508 THE CLASS STRUGGLE EDITORIALS 509 automatic exclusion of any member who joined the militia or any other military organization, and instructed its delegates to call upon all other organizations affiliated with the of to take the same stand. Those who participated in the sessions of this Indianapolis convention will not so soon forget the splendid enthusiasm that inspired this assemblage of over 1, 000 delegates, 400 of them the proud possessors of red party cards. Adolph Germer, who led the fight against the National Civic Federation and Duncan McDonald, the sponsor of the anti Militia resolution, were the heroes of the day, and had the solid backing of a powerful majority of the delegates. Mitchell, on the other hand, was so unmistakably defeated that he left the convention before the close of the session. It was years before he again appeared at a mine workers convention.
At this time the International Association of Machinists, too, was undergoing a process of radicalization. Connell was still president, but his power was so obviously on the wane that he was forced again and again to compromise with the socialist element under Van Lear and Johnston. Even then his efforts were fruitless. few years later he joined the ranks of those deserving veterans of the of and the Metal Trades Department was established for his support. The Socialist Johnston was elected in his place.
the Brewery and the Bakery workers who at that time still dared to stand by their colors. The representatives of the needle industry also reflected the marked trend to the left that characterized their organizations, to the ill concealed fury of Rickert and Larger of the United Garment Workers, then the allpowerful leaders of this industry. The dismissal of Lennon as GeneralSecretary of the Tailors Union, a small International of highly skilled workers, and in consequence more conservative than the others, and the substitution of a Socialist, was another indication of the mighty mental upheaval that seemed to be reshaping the American Labor Movement. To these were added the socialist minorities that adorned the safely conservative delegations that came from the printing trades, the painters, and from several other more or less socialistically inclined local central bodies and radical State Federations. All these various elements were definitely united in their opposition to the of machine and its policies and assumed a threatening significance to its leaders, and likewise therefore to the capitalist interests intrenched behind them.
Obviously something had to be done to stem this tide of socialist, anti capitalist sentiment. The question was only under whose leadership the fight was to be waged, under which flag the forces of the reaction should rally. It was felt that Samuel Gompers was hardly the right man for the job. There was an undercurrent of dissatisfaction over the election of a Dutch Jew to the head of the American Labor Movement. Duncan, the First Vice President of the of a dyed in the wool reactionary and a devout Catholic, was first choice for the leadership of this anti socialist movement. But the sly fox refused to compromise himself with the Gompers machine, and John Mitchell, who, as a staunch Republican had always run counter to the democratic policies practiced by Gompers, was selected. The capitalist press at that time printed the rumor that Mitchell was an avowed candidate for president of the of with persistent regularity. These rumors were as regularly denied, yet everyone familiar with conditions knew, with Sam. Gompers, that there was very much truth behind these speculations.
During this period the Western Federation of Miners which had just joined the Federation for the second time was making its influence strongly felt. Its representatives had not yet developed their statesmanly faculties to their present perfection, and spoke in plain and unmistakable language. Elections in the International Cigarmakers Union brought an increasing number of socialist votes, Gompers and Perkins notwithstanding. Its delegates to the conventions were about equally divided into adherents and opponents of the machine. The same year saw, in the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, the first radical ticket, causing Huber and his ilk more than one sleepless nightto judge from the rough shod methods that were used by the powers that be. There were, moreover, the socialist delegates of