The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-03-28
THE COUNTS AND sTRIKEs.

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THE COUKTs AND sTRIKEs.
Judges Taft and Kicks, Of the United
States circuit court for the northern
district of Ohio, recently issued certain
orders in regard to the right Of employees
Of railways to quit work without due
notice to their employers. These orders
have been misunderstood by the labor
leaders throughout tho country, - mean
ing If sustained, that henceforth railway
employees will be compelled to continue to
work against their will, and involved the
right of . man to quit work when he
chooses. Judge Kicks, in his address to
some engineers and fremen who had quit
work in aid Of boycott on the Ann
Arbor railroad, said:
You are engaged In . service Of public charac.
ter. and the public 10 not only interested In the
manner In which you perform your duties while
much interested in the time and circumstances
under which You quit that employment You
can't always choose your own time and place
for terminating the relations, II you were per
mttted to do 90 you might QUIT your work at .
time and place and under circumstances which
would involve irreparable damage 70 your en-.
ployer and leopard the lives Of the travelling
public. Your employers owe high duty to the
pubic which they are compelled to perform uu-
der severe penalty, and they have in turn
higher claim upon you and your service than
that due from tho ordinary employe. This
court does not assume the power to compel you
to continue your service to your employers
against your will, but 1t does undertake to COM
pei you to perform your whole duty while such
relations continue.
In England railway employees, en-
pIoyes of gas and water companies are
obliged by law to give due notice before
they strike or quit. in order to protect the
public against the extraordinary incon-
venience and probable danger to public
safety that would ensue unless some
notice was given. This Is a point raised
BY the court, which evidently holds that
no body Of employees can without violat-
ing existing common law rights, quit .
service involving public comfort and COM
merce in such q manner as to cause great
injury to the public veal. This is q very
important question, which has been
raised before but never legally decided.
Some authorities hold that such body of
employees cannot legally do this thing,
while others hold that additional legisla-
ton is necessary.
The opinion Of Judge Kicks simply
states what the New York state board of
mediation and arbitration have urged in
all their annual reports. beginning with
1887. This board Is composed Of men who
were appointed as the friends OF labor,
and in ali their reports they call attention
to the need of legislation which should
make it impossible for railway employees
to quit work without giving notice &C.
cording to contract. In its special report
on the New York Central strike, this
board made recommendations almost
identical with the statement made BY
Judge Kicks as to the obligations which
ought to be imposed upon railroad EN-.
ployes in the interest of the public veal.
Chief Arthur complied with the judges
orders. and pending the decision of the
Federal courts suspended the law of the
Brotherhood under which the order
against handling tho cars of the Ann
Arbor railroad by the brotherhood had
been issued. Under the orders of Judges
Taft and Kicks the very weighty questions
OF the right Of a labor union to order
strikes and boyco.ts and the right of the
employees of railways to quit work without
due notice to their employers will be
brought before the highest court of the
country for decision. The railroads con-
tend that the trainmen who refuse to
handle the freight of connecting roads
where there is q strike place themselves in
the attitude Of lawbreakers under the Fed
eraI commerce act.
Alter the grea. c. r. & @. strike the
Brotherhood OF Locomotive Engineers
adopted the boycott rule-that is, en-.
gineers on other roads are agreed not 70
haul freight to and from road on which
engineers are having strike. As soon as
the Ann Arbor strike for higher wages de.
veloped, engineers on the Lake Shore and
other connecting roads began TO refuse to
haul Ann Arbor freight. The railroads
appealed to the courts. and Judge Taft, of
the United States court, granted an order
enioining Chief Arthur from issuing or
continuing in force any rule or order re-
quiring engineers to boycott Ann Arbor
freight. Arthur thereupon ordered q sus-
pension of the rule or requirement referred
TO. The proceedings are due to the con-
vie:ion that the public must be protected
legally, If possible. against the enormous
inconvenience and damage consequent
upon suspension of traffic operations
resulting either from attempts OF the
roads to coerce their employees or of the
employees 20 coercc the roads.
Both employers and employees. A we'll
as the genersi public, that is always ter.
rioie sufferer. ought to be glad that this
question OF the strike and the boyco,. /,
brought squarely into court with = r-os-
peci OF securing legal Interpretation Of
the limitations Of the use of the .t-;sa
the boycott and the lockout" The gen.
eral public veal suffers frishtfuliv
whether the railway employees thus coercs
the corporation. or the corporation seeks
10 coerce the employees.
The general public sees plainly what 81
frichtfu! state OF peril. discomfort ana
commercial distress would ensus if every
railroad wheel in the country was sud.