The Washington herald., 1907-10-20

AfVFS DdlttQFt AfOltlDNlNs EiNo-NANsiN -
American Federation Of Labor, In his re-
cent attack on Secretary Of War Taft
voice the sentiment Of organized labor. or
may his utterances be taken 10 Indicate
merely his personal opposition to MI
Taft as a candidate for the Presidency
Propounding this query in dispatch 70
his piper, Gus J. Karger, Washington
CORE spOndent Of the Cincinnati Times
star, discusses 1t as follows:
The friends Of Secretary Taft believe
that the labor men Of the country will be
overwhelmingly in his favor when better
understanding of his position with re-
spect TO labor organizations IS made gen
eral and the effect Of his decisions in
labor cases is more universally appre-
ciated Already there are intimations
from sources Of unQuestiOnable reliability
that the great organizations Of railroad
employees are prepared 10 throw their sup
port to Mr. Taft. despite Mr.. Gompers' at
tempts 10 array organized labor against
him It is true that Mr. Taft has not
indOrsed the anti-injunction bill which
President Gompers urged on Congress as
embodying the views and wishes Of the
organization over which he presides. 1t is
also true that Secretary Taft supported
Congressman Littleheld. of Maine. for re-
election IN the face of Mr.. Gompers' op-
position. 1t is for these reasons that Mr.
Gompers shows personal feeling, which
cannot by any means be said TO be
shared by organized labor generally.
His Attitude Misrepresented.
Upon no subject OF such immediate i'm
portance in connection with the ante
convention campaign is there such gen
eraI misapprehension. such a wealth OF
Misrepresentation. as upon Secretary
Taft's attitude toward trades unionism
Gompers, seeking to incite the passions
Of the workiHgmen. refers TO him witt
/ studied contempt as one Of the first in.
I junction judges To the public the idea
/ is conveyed that rs a member of the ju
dietary his decisions were consistently ad
verse when questions involving the right!
/ Of labor unions under the law were pre-
/ scented. Nothing could be further from
| the truth. on the contrary II is an in
/ ldlsputable fact that as judge Of n,
/ United States Circuit Court, Secretary
/ Taft handed down the opinions in laboi
| cases which have since been accepted BY
| all courts. including the Supreme Cour
Of the United States, which most clearly
/ defines and establishes the rights and du
| ties Of labor unions. His decisions show
| exactly how far labor unions may 90. anC
! the exact point at which the courts mus
! intervene 10 prevent them from being in
imical TO the general welfare
Upheld Right 10 Strike.
! He established the principle that mei
have d perfect right 10 organize and ac
/ in concert for the advancement OF thei
own lawful interests He affirmed th'
/ right Of the workmen thus organized Z
stop work in a body when their just de
mands were ignored or refused by en-
/ ployers. thus giving the sanction OF III
law to strikes But he also laid down tn
principle. which all the other courts hav
/ accepted as final authority, that no lab0
/ organization has a right 70 injure a per
/ son or Institution not directly conceTne,
/ IN the dispute between employer and EN-
ploye because that person OF institution
4 refuses to comply with the demand
I which labor organizations have no righ
to make In other words, he put the dis
| approval Of the law on boycotts directe
against third person for maintainiu
/ friendly or business relations with III
/ employer Immediately involved in III
reigning dispute II is this latter featur
Of Mr.. Taft's decision 10 which Presiden
/ Gompers and those of his view take eS
ceptions and upon which they base thei
threatened opposition.
His Limitations just.
Organized labor. when entering III
field Of politics, must be bound by the sam
rules that apply 10 other players OF IN
game. They must stand or fall. politi
caHy. as they present a question Of un
disputed right. or as they resort {
sophistry 10 maintain their contentious
In the present case Mr.. Gompers an
nounced his hostility to Secretary Tat
because the latter placed necessary an
just limitations upon the rights of labo
6rganizat ations-not because his decision
were adverse TO the best interests Of III
laboring men. 1t is a foregone cOnclU
sion,, therefore. that the workingmen O
the country viii be neither misled no
coerced into assuming position whic
they can not maintain. and which the
cannot defend. This is clearly Indicate
by the fact that labor unions have aC
cepted Mr.. Taft's rulings as the CledTes
definitions Of their. rights and have mod
fed their rules and practices 10 accor
with his opinions.
As a Judge. Mr. Taft made three in
pOrtant decisions in labor cases upo
which subsequent rulings have bee
based. AS a Judge Of the Superior CouI
Of Cincinnati. he decided the case of III
Moore Brothers VS.. The Bricklayeri
Union Of Cincinnati The Toledo an
Ann Arbor case was decided in the FED
eral Court in 1893, and the Phelan cor
tempt case In 1894
Cause of MisapprehensiOn.
The latter was the most sensational
and has been responsible for much of tn
existing misappTehension as 10 Mr. Taft
position. The great strike of the Pul
man employees was on, and agitators wer
Iendeavoring to persuade railway employe
to strike because the railways were usin
Pullman cars. There was no pretens
that the railway employees were to t
benefited. or that there was any disput
between them and their employers. Or
OF the railroads running out of Cincir
natl was in the hands Of a receiver az
pointed by Judge Tafts court To inter
fere with that road was TO interfere wit
the court. He issued an injunctio
against Phelan. the representative Of h
Pullman. strikers. to prevent his opera
tions against the interests of that roa,
Phelan defied the court by the deliver
Of public incendiary speeches Judg
Taft sent him to jail for contempt
Defines Unions Rights.
But in deciding that case Judge Ia
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