The San Francisco call., 1908-10-26
LABOR RECORD
OF TAFT GIVEN
BY PRESIDENT
Says Wage Earners Have Never
Had Better Friend in White
House Than OhiOan
President Cites Instances Where
Nominee Has Aided Unions
in Injunction Cases
Declares Him Fearless and Eff
fective Champion of Labor
and Deserving of Support

w AOI14Nd yin, OSt. ZJ.-1H IC-
sponse to a letter from P. II. Grace
of Binghamton, N. Y, member Of
the brotherhood of railroad train
men, inquiring about Mr.. Taft's
record in respect to injunctions and
labor matters in general, President
Roosevelt has written to Mr.. Grace,
reviewing Mr.. Taft's attitude toward
labor and explaining the work of the
administration toward amelioradng
industrial conditions. The president,
after expressing pride in the fact that
he is an honorary member of the
brotherhood of locomotive hremen,
says in part:
Throughout my whole term as presi-
dent l have devoted myself with espe
cial interest to the questions affecting
labor. The lasting prosperity Of this
country rests upon the welfare of the
wage worker and the welfare of the
tiller OF the soil. No consideration of
party fealty or personal friendship
would induce me TO advise either
farmer or workingman to do anything
that was not for his permanent benefit.
WITH ltllS ldCL hGenly DG1OTe Iuo, L
earnestly advise all workingmen, in
their own interests as workingmen,
but above all, as American citizens
concerned in. the honor and the pros
perity of this great, free republic, to
support Mr.. Taft for president, just as
l advise all farmers, businessmen and
men Of the professions.
TAFT FRIEND OF LABOR
1 do not believe that the wage work
ers of this country have ever had
friend in n White
Mr.. Taft viii prove to be. He has al
ready shown his faith by his deeds. In
the matter of the injunctions he issued
he was absolutely right, and the prin-
ciples he laid down in those injunctions
have since then been accepted by every
worthy leader of labor, and they are
embodied in the principles and practices
of all the railroad brotherhoods at the
present day. The abuses of Injunction
have been fearlessly exposed and at
tackled by Mr.. Taft. Let me give. you
an example of what he has just done:
year or so ago the editor of the
paper specially devoted to the iron
molderS union called upon me TO say
that a decree had been entered in the
United States circuit court at Mill
waulxee in the summer of 1906 which
he regarded as grossly unjust and inn
proper and as practically fatal to trades
unionism. The case was that of the
iron molders' union against the Allis-
Chalmers company of Milwaukee. The
members of the union, having made
certain demands for the betterment of
their conditions of service, which were
refused, went on strike, and an in
junction suit followed in the United
States circuit court.
DRASTIC INJUNCTION
The late employees were enjoined from
alleged illegal interference. The final
decree was of the most drastic and far
reaching character, and, besides en-
joining the late employees from doing
acts which were clearly illegal. it also
ri 1nd r1J for Of
ing, from inducing employees to leave
the service of the Allis-C Chalmers COM
pany by persuasion or otherwise, and
from any kind of interference with the
company, direct or indirect. So sweep
ing were the terms of this injunction
that it practically forbade the union
from making any effort, no matter how
peaceful and proper, to maintain their
position in this trade dispute.
The editor Of the Iron Molders' Jour-
nal, Mr.. ]. p. Fry, brought the case
not know what to do; that its funds
were limited; that he felt that they
were suffering from gross injustice
which they We're powerless to remedy.
to lay the case before him, as, Of
course, Mr. Taft was far more compe-
tent than | was to express his judg-
ment as to the legality and propriety
of the action taken.
TAFT LENDS HIS AID
and at once became exceedingly indig-
nant at such an injunction having is
sued He stated that in his opinion
the position taken by the court in is
suing the Injunction was clearly un-
tenable and that what was needed was
that the union should get some first
class lawyer to represent them and
should bring the case before the higher
courts. He suggested, in response to
Mr. Fry's request, that the union retain
Mr.. Il. n. Judson of St Louis, who had
represented the brotherhood of loco
motive firemen in the Wabash case in
thor of the Review of the Labor De-
cisions of Judge Taft" published in the
Review of Reviews in 1907.
Mr. Taft explained that one of the
troubles of the labor unions was that
so often they did not get the best of
counsel SO that their cases Were not
properly presented and that in his
Judgment Mr.. Judson would be sure to
present this case Alright. He stated
that the decision of the court ought
certainly to be in their favor. The
case was argued before the United
States circuit court of appeals by Mr.
Judson and Mr.. Rubin of Milwaukee
for the union and by Mr.. James NJ
Beck, COUNSEL for the National Manu-
facturers' association, for the company
COURT JUSTIFIES TAFT
The decision of the court was handed
down in Chicago on the Sth day of this
month and it justifies Judge Taft's
wisdom, for it sustains the most inn
portant contentious of the labor unions
The court holds that while, under the
facts of the case. the company was en-
titled to some Injunction relief. the
decree went far beyond the proper linn
its 1t struck out of the decree all of
the provisions which prevented peace
full picketing or the exercise of the
right of persuasion in inducing en-
ployes to join the strike. and also the
reference to boycotting on the ground
that there was no boycott, as the MEM
fuse to handle struck work-that is.
the work from a factory where they
were on strike-wherever they
found it.