The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-22
ROOSEVELT TAKES
LABOR CHALLENGE
President Tells Gompers Party
He Is for Square
Deal.
Nations Executive Declares Wis
itors Need Information on
: Eight-Hour Law.

Washington, March 22.-President
Roosevelt received a large body Of rep
resentatives of organized labor late
yesterday afternoon at the White House
and talked to them about their urgent
request for the enactment of labor
measures now pending before congress;
Samuel Gompers, president, and
Frank Morrison, secretary, OF the Amer
lean Federation of Labor, headed the
delegation, which consisted of about
q hundred members of the executive
council of the American Federation of
Labor and officials of the organizations
which comprise the federation. Prac-
tically all of the important labor or
CARNATIONS Of the country were repre-
sented in the delegation.
Secretary Morrison read to the presl-
dent a memorial of the executive coun-
ell of the American Federation urging
action on the various demands for legis-
!ation being made by organized labor
interests of the country. The memorial
dwelt particularly on the eight-hour
law and it's enforcement on government
works, including the Panama canal aud
the immigration laws, especially the
Chinese exclusion laws.
The President Replies.
President Roosevelt. after listening
ed address, On the subjects of general
immigration and the exclusion Of Chi
nese labor, the president indicated that
he was in practical accord with them,
but on some other matters he differed
from them radically.
The text of the president s remarks
as given out at the White House fol-
lows:
''Mr. Gompers, if your body objects
to the PASSAGE of the proposed anti
injunction bill, | have no question
that you can stop it, for there is not
capitalist concerned who, simply as
capitalist, is not against it, tho [ be.
ieve that a goodly number both of
capitalists and wage earners who are
concerned primarily as citizens favor
it. The law was worked over and sub
stantially whipped into its present
shape at a number Of conferences be-
tween representatives Of the railroad
organizations, Of the department of
justice, and Of the bureau of corpora
tions with me-. It goes as far az I
personally think it should go in lin
iting the writ of injunction. At any
rate, no argument has been advanced
ther. ] do not believe it has any
chance of passage, because there is
great criticism in both houses ofepcon-
gressa of the. administration in going
so far as we have gone; and you think
it is not far enough. Why, you will
have no earthly difficulty in killing the
bill. Personally, L think the proposed
sincerely wish it would be put thru.
Right of Injunction.
Gas for the right Of Injunction, it
is absolutely necessary to have this
power lodged in the courts, tho, of
course, any abuse Of the power is
strongly to be reprobated. During the
four and a half years that 7 have been
president, I do not remember an in
voked the right Of injunction against
g combination of laborers. We have
invoked it certainly a score of times
against combinations of capital. /
think possibly oftener Thus, tho we
have secured the issuance Of injunc-
tions in number Of cases against
capitalistc combinations, it has hap.
pened that we have never tried to Sc
cure an in junction against combina
ton of labor But understand me
gentlemen, if ! ever thought it neces
sarv. if I thoupht a combination of la
borers were doing wrong, | would ap,
ply for an in junction against then
just as quickly as against so many
Capitalists.
Accepts the Challenge.
"Now, I come to the general subiec
of your petition. | wish, in the frs
place, to state my regret that you die
not divorce so much of the petition a
refers to the action of the executiv,
from so much as refers to the actor
of the legislative branch, because
cannot consider any petition that yo
may make that reflects upon the co
-, ~
that makes any charge against it what
ever. | would not receive it, save tina
in part it affects the executive. There
fore, in what ] have to say | shall limi
myself solely to what you assert in ret
erence to the acts Of the executive.
"You speak of the eight-hour law
Your criticism, so far as it relates to tn
the appropriation bill containing tn
money for expenditure on the Panam
canal. with the proviso that the eight
hour law shall not there apply. If you
statement is intended to mean that n
opportunity was given for hearing be
fore, then the statement is not in at
cordance with the facts. There wa
ample opportunity, but not single re
quest for such hearing came to me-
I received, however, some hundreds o
kilograms and letters requesting tn
veto of the entire appropriation bill be
cause it contained that proviso.
Not Thoroly Posted.
Cranky, I found it difficult to bt
heve that you were writing and tell
graphing with any knowledge of tn
conditions in the case. believe en-
phatically in the eight-hour law fc
our own people in our own country. Blu
the conditions of labor, such as we hav
to work with in the tropics, are so di,
ferent that there is no possible anal(
gy between them; and an eight hot
law for the Panama canal is an absul
dity. Everyone of you knows that "
cannot get white labor, cannot get l,
Dor of the United States. to 90 dow
to Panama and work. We are drive
to extremities in the effort to get an
kind of labor at all. ..'- l.
Just ait the moment we are workin
Chiefly with negro labor from the Yves
Indies. The usual result in the employ
ment of those men is that Monday an
Tuesday they work fairly well. Weednes
day and Thursday there is marke
falling, and by Friday and Saturda
not more than half sometimes les
than a. fourth, of the laborers will b
at work. " .-ls.- - -
Can't Be Reconciled. .a
"The conditions that make the eight