The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-02
TAFT TO LABOR.
Republican Candidate Issues State
ment to Worlxingmen.

Buffalo, N. Y, Nov. 2.-Judge Taft
has caused this statement to be issued
here as coming from him:
1T waa brought to Mr.. Taft's atten-
ton today that number of labor
leaders who have no sympathy with
Mr.. Gompers in his attempt 10 com
NIT the entire vote of labor to the
Democratic party were nevertheless in
great concern lest the defeat of Mr.
Bryan and Mr.. Gompers which now
seems certain, would lead to reprisals
on the part of the present and the new
administration under Taft and to a
refusal on his part to continue the
good work for labor which had been
done by Mr.. Roosevelt and at his in
stance by a Republican congress In
statement Mr. Taft said:
have been honored by Mr..
Roosevelt In the last four years by
being called in to assist as an adviser
in respect to all the executive and leg
lslatlve measures projected in his ad-
mln1stration in the interests of labor
ana l have had very deep sympathy
with all that has been done. There
are other measures in the interest of
labor that ought to adopted The six
teen-hour bill ought probably to be
amended The compensation for gov
eminent employees act ought to be
enlarged and liberalized with a view
10 making the government liable in
the same way as private employer
for the injury Of its workmen suffered
while in it's employ.
1T Is the legitimate and approved
practice of labor organizations to pro-
pose legislation of this kind to the
executive for recommendation and to
congress for action and it will be
pleasant duty on my part if / am
elected, as I expect to be, to consider
all such labor proposals and to urge
upon congress those measures ap
proved in the Republican platform, as
we'll as such others as commend
themselves to my judgment and my
desire to aid labor. The functions of
the commissioner of labor may very
more useful to the cause of
labor, and all proposals In
that direction will meet my
hearty concurrence. The bitter
ness and injustice of the attacks made
upon me by Mr.. Fuller will not in the
slightest degree turn me from my
consistent attitude toward labor of
sympathetic interest in it's behalf and
earnest desire to aid in every way
that federal legislation may
legitimately do it. The statement
made by Mr.. Fuller that 1 refused to
give hearing to laboring men in re-
Spouse to a cut in their wages of 10
per cent made by the receivers of
railway company grows out of his
failure to note a full and complete de-
ClS1On on the SUBJECT, showing not
only a full consideration but the fact
that 1 called in another judge to help
me as well as the submission of
geat deal of evidence and it's careful
consideration. The failure of the
men, having thirty days notice of the
proposed order, to object to it until
the day before the order was to go
into effect, led to a refusal to suspend
the order, because there was not time
for hearing, but full opportunity to
modify or revoke it was given upon
five days notice of the employees to
the receiver, and this opportunity was
improved by them and the hearing.
had. The statements of Mr.. Bryan
and Mr.. Fuller on this subject in
clude garbled sentences from one of
the two opinions and give the i'm
preston that the court reached ex-
act1y the opposite conclusion from
that which 1t in fact reached in re-
spect to the propriety of hearing in
such cases. A reference to the de-
cision on the subject in SD Fed. Rep.
IT will confirm this statement and
show the utter injustice of Mr.. Full
ler's attack.
1.-The case reported later of 81 Fed.
Rep. $50 was a memorandum opinion
which should have preceded the
opinion reported in the 62 Fed. Rep.
17,-and the real decision reached was
contained in the latter. This may
have misled Mr.. Fuller and Mr..
Bryan, but it did not justify the use
of garbled extracts from the earlier
opinion"