Labor Day and Politics.
If the American Labor Day does not represent real unity and solidarity of the workers in their immediate field—the economic field—what wonder that it represents the same disruption and betrayal in the political field? That Labor Day plays a considerable part in the politics of the country no person familiar with the question can deny.
It must be remembered that America is a county where most of the workingmen, and now a rapidly growing number of working women, have a right to vote, and, as the working class—in America, of all countries—is the class to which the overwhelming majority of the people belong, no politician can get his fingers into the public pie, and the capitalist class cannot secure the control over the powers of government they need so badly, without employing some means of fooling the working people out of their votes.
American Labor Day is one of the institutions that is made to serve that purpose, too. The capitalist politicians have conveniently fixed it for the early part of September, about two months before Election Day, the season when the politicians make or prepare to make their nominations of candidates. The big gatherings of union men, voters, at Labor Day parades, mass meetings and picnics, supply splendid opportunities for advertising the candidacy of some capitalist politician claiming to be a “friend of Labor.” They give the false and treacherous leaders of the unions a chance, in expectation of good reward, to render these politicians a good service by securing them as speakers at these gatherings, and otherwise advertising them. They also give these false and ambitious union leaders a chance to boost their own stock on the political market by demonstrating to the politicians what a big crowd of voters the leader can influence for the one or the other political party of capitalism. It is in this respect both surprising and amusing how easily the labor fakers bluff and swindle at this game the politicians, who are otherwise supposed to be such shrewd men.
It is therefore not an accident only that at most, if not at all of the Labor Day gatherings, prominent politicians are invited to speak, and that those parades generally lead the mass of the workers past the City Hall and other such buildings, from the windows of which the politicians review the parade and flatteringly cheer the tramping hosts of poor, deluded workers. What is needed to reveal the true political significance of the performance is that the union leaders,—hungry for political jobs or nominations—should order a big banner carried in the parade bearing an inscription about as follows: “Look, gentlemen-politicians! See what a big herd of voting cattle we have this time to sell! How, what are you going to bid for them? What nominations will you give to us, the leaders; what appointments to political jobs will you promise to us if we deliver the votes of this herd to you?”