A
platform of fourteen points was formulated at a general
conference of the leaders, and provisional organizations were
perfected in a number of cities. What power this latest attempt
to enlist labor in partisan politics will assume is
problematical. It is obviously inspired by European experiences
and promulgated by socialistic propaganda. It has not succeeded
in invading the American Federation of Labor, which did not
formally endorse the movement at its Annual Convention in 1919.
Gompers, in an intimate and moving speech, told a group of labor
leaders gathered in New York on December 9, 1918, that "the
organization of a political party would simply mean the dividing
of the activities and allegiance of the men and women of labor
between two bodies, such as would often come in conflict." Under
present conditions, it would appear that no Labor party could
succeed in the United States without the cooperation of the
American Federation of Labor.
The relation between the American Federation of Labor and the
socialistic and political labor movements, as well as the
monopolistic eagerness of the socialists to absorb these
activities, is clearly indicated in Gompers's narrative of his
experiences as an American labor representative at the London
Conference of 1918. The following paragraphs are significant:
"When the Inter-Allied Labor Conference opened in London, on
September 17th, early in the morning, there were sent over to my
room at the hotel cards which were intended to be the credential
cards for our delegation to sign and hand in as our credentials.
Pages:
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213