The Lamar register., 1906-03-28
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT ANSWERS
MEMORIAL OF LABOR LEADERS

Washington. President Roosevelt
received a large body of representa-
tives of organized labor Wednesday at
the White House and talked to them
about their 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
hundred members of the executive
council of the American Federation of
Labor and officials of the organiZa-
tions which comprise the federation.
Practically all of the important labor
organizations of the country were rep
resented. Secretary Morrison read to
the President a memorial of the eNecu-
tive council of the American Fedora
ton urging action on the various de-
mands for Legislation being made by
organized labor interests of the coun-
try. The memorial dwelt particularly
on the nine-hour law and its enforce
ment on government workH. including
the Panama canal and the Immigration
laws, especially the Chinese exclusion
laws.
President Gompers and James Dun
can of Quincy. Massachusetts, first vice
president of the federation and presl-
dent of the Granite Cutters union, FOL
lowed with brief addresses on the lines
of the memorial President Roosevelt,
after listening to the statements, re-
piled in an extended address. On the
subjects of general immigration and
the exclusion of Chinese 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 Presi-
dents remarks follows:
"Mr. Gompers, If your body objects
to the passage of the proposed antiin'
junction bill | have no question that
you can stop it, for there is not capi-
talst concerned who simply as capital
list is not against 1t: though | believe
that a goodly number both of capital
lists and wage workers who are CON
cerned primarily as citizens favor 1t.
1.-The law was worked over and sub
stantially whipped into its present
shane at a number of conferences be
tween representatives of the railroad
organizations and the Department of
Justice and the Bureau of Corpora
,ions with me. 1t goes as far as ! per
sonally think It should go. in limiting
the right of injunction; at any rate no
arguments have hitherto been al
vanced which make me think 1t should
20 farther. do not believe 1t has any
chance of passing, because there has
been great criticism in both houses OF
Congress against the attitude OF the
administration in going so far as we
have gone, and If you think 1t Is not
far enough, why, YOU will have no
earthly difIiculty in killing the bill. Per
! sonally, I think the proposed law n
most admirable one. and | very SIN
cerely wish it could be put through
AS for the right OF injunction, II Is
absolutely necessary to have inns
power lodged in the courts, though, OF
course, any abuse of the power is
strongly to be reprobated. During the
I four and a half years that | have been
{ President | do not remember an IN
stance where the government mas IN
voked the right of Injunction against n
| combination of laborers. We have
invoked ii certainly a score OF tunes
II against combinations of capital. !
think possibly oftcner. Thus, though
we have secured the issuance OF inJunc'
lion in n number of cases against cap
ifal. 1t has happened that we have
never tried to secure an injunction
! against a combination o. labor. But
understand me. gentlemen. II ! ever
thought IL necessary: If | thought a
combination of laborers was dong
wrong. | would apply for an injunction
against them just as quickly as against
so many capitalists.
"The conditions Of labor, such as we
have to work with in the tropics, are
so absolutely different that there is no
I possible analogy between them, and
y an eight hour law for the Panama ca
nal is an absurdity. Every one or you
knows that we can not get WHITE Ia
Dor: can not get labor of the United
States to go down to Panama ana
) work. We are driven to extremities In
the effort to get any kind OF labor az
: all. Just at the moment we are work
{ ing with negro labor from the west
Indies. The usual result In the EN-
ployment of these men Is that Mon
{ day and Tuesday they work fairly well,
Wednesday and Thursday there Is a
! marked falling OFF and by Friday ana
. Saturday not more than half, some
times less than a fourth of the labor
: ers will be at work. The conditions
that make the eight-hour law proper
here have no reference to the condi-
{ lions that make the eight-hour law en-
tirely improper there. The conditions
e are so utterly different on the isthmus
as compared to here that II Is impos-
sible to draw conclusions affecting the
one from what is true about the other.
] You hamper me in the effort to get for
] Won what / think you ought to have In
0 this connection when you make re
quest that is indefensible, and TO grant
which would mean indefinite delay ana
5 injury to the work on the isihmus
s 'As to the violations OF the eight
{ hour law. Mr.. Morrison, you give me
d no specifications. At your earliest
: convenience please lay before me in
1 detail any complaints you have of VIC
e lations OF the eight-hour law. Where
/ have power | will see that the law Is
obeyed All | ask is that you give me
tho cases. | will take them up, and II
they prove to be sustained by the facts,
2 I shall see that the law is enforced.
/ Now, about the Chinese exclusion
} The number of Chinese now in TINS
} country is. If | remember right some
60 900 or 10000. So far from there be
inc a great influx of the Chinese. the
f,c, is that the number has steadily de