rank
and file of labor voted for Them AL
most without exception they survived.
There is only one way to interpret
labor itself Of its leaders. What hap
pened was this swollen by seventeen
years Of White House support and
servile acquieScence in their desires,
these leaders reached the point where
they believed themselves strong
enough to dominate the country po-
ltically and crush anyone who stood
in their way.
In their fight on Mr.. Taft they
practically announced these obiec-
tives. There was almost no conceal
ment Of men, money and propaganda
of surrility heretofore unmatched
in politics. The result showed two
things very clearly-first, that this
grand-scale effort of the union bosses
to take control aroused resentment
among the non-union voters regard
less Of party, causing them to flock to
the support Of the gallant man 50
fiercely and unscrupulously attacked;
second, it showed in Ohio and else
where that a large part Of the union
membership was too intelligent and
too Independent to follow such leader
ship blindly; that they did not believe
the lies they were told either about
Mr.. Taft personally or the Taft-Hart-
ley Act; that they saw through and
did not sympathize with the personal
ambitions Of some Of these leaders to
become political dictators.
The net Of all this is that while no
real damage has been done the cause
of organized labor, great deal of
damage has been done personally to
the present leaders of organized la
bor. They have been cut down to size.
Revelation of what has been believed
by a good many prior to this elect ION
but could not be proved-namely that
the bosses cannot politically deliver
the labor vote like lot Of sheep-has
bility Of denial. Even Mr.. Green con-
cedes it. Thus, these bosses are eX-
hbited for what they are-cheap bull
lies and braggarts, whose threats are
hollow and whose power has been
vastly exaggerated. The notable thing
is that this has been made clear
through no partisan victory, but by
a resurgence of independence among
the masses Of organized labor itself.
That is the fine thing about it. That
is why, though its leaders with their
Political Action Committees an d
Leagues for Political Education, etc,
have been thoroughly discredited, the
cause of organized labor has not suf-
fered Nor will it. There will be no
effort at leprisals in the coming SEES
sion of Congl ess. The TaftHartley
Act will stay permanently on the
books but the amendments scheduled
will not be punitive in their nature:
Mr.. Taft himself has made that plain
What he and majority Of the new
Congress want to do is perfect the law
so that it will protect the working
man and the public while at the same
time be Just to management. They
were unable to do that last session be-
cause of the bellicosity of the labor
bosses and the weight of the White
House, exerted because they wanted
to preserve the Taft Hartley Act as
campaign issue. And, what an issue
it turned out to be for them!
Considering everything, it is hard
to see how anyone (save the thwarted
labor bosses and a few of their cap
tive politicians can fail to rejoice ov-
er what happened. Undoubtedly, in
Congress the atmosphere will be more
healthful The labor lobbyists will not
throw their weight around quite as
before, denouncing, insisting, threat
ening. The labor politicians, of course,
will continue to beat their breasts,
issue statements and hold press con-
ferences. At the CIO convention which
opens Tuesday in Chicago the unct-
uous Mr.. Murray and raucous Mr..
Rauther will put on a great face-SaV-