The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1902-06-21
Gl0CERS' BOYCOTT
DAILY PAPERS HAVE DISCOVERED
THAT ONE is on. =
Labor Not Alone In the. Use of the
BOycOtt-Merchants Know How to
Use it With Telling Effect-SOme
"Reminiscences of the Anti-Boy-
Redress In the Courts.

the grocers Of the city have an asso-
citation. and that lit is one of those
DANGEROUS kind that uses the boycott
quite freely, and whose members do
not advertise in the newspapers. 1t
was supposed right along that the only
kind of a. society that used that awful
weapon known as the "boycott' was
the workingman's Organization. The
laborer is usually cautioned to be care
full in using the boycott, because it is
like loaded gun and might go off and
hurt somebody.
Two years ago some of the business
interests Of Duluth visited the legisla-
ture in the interest of an anti-boycott
bill, which was intended to prevent
labor organizations only from using
their power to boycott. When they
arrived in St. Paul they found com
mittee of aggressive trade unionists on
the ground to greet them. A meeting
was arranged by Senators Daugherty
and Baldwin in the Merchants hotel.
At this meeting it was discovered that
one-half of the business men represent
ed at the meeting were members Of
trade organizations which practiced
boycotting. One of them was a miller
who was in the habit of informing gro
cerymen every month that if they sold
his brand of flour less than a certain
price. fixed by him, he would refuse TO
sell them anymore flour. In other
words, if they violated his rules, he
would boycott them on flour.
Another represented a large whole
sale groceryhouse that refused to give
credit for groceries to any merchant
who was not a member of the Retail
GrOcers' association.
There were others there also, who
were in just as bad a boat, and who
asked the Duluth senators to vote for
a bill which was practically giving
them monopoly on this boycott busi-
ness. The labor delegation made this
plain to the senators, and when they
fully appreciated it, Senator Daugherty
Informed them that, he would vote for
no bill that did not forbid all kinds Of
boycotting. This kind of law did
not appeal to them very strongly, and
so no boycott bill was passed. =
A short time ago the Clerks union
placed a. boycott 1on local merchant
i sfors viola tipg4--the closing move
me1t : They were In 3oined ~ the court,
and while no permanent order is ex-
pected, yet the delay is sufficient to
destroy the aim of the union.
boycott by the Grocers' assocfa-
tion is strictly in violation of the state
law, especially when it pertains to an
organization whose purpose it is to
fix the price Of any commodity. Is
! there any danger of any grocer being
arrested for such violation? Is there
any danger in any of them being en-
joined from injuring the business OF
any competitor by entering into a con-
spiracy with the wholesale houses,
whereby said competitor can not Sc
cure any goods to carry on his bus
mess? Not by any means. The law
is not enacted, nor are the courts used
for that purpose. If the commission
! houses or wholesale grocers refuse to
sell goods to firm to whom they have
been in the habit of selling, and their
only reason for refusing to sell is in
the fact that said firm is boycotted by
the Grocers' association, this firm has
a splendid opportunity to test the pres
ent anti trust law in the criminal
courts. If this law does not apply to q
railroad merger it certainly does to a
combination such as this whose whole
operations are within the state. We
would be pleased to see the law tested
for the sole purpose of ascertaining
whether it is really worth anything or
nOt