Editorials.

On August 24 in Los Angeles, John Sweeney and Tom Donahue, the two competing candidates for the presidency of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., debated for three hours in a packed auditorium; they took questions from the floor, and what was remarkable was not so much the performance of either man as the voice of rank-and-file workers challenging those would-be leaders to articulate a political direction for labor. This emboldened voice from below is the most significant element of the campaign for federation president.