The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-05-31
TUESDAY, MAY 81, 1904.
RETRIBUTIoN.

President Roosevelt is reported to be
much disturbed over the attitude of
the labor unions. He has called for
an opinion from Mr.. Sargent, and the
facts reported to him are not reassUr-
ing. There is a wide and deep defec-
ton on the part of the union labor
vote throughout the country. What
ever we may think of the justice or in
justice of the grounds on which this
rests, the fact is not to be blinked.
The president will go into this cam
paign with at best a lukewarm sup
port from a portion Of organized labor,
and with nearly all its strongest rep
resentatives bitterly opposed to him. +
1t viii not do to charge this up to his
action in the matter of the government
printing Office. That was a secondary
and not primary cause. Had the
president never interfered before the
question of retaining or discharging
the foreman of that office arose, he
would not have been held so strictly
and personally responsible. 1t was be-
cause on another and greater occasion
he had deliberately used his high office
to curry favor with labor that labor
demanded this further concession
from him; nor, in view of his own
voluntary performance, can we say
that its expectation in this case was
unWarranted or unjust
The action of President Roosevelt in
the matter of the anthracite coal
strike is the real root of labors oppo-
sition to him. There is much to JUS
tify it. The country is now thorough
" convinced that the intervention of
the president was intended to make
personal political capital for himself.
That it violated all the precedents of
his office was admitted at the time by
every one; that it was a most unfor-
tunate. example, designed to create
trouble for his successors and for the
country, was equally obvious Let it
be remembered that in that case the
president took the initiative, that he
posed before the country as it's savior
from n great calamity and that he
practically forced a settlement of the
strike by artificial means, since neither
side dared defy his openly declared
authority.
Now what did he get out of it? AS
far as capital was concerned, surely
nothing; as far as labor was concern
ed, less than nothing. The decision
reached by his selected arbitrators
was actually more offensive to organ
lied labor than to the mine operators.
1t contained the most positive declara-
ton in favor of the open shop" that
has ever emanated from any authority
in this country short of the EMPLOYERS
association itself. The declaration
made that no discrimination ought 10
be permitted against a man either be-
cause he does or does not belong to a
union was more distasteful Ia the
unions than any concessions REQUIRED
of the operators could have been 70
them.
Here we come to the root of dissatis-
faction of organized labor with the
president. He interfered actively. vol
UNFAIRLY and determinedly upon one
occasion, and the result of it was a
decree most repugnant to labor's ideas.
When another occasion arose in con-
nection with the government printing
Office he refused to interfere, md
threw the unions back upon them
selves. Such shortlived praise as he
received for the settlement of the coal