New-York tribune., 1903-07-22
THE PRESIDENT FOR FREE LABOR.

1t ought not to have been necessary for Presi-
dent Roosevelt to order the reinstatement OF
William a. Miller the assistant foreman in the
Government Printing Office who was removed
because he had been expelled from the union or
the Internati tional Brotherhood of Bookbinders.
1t is astonishing that the Public Printer should
for an instant have given cOuntenance to the
pretensons of private organization, whether
a labor union or social club, to dictate the con-
duct of a government office. The PRESIDENT
could more have consented to such re-
movaI than this State could consent to the pre-
tensions of the Schenectady labor unions who
tried to punish citizens for doing their duty in
the National Guard without acknowledging the
will of labor organizations superior to law.
1t would make no difference whether the an
tipathy of the union to Miller was well or i'll
founded His discharge at the dictation of the
union would in either case be intolera bic. Miller
is an employe in the classified service, and so
long as he does his work for the government
faithfully and well he is entitled to his place re-
gardless of his standing with any private or
ganization. If expulsion from the union is a
cause for removal expulsion from a church
might be. The government makes no objection
to the organization of its employees, but it can no
more cOncede to them the appointing and re-
moving power when they form labor union
than when they form a mail clerks association
an army and navy cluD. If private employ
ers care to put the control Of their business in
the hands of organized labor, tnat is, of course
their privilege, but the United States cannot
admit any such divided authority. The Presi-
dent rightly says that while the employees of the
printing office may form a union, no rules or
resolutions of that union can be permitted to
override the laws of the United States" He
-
mere elementary decency to require that all
the government departments shall be handled
lin accordance with the principle" which for
bids discrimination against any person on ac-
count of membership or non-membership in any
labor organization. Thus he declares unequivo-
cally against any exclusive unonization of the
Government Printing Office, though for some
time 1t has been practically unionized. BY ex-
travagant pretensions organized labor has thus
only brought rebuke to itself and secured
public declaration from the President of the
rights of "scabs"
The reasons given for the expulsion OF Miller
still further reveal the unwiSdom of the Wash
ington union. 1t is another outcropping Of the
"ca' canny" spirit which few unionists preach
and practise, to the injury of the whole body
Miller, it is said, being interested in accom-
plishing the best results for the government in
MS department, maze suggestions TO the Pubic
Printer Of economies in the methods of doing
business. These would have involved some re-
duction in the force The employees naturally
disliked this When, however, they carried that
dislike to the point of expelling from the union
a government employe for doing his duty to the
government, instead of covering up abuses and
keeping useless jobs for union bookbinders they
announced in effect that their interests were
superior to those of the nation, and that no Of
ficer of the government could be permitted to
serve the taxpayers with a single eye, but must
conduct his Office with view to giving them
the most money possible for the least return,
on pain of being driven from his place We do
not believe that the great body of labor union
lists take any such view and we look to see
them stand firmly with the President in resist
ing the unpatriotic demands of some of their
foolish companions.