Another form of rewarding the union leaders, who succeed in advertising their value on the political market or who render valuable services to capitalists, is to have them supplied with good political jobs. Not to mention smaller instances of local character, few of the many instances of prominent appointments could be cited as illustrations.
Ex-President Taft, following the example of his predecessors, as soon as he assumed power, appointed a “labor-leader,” Daniel O’Keefe, of the Longshoremen’s Union, to the office of Federal Commissioner of Immigration, with a fat salary and fatter emoluments. President Wilson appointed two prominent “labor leaders” to positions on the Federal Commission on Industrial Relations—they were: John B. Lennon, of the Journeymen Tailors’, an anti-Socialist and member of the National Executive Committee of the capitalist organization, known as the “National Civic Federation,” and James O’Connell, of the International Association of Machinists, and also a member of the National Executive Committee of the reactionary “Militia of Christ,” organized by the Roman-Catholic political machine to fight Socialism. The Commissioners are paid more than liberally by the Government.
Case of Secretary of Labor, Wm. B. Wilson.
The United Mine Workers have among their leaders in Pennsylvania a certain William B. Wilson. He soon became a proprietor in the mining business, but retained membership and leadership in the miners’ union. That helped him to get nominations on capitalist tickets, and he was thus elected Congressman on such a ticket. In the Congress in Washington he became the leader of the so-called Labor Group, that is, of other such Congressmen with union cards in their pockets, upon several of whom Col. Mulhall has since cast considerable light. When agitation was begun to create the Department of Labor as a new department of the Federal Government, with a seat for the Secretary of Labor in the Cabinet of the President of United States, President Gompers and other leaders of the American Federation of Labor began to agitate that “our Bill,” Mr. William B. Wilson, should be given the job and the power of Secretary of Labor. Accordingly, when the Department of Labor was created and President Woodrow Wilson assumed power, he immediately gave to “our Bill” the job of Secretary of Labor, with a salary of $12,000 a year, and power to distribute a large number of good political jobs to his friends. One of the first things William B. Wilson did when he became Secretary of Labor was to give to the son of Samuel Gompers one of the best jobs at his disposal. It was thus a complete case of one hand washing the other.