LABOR'S OPPORTUNITY
JOHNSTON, WILLIAM H.
LABOR'S OPPORTUNITY A Chance To Mould the Nation Nearer To a System of Industrial Justice By WILLIAM H. JOHNSTON jL^ Jnt'l A—oc of Machinists rf?t good to have one day ||t apart to honor...
...It ajiy take a long time to dig There ii lomething in Socialism to kill ignorance and to destroy vice...
...Lewis P. Saaders...
...When they meet let it be to emphasise tgV each other the futility of voting fcjr any one to represent them in the legislative, judicial or executivi branches of the Government, cither State or nation, who is not pledged to their interest, or by past performances in public life won the right to their trust and confidence.» Let them realize for once th* right they possess and use it for their own and general good—realise that the ballot so long neglected snd unspprecisttd, which they hold in their htnds on election dty, it ths moit powerful lever potieited by Lsbor, tnd, when intelligently used, ai I hop* it will be thi* year, thst it csn move the world...
...Swing outward y* gatti of the future, Swing inward ye gatte of the patt...
...I *m thirty-nine yesrs old snd unmsrried...
...Thsrs is no low in Oklahoma agaii.at wssring s Socialist Psrty emblem on Msy Dsy or sny other dsy...
...They srs no lohgtr used her...
...The New Laeder Mail Bag A Case ef P*rt*eali*a Editor, The New Leadert May Day being Intarnitien ' Labor Day, I wore a Socialist Party emblem consisting of a Psrty button pinned ever a little red ribbon in memory of the day...
...Your honor is no less because you' bear in your hands and carry on your wheeled floats the implements of life instead of the weapons of death, tools to build instead of arms to destroy, constructive forces of civilisation instead of trophies of war...
...An Opportunity to Mold the Notion , When the workers meet on this glorious Lsbor Day, 1926, let them fully realist the importent opportunity they have to mold the future policy of our nation...
...208 itnmort St., Brooklyn...
...I am sick snd tirsd *f the lying, scheming business world, sad psrtly du* to th* rasding ef sati-Capt* ta!let literature havt almost bicorni s misanthrope Would enjoy seme sort of wtlftr* work...
...but if your experience will bt anything lik* what we had in Utah you muy with you had ttuck to th* pspsr ballot with all of iti «vili...
...Yours is the army thst shall go joyously on its way to feed the world, to clothe the world, and to house the world when all th* military armies of the earth shall have passed away...
...Never before in the history of our nation have th* workers of our land had such a chance to help themselves aa the present one...
...On Msy 4, whan I started to speak to him «b*ut it, he hit me one liik on •sch sids of ths head with his .urti...
...I think The New Leader or some other agency should investigate the incident, and if the findings justify s test este should be sttrttd...
...It looks as though Soeislist Congressman Victor L. Berger, snd also th* Amer can Civil Libarti** Union, could help out in a ease of this kind...
...I am jioor, not in very good health, snd hsve no money to prosecute the esse...
...There is something in it to shut up the jails, to do away with prostitution, to reduce crime and drunkenness, and wipe out for ever the sweater and the slums, the beggars and the idle rich, the useless fine ladies and lords, and make it possible for sober and willing workers to live healthy, happy, and honorable five's.—Robert BTatchford, ir^ "Britain for th* British...
...In other words, you may think you art voting a' straight Socialist ticket and it msy be you are voting on* of t'.is old capitalist ticket...
...I thought I would esll your attention to this matter so thst you msy U on year gusrd and be governed accordingly...
...Declare in no uncertain language that from this time forward yOur ballots are to be used in the class struggle for the benefit of the workers, for when you uplift Labor all mankind is elevated...
...LABOR'S OPPORTUNITY A Chance To Mould the Nation Nearer To a System of Industrial Justice By WILLIAM H. JOHNSTON jL^ Jnt'l A—oc of Machinists rf?t good to have one day ||t apart to honor Labor...
...I think my esse should be mode s test esse in the courts to stop Other policemen from interfering with' people weering red badges and peacefully c*lebr»ting Msl Dsy...
...tO...
...Lacks...
...Let the Lsbor Day Message bs in each community that Labor's vote for the future will be used in Labor's ecus*, and not used to «lev?t* s class thst holds nothing in common with them, that despises them, and is prejudiced against them...
...tht right to lsbor st s living wage, and with the riling stsndsrds of living, the claim of compensation for loss of employment by industrial accidents, a restful old sge, s peaceful death, snd sn honored grsve...
...Salt Lake City, Utsh...
...Etrly that evening, between 10 snd 10.TO o'clock, I met a town policeman en he Fruco Railroad tracks, who mads nie tsks off my bsdgs and then kicked me two or three tunes and hit m* on* lick With hil flit beside ths feud...
...p th* futura, when we are a^tr, we shall have many tuch Htf jo the turn of a year...
...By labor we |e»rn...
...out of the mind* of tha people the old notions that Labor wt* put upon man a* a curat, yet every generation bringt a larger proportion of thinking bsings who look upon Lsbor ss being ths grestest blessing to mankind...
...By labor ws live...
...Voting machines are like slot machines: they can be mad* to do just the l'everse of what you think they are doing...
...By labor1 we may prove sll things and b* free...
...How better can we be reminded of the costs °f prosperity and peace than by these pageants of ths arto and eur srtlssns...
...By- lsbor ws grow snd prosper...
...Vinita, Oklahoma, Voting Machines Editor, The New Leader I note eefrjhs presi that, it tht forthcoming city election you tre to use voting machines, an end, I ballava, you have been striving for a considerable period of time...
...Or if they wsnt tp put over *om* particular party they can *o fix th* machines to do thst...
...For the spirit of Labor it awakened And knout of iti Power at la?t...
...Th* voting machine* «re a fine thing providing you sre in s posit ion to se* that they sre voting correctly when the poll* are opened and • clou watch is kept on them during th* period of voting...
...Out ef Work Editor, Th* New Leader: I* there to your knowltdgt in thi* lirgt city of N*w York e job for a man of thirty whtr* honuty and truthfulness an iperici* tad...
...L*t them profoundly imprett etch other with how much it moms to them and to th* world st large...
...Your interest in this mstter will b* duply tpprtciattd Walter L Hennesay...
...At no period in the history of Lsbor's struggi* have th* workera been so well equipped to revolutionise society by peaceful m*tns as they now have, and never was the timo more ripe...
...More proudly you sweep through our street* in triumph th*n even the battl*-»c»rr*d veterans fr;>m the field of carnage...
...The Greatest Army ef All Yes, parade, fill th* streets with your members, men and women of Lsbor, stsnd shoulder to shoulder, gallantly marching to the music of peace...
...Th* right to orgtnizt, snd to bs represented in th* legislativt halls of our State and nation, protection of eur children from child labor, of thsir wives and mothers from overstrain, of the bread-winner from disease-producing condition* ef labor and from prtventsbls peril to life snd limb...
...Then, why not a holiday, if not a Holy Dsy, in Labor's honor — s dsy whtn the ton* snd daughter* of Labor lay down their tool*, and msk* holidiy together—• day when the organised workers, men snd women, proclaim their right to leisure, as well ss their duty to Labor—a day when th* workers parade, break bread* and make merry together, «11 wearing the badges of honest toil...
Vol. 2 • September 1925 • No. 36
