o see that only
friends of union labor receive the union laborer's ballot. In 1897 it
"firmly and unequivocally" favored "the independent use of the ballot
by trade unionists and workmen united regardless of party, that we may
elect men from our own ranks to write new laws and administer them along
lines laid down in the legislative demands of the American Federation of
Labor and at the same time secure an impartial judiciary that will not
govern us by arbitrary injunctions of the courts, nor act as the pliant
tool of corporate wealth." And in 1906 it determined, first, to defeat
all candidates who are either hostile or indifferent to labor's demands;
second, if neither party names such candidates, then to make independent
labor nominations; third, in every instance to support "the men who have
shown themselves to be friendly to labor."

With great astuteness, perseverance, and alertness, the Federation has
pursued this method to its uttermost possibilities. In Washington it
has met with singular success, reaching a high-water mark in the first
Wilson Administration, with the passage of the Clayton bill and the
eight-hour railroad bill. After this action, a great New York daily
lamented that "Congress is a subordinate branch of the American
Federation of Labor... The unsleeping watchmen of organized labor know
how intrepid most Congressmen are when threatened with the 'labor vote.'
The American laborites don't have to send men to Congress as their
British brethren do to the House of Commons. From the galleries they
watch the proceedings. They are mighty in committee rooms. They reason
with the recalcitrant. They fight opponents in their Congress districts.
There are no abler or more potent politicians than the labor leaders out
of Congress. Why should rulers like Mr. Gompers and Mr. Furuseth * go to
Congress? They are a Super-Congress."

* Andrew Furuseth, the president of the Seamen's Union and reputed
author of the Seaman's Act of 1915.

Many Congressmen have felt the retaliatory power of the Federation. Even
such powerful leaders as Congressman Littlefield of Maine and
Speaker Cannon were compelled to exert their utmost to overcome union
opposition. The Federation has been active in seating union men in
Congress. In 1908 there were six union members in the House; in 1910
there were ten; in 1912 there were seventeen. The Secretary of Labor
himself holds a union card. Nor has the Federation shrunk from active
p