John Mitchell Case.
Take again the case of John Mitchell, the former President of the United Mine Workers and still a national leader of that organization. He is likewise a member of the National Executive Committee of the anti-Socialist “Militia of Christ.” He belonged to the National Civic Federation too, and held there a job of “settling” big strikes for which he received $6,000 a year salary. But the union miners woke up and compelled him, if he did not want to be expelled from the union, and lose his value to the capitalists, to give up that job and get out of the debauched and debauching Civic Federation. Poor John, shedding the tears of sacrifice and martyrdom, left the Civic Federation. But he did not like to remain long in the ranks of the “unemployed.” Though even during the period when he had no “steady job” he was “turning an honest penny” lecturing all over the country as the apostle of Peace between Capital and Labor, charging good admission fees to his lectures, having the railroads run special excursion trains to the towns where he lectured, etc., he was still yearning for a steady position.
Finally the Democratic capitalist Governor Sulzer of New York, believing that such virtuous men must be rewarded properly, and anxious to boost his own political stock by demonstrating his appreciation of the services of the Labor Leaders, took upon himself to champion the cause of John Mitchell’s career. There is in New York State a good paying political office known as Commissioner of Labor. Its chief and real function is to act as peacemaker whenever Brother Capital and Brother Labor are engaged in any of their interminable scraps. When the Tammany Hall politician Dix was Governor he gave that job to a “labor” politician Williams, who boasts of carrying in his pocket the membership card of the Carpenters’ Union. Williams’ term recently expired, and Governor Sulzer, Dix’s successor, seized the opportunity for playing “labor politics.” He appointed John Mitchell to the position of Commissioner of Labor at an increased salary, bringing it up to $8,000 a year. But here he struck a snag. Such a fat job was bound to make the mouth water not of Mitchell alone. Mitchell is not the only Labor Leader on the political market. There are other politicians, among Labor Leaders and otherwise, who would be glad to get hold of such a job, and besides, these others are more partisan Democrats than Mitchell is, and, consequently, enjoy the support of the more strictly Democratic partisan members of the Senate of the State of New York, who must ratify Governor Sulzer’s appointments. Accordingly the Senate refused to ratify the appointment of Mitchell to the position. Sulzer sent to the Senate for the second time the appointment of Mitchell to the same position. The Senate again refused to ratify and thereupon the legislature adjourned for the summer. Here, thought Sulzer and Mitchell, was their chance to put through their deal. Since the term of Commissioner Williams had expired, and he was only holding over awaiting the appointment of his successor, Sulzer, Mitchell, and Williams put their heads together and hatched out a nice little scheme. Williams put in his resignation from the office to take place immediately. Governor Sulzer accepted it and, since a vacancy was thus created and the Legislature was not in session, he, as a “matter of emergency,” immediately appointed Mitchell to fill the vacancy at a salary of $8,000 a year. Mitchell, on the spot, took the oath of office. He then turned around and appointed Williams to act as his first Deputy Commissioner of Labor, at a salary of $5,000 a year. Everything appeared to be smooth sailing. Mitchell was already planning how he would distribute among his labor leader friends the many other jobs at his disposal, but—“there is many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip,” as poor Sulzer and Mitchell learned to their sorrow.
The State Comptroller, who is responsible for the payment of salaries to state officials, took the stand that he had no right to authorize the payment of salaries to Mitchell and his appointees on the ground that Governor Sulzer had no legal right to appoint Mitchell without the consent of the State Senate, even if it was as a “matter of emergency” during the recess of the Legislature. Attorney-General Carmody of the State of New York took the same stand. The fight over poor Mitchell’s job was taken from stage to stage till it reached the highest court in the State, the Court of Appeals, which finally settled the fight by deciding against Mitchell and Sulzer. If Mitchell lost this fat job, it was only because of too strictly partisan politics played in this case, because Mitchell was not strict enough a Democrat to suit the Democratic majority in the State Senate. It was not opposed to him as “representative of Labor.” And there can be no doubt that Mitchell will not remain long on the list of politically “unemployed,” that at the very first opportunity he will be given a good fat political job.
Oh, you can leave it to the capitalists, they know how to appreciate such friends of theirs, how to take care of such “labor lieutenants” of theirs, as the late capitalist and leading politician Senator Mark Hanna called the leaders of the American Federation of Labor.