The Washington herald., 1907-09-29
shO-O-o-oi Wuii
Strikes and Boycotts.

Cardinal Gibbons. whose sympathies
have always been on the side of labor
as against the oppression and Injustice OF
inscriptions employers, discusses organ /
lied labor IN a monitOry way In the cur
rent number Of Putnam's Monthly. The
Cardinal, Of course, approves the organiza- |
ton of workers for moral and material
advancement. but he disapprOves strikes
and boycotts as means Of securing the
ends aimed at Strikes he regards as
"a very questionable remedy for the re-
dress Of the laborer's grievances" He
prefers a resort TO arbitration. in which
the result Is determined by the weight Of
the argument. whereas In a strike IT is
determined by the weight Of the purse.
OF the practice Of boycotting. Cardinal
Gibbons has this to say:
q am persuaded that the system Of bovcotting bv
which Members Of labor unions ara Instructed uot
% paironize certain obnoxious business houses is
not only dsapproved hy aD impartial public senti-
meut, but that it does not commend itself to the
more thoughtful and conservative portion Of the
guilds themselves. Every man is free indeed 20
select The establishment with which he wishes 70
deal and IN purchasing from one in preference 20
another he is not violating justice. But the case is
altesd when, by a mandate Of the society he is
Gebarrrd from buying from particular firm. Such
proposition assails the liberty Of the purchaser
and the rights Of the seller. and is an unwarTant-
able invasion Of the commercial privileges glaran-
teed BY the government to business concerns II
such a social ostracsm were generally IN vogue. a
process Of retaliation would naturally follow the
current of mercantile intercourse would be checked
hostile camps and the good feelings which ought to
prevail in every community would be seriously i'm
paired. Live and let live is a wise maxim. die
tated alike by the law Of trade and by Christian
charity"
President Gompers, Of the American
Federation Of Labor, Will read these sen
timents, we should imagine. with strong
disapproval. That organization Is com
mitted to the principle Of the organized
boycott. as indeed are most if not all
labor organizations. It Is as much fixed
method Of labor warfare as the strike,
though. of course. both are deprecated
by the more conservative labor leaders.
and only resorted to when all other
means of gaining a labor victory have
failed. There is a difference, however,
in the legal status Of these two weapons
Of organized labor Il Is universally ad-
mitted that the strike is a lawful and
legitimate method Of manifesting dissat-
isfaction with the terms and conditions
Of employment with a view TO their bet
teTment The boycott stands on a some
what different footing, Its legality has
often been called in question, and there are
numerous court decisions unfavorable toit,
at least in its extreme forms. An action,
for example, is pending in the Supreme
Court of the District TO enjoin the Ameri-
can Federation Of Labor from carrying on
a boycott alleged to have injured the busl-
ness of an industrial concern. The out
come Of this case may be Of considerable
Importance in determining the law of the
boycott and the extent of the response
bility Of labor unions for damage done
by IT.
We suppose labor leaders generally
would be very glad to dispense with both
the strike and the boycott If they felt
they could do so, but doubtless they
would be practically helpless if they had
not some weapon with a sting to It.
Nowadays however, there is a method
Of compUlsion that cannot be overlooked
by either employer or employe. and that
is the appeal 10 public opinion, which is
frequently decisive Of the question at
issue. No widespread strike is likely to