The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1907-12-19
INJUNCTION IS ISSUED.
Federation Of Labor's Unfair List
Declared to Be Illegal.
COURT CALLS II CONSPIRACY
Justice Gould of the District Of coIum.
bia Equity Court Hands Down De.
cision in the Case Brought by the
Buck Stove and Ranqe Company.

6uck Stove and Range Company.
Washington, Dec. '.-In the case
OF the Buck Stove and Range COM
pany of st. Louis against the Amer
lean Federation Of Labor, involving
the right OF labor to boycott business
houses which labor organizations re.
garded as unfair" to them, Justice
Gould Of the District of Columbia
equity court granted temporary in
junction asked for by President Van
Cleave Of the Stove company to pro-
hibit the federation from continuing
to boycott the company pending a
final settlement Of the case.
A bill in equity was filed by the
company last August for permanent
injunction restraining the federation
from boycotting the company and put
ting it on the unfair" list in the fed
eration's official organ and later a
supplemental bill was filed charging
that Notwithstanding the pending pro.
ceedings the federation was still
actively engaged in pressing the boy
colt and a temporary injunction was
asked for.
Judge Gould declared that it was
not surprising that there was so little
difference of opinion among the courts
upon the question involved and that
the conclusion that such combinations
as that disclosed by the affidavits filed
by the Buck Stove company in this
case were held to be unlawful was
based upon an appreciation OF the
fundamental rights of free men in a
free country.
No Doubt as to the Boycott.
He said there was little room for
argument or discussion of the question
whether the plaintiff company had
shown the existence of an unlawful
combination and conspiracy to destroy
his business and that the record leaves
no doubt that the plaintiff has been
and still is the object Of a boycott,
using that term in the most obnox-
ious sense, namely, an unlawful con-
spiracy to destroy it's business, such
demnation of every federal and state
court in the country before which it
has been brought for criminal action,
legal redress or equitable Injunction. y
The case will now proceed to a final
hearing, which is not expected before
early next spring The court, in rem
dering its voluminous findings, ex-
planned that there were several points
which he had not taken up in the
present decision, including the ques
tion whether the boycott came within
the inhibition Of the interstate com,
merce law. Owing to the preliminary
nature Of the proceeding there was nc
Federation of Labor.
The court made numerous citations
of decisions in cases involving similar
issues, including reference to rulings
by Judge Taft, the present secretary
of war, then judge of the circuit court
in the action Of the Toledo, Etc.
railway VS.. Penn company and pro
ceedings brought in various states.
Declares Conspiracy Exists.
y
The court held that the contention
of the defense that there can not be
unlawful combination where each
member thereof might do individually
: the thing contemplated without respon.
sibility to the law has much of plausi,
bility and "seems to evade accurate
analysis" Justice Gould cited au
thorities, however, to show that q
combination of two or more persons
with such an intent and under such
! circumstances that give them when so
combined power to do an injury they
would not possess as individuals act
ing Jointly has always been recog
! nized as in itself wrongful and illegal
| AS to the contention that to restrain
the publication of name on the un.
fair list would infringe the constitu
tional rights of the defendants and be
an assault upon the freedom Of the
press and that plaintiffs redress, if at
all, was by action for libel and that
equity would not enjoin the publica.
tion of the libel Justice Gould said:
''All this would have merit if the
act of defendants in making such pub.
| lication stood alone, unconnected with
other conduct both preceding and fol
lowing it. But it is not an isolated
fact, It is an act and q conspiracy to