Birmingham state herald., 1896-10-11

against their wills, to remain in it's ser. vice and operate its trains. His order to
 that effect was vacated, of course, by Judge Harlan. We have seen another. federal judge attempting by injunction or some other process to take charge of and control and run the state registra- tions and elections of South Carolina, in utter contempt of the laws of that state, and the rights of its citizens, at the risk even of armed collision between state and federal power, thus assuming to dic- tate and rule in matters where, as was held on appeal, he had not even a shadow of jurisdiction. Again, in the great strike
 or 1894, which, for the purposes of this discussion, we neither justify nor excuse,
 and which we say was unwse-for the cstensible purposes of enforcing the laws
 of congress as to Interstate commerce and to protect the tfnails,-both of which
 were ends perfectly legitimate and prop CT, if they were the real ones sought-but
 in fact, as a large partof the American
 people believe, -tind many facts indicate,
 to aid the Pullman Car company and the Association of General Railway Mana
 gers in their fight with the American Railway union and other labor organiZa- tions, the country was shngled over from Chicago to-the PacifcScoast with blanket injunctions from federal courts, com manding persons therein named and all others not therein named who could only be notified thereof by publication, to ab- stain from certain acts criminal under the laws, of the United States, and, per haps, of every state in the union. It could hardly be expected, and it is very doubt
 full if 1t was desired by those who pro- cured them, that obedience to these in- functions could be enforced by few federal marshals and baiiffs. They were asked and issued as the subsequent facts strongly indicate, rather as a predicate and pretext for ignoring and disregarding state laws and authority and calling di- rectly into action the military power of the United States, not to repel invasion of the states, not to guarantee them re- publican government, nor to protect them against domestic violence. but to aid the railroad corpora tions and Pullman in their efforts to crush the strikers. If this was not the. result aimed at it was quick ly reached The federal army without any call from state authority or con- sultation with it, poured into Illinois, as though it had been an enemy's country; that great state was untruly and unjust ly held up before the world as unable. or unwilling to maintain it's peace and or der; the second city of the republic was practically subjugated to martial law, and battles were fought, and blood was shed in it's streets The mails were car ried, the interstate commerce law en- forced, government by injunction main tained, and the American Railway union was prostra ted in the dust before Pull man and the corpora tions by military force. And, according to it's apelogist, Judge Paschal of Texas, all this was done under the provisions of the law against trusts, combines and monopolies! This Is the only instance of its enforcement; and it was enforced, not against the parties and dongs denounced by the law. but in their favor, and against organized labor, which the law was intended to protect!
 Te winding up of this deplorable affair illustrates the beauties of government by injunction. Debs and other officers of the Railway union foolishy dlsregarded the iniunctions served on them They were indicted for conspiracy to obstruct mails and commerce, arrested and bailed Soon after, they were again arrested and i'm prisoned for contempt in disregarding those injunctions. While thus confined they were again indicted with many oth- ers, and soon after Debs, without trial by jury, but by the judges sitting alone as 0 court, was convicted of a contempt not committed in its presence and sentenced therefor to Imprisonment for six months and the others for varying periods. Com mitted to jail under these sentences, they applied to the supreme court of the Unit ed States for a writ of error and also one of habeas corpus. The first was refused by that court, on the technicality that the order convicting them of contempt. and sentencing them to Imprisonment and &C., tually putting them in jail was mot a final judgment or decree?' The habeas corpus was denied on the ground that the federal court below had Jurisdiction to is sue the injunction, try without jury and convict for disobedience to it, and it's findings and sentence were not open to review in any other court whatevr. Thus a number of citizens-whether guilty or not makes no difference--were left abso- lutely at the discretion and mercy of a federal judge, without appeal and de- prived for months of freedom for acts and doings for which they were then un- der indictments which neither the rail- roads nor federal authority have ever dared to submit to scrutiny and trial by an impartial jury of the country.
 It may be that such things as these are. according to federal law, as that law now is; but if so that law should be changed and that as soon as possible If the con stitution tolerates such outruges on states and citizens. it ought to be amend ed so as to forever prohibit them, and in terms so plain that judicial flnesse and subtlety cannot nullify or evade them. And nowhere on earth could it be so fit- ting as in a great democratic national convention, representing a large majority of the American people, to reassert the ancient immunities and rights of our peo- pie and to "object to government by in- junction as g. new and highly dangerous form of oppression by which federal judges in contempt of the laws of the states and rights of citizens become at once legislators, judges and execution