Show LABOR IN POLITICS IT OUGHT not to be a matter of surprise if a national labor or work ingmans ing mens party should be developed out of existing and growing conditions dit ions it would indeed be astonishing ing should it be otherwise the oiling masses in the contest which is being waged between their class ani and capitalist sare not likely long to neglect to upon upon any vantage ground aground that hat will wilt increase their prospect 1 I in the it struggle ruggle the field of politics presents that opportunity capitalists who employ labor extensively are not slow to use the power they possess in that line for partisan purposes doubtless the workingmen irmen will soon begin to see that their prestige in that line could be made much greater than that of any other class because they have the votes with which to emphasize their wishes re recent cent political events in this section make this subject one of local as well as general interest to sustain the belief that labor may soon assert itself politically in a national field as will as ae in localities it is only necessary to point to the increase of sectional working mens parties these will probably multiply until the leaders of the working classes pick up the detached threads and weave them into a national political fabric the gra brangers grangers gr rigers have opened the way and are pushing ahead A fusion between the farmers and farm laborers and the people in the great and populous cities and di tracts would constitute a factor in american politics that would probably swamp every other organization one point the workers would have in their favor is that they are completely equipped for the field with the strongest popular organ organizations za that ever existed all they would require to do to make themselves immediately felt would be to turn them to account in that line it has been asserted by the leaders of the labor organizations that they would not be used for political purposes but it would be easy for them to find an excuse to depart from the rule heretofore operated with tolerable closeness so 80 far as we can call to mind the chiefs of the organization notably mr powderly have confined the use of the influence they possess by virtue of the positions they hold to the recommendation of candidates as worthy of support and announce that to sustain others would be contrary to the interests of the workingmen it may be regarded as tolerably certain that the frequent defeats suffered by the toilers boilers in disputes with capital will tend to cause the latterio latter to reach after politics asa means to assist them in achieving success in the worlds world a greatest controversy tro versy there is an especial danger concerning ceri ging which organized labor will have to bevery be very guarded should it conclude to extend its struggle gleto to th ho ballot b bax ax the liability of the tha masses to become a prey to designing demagogues who would in order to gain points make all kinds of extravagant promises next to impossible if not quite so go of fulfil fulfill ment the political cauldron cauldren caul dron is actively boiling and changes in that line of a revolutionary character may be reasonably expected everything seems to be getting into a state of commotion |