The Daily Worker

Illinois Labor Can Aid Passaic Strike

Aside from the relief that every worker ought to contribute to the strikers in Passaic there is a special service the organized workers of the state of Illinois may render the strike. The LaFollette resolution urging investigation of the strike by the committee of manufactures will be bitterly fought by the Old Guard in the republican party. The Coolidge administration does not look with favor upon such an investigation, because Coolidge himself is a product of the province of the cotton and woolen mill owners, known as the state of Massachusetts. Next to Andrew W. Mellon, who is boss of the republican administration, the individual having most influence with Coolidge is William M. Butler, himself a mill owner and exploiter of women and children in the scab shop paradise of New England. Coolidge and Butler are twin stars who first shone in the galaxy of the notorious political scoundrel, Murray Crane.

To investigate Passaic is to investigate the whole industry. To assail the industry, which cannot bear exposure to the light of day, is to question the Fordney-McCumber tariff which assures monopolistic prices for the textile barons of the nation. Hence nothing but the bitterest opposition can be expected from the official machine.

There is, however, one way of bringing pressure to bear upon the Coolidge machine and that is to launch a concerted attack against those senators of the Old Guard who are seeking re-election this year.

Illinois labor can play an important part in this because of the fact that Senator William B. McKinley, the traction magnate, of Central Illinois, must stand for re-election this fall. He is the chairman of the committee to which the resolution will be referred and, incidentally, he has the deciding vote. A poll of the committee reveals that it will be equally divided—six to six—on the question of an investigation, counting McKinley against it. McKinley can cast the deciding vote. The duty of labor in Illinois is plain in this case.

Every central labor body, every local union, every building and metal trades council, every allied printing trades and union label council, in a word every unit of organized labor should insist—not request—that McKinley for once in his career of labor-hating activity at least agree to give strikers an opportunity to get their case before an investigation committee.

Let every worker in Illinois alive to the interests of his class start a campaign that will force the political pee-wee of Champaign to take action favoring the investigation whether he likes it or not.

And let them at the same time prepare for the creation of a labor party so that labor will not have to stultify itself by even recognizing such creatures as McKinley, or Smith or Deneen or Brennan or any of the other agents of capitalism in the camps of the old parties.