Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1908-04-10

seems to Justify the presidents asser-
ton. But the interesting point is that
my informant came away from the
White House with the very fixed opin-
ion that the president was not hopeful
Of the election of Taft, however hope
full he might be Of his nomination. In
deed, it is the belief among keen poll
ticians about the capitol that the
chances for the success of any Repub-
lican this year are so exceedingly small
that a gentleman with the spectacular
instincts of Mr. Roosevelt would be
quite likely first to seek the credit Of
nominating a successor even though
he might possibly fail, then make
regal tour of Europe and return to
politics four years hence to become the
savior of his party and his nation from
Democratic rule.
1t sounds much like Roosevelt No
man in public life is more thoroughly
self seeking than he, and none plays
shrewder politics. The close of his adj
miniStration finds the country facing a
business depression such as has not
been known since 1898. 1t followed
upon a panic which paralleled the one
which nearly fifteen years ago was
charged to Democratic policies. Mr..
Roosevelt has had for seven years al
most unhampered control of the gov,
eminent of this nation. He has had
congress which, while Of late covertly
hostile, was long only too eager to do
his bidding. His party and himself are
responsible for the business situation
i'll the United States today, which led
more than $4,000 people in New York
on a recent Saturday to join il a dem
Onstration for the unemployed. MI.
Roosevelt is a shrewd politician. lie
knows that the times are precarious
for his party and even more doubtful
for himself. To thrust forward the
good humored Taft would mean that
in the doubtful result of success he
would be hailed as the sponsor of the
successful candidate, while defeat
would merely eliminate Taft, but leave
the only living Republican eX-president
in a position to seek the limelight in
other fields of activity and return TO
plague his party once again. This is
the feeling among, should say, almost
a majority of the Republicans in the
house and senate. To any one who has
studied the Roosevelt character and
career it sounds like plausible expla-
nation of his present attitude.
The Black List and the Boycott
Much Of the pressure being brought
to bear upon congress for a radical
amendment of the Sherman antitrust
law is due to the belated discovery OF
the large corporate employers of labor
that some of the decisions recently
rendered in courts against unions
which have attempted to boycott goods
manufactured by certain firms may be
appealed to by unions to destroy those
corporations which are maintaining Il
black list, so called, of wOrkingmen.
For a time members of labor unions
who had any property whatsoever
were panic stricken after the decision
Of the Danbury hatters. One of them
said to me a few days after that deci-
sion: Il belong to union, and l must
belong to a union to work at my trade
and secure fair wages. l own a little
house, but under this decision if my
union shall compel me and my fellows
to strike and advise a boycott of the
goods of the firm for which we have
been working l am made individually
liable. The firm could select such
members of the union as it knew were
at all financially responsible and strip
them Of their property"
1t seemed like a hard case, and I'M
der the decisions as they now stand it
is a possible one now But the very
employers who are fighting the boycott
and the concerted strike do maintain
black lists. The heads of the labor I'M
ions have within the past few days
secured legal advice to the effect that
any union whose members are dis
eliminated against because of their
membership in that union can proceed
against the corporation which has
blacklisted them. Of course what a
court will do is not determined until
the court has done it, but it is alto
gether probable that within a few days
the unions will strike back, particular
ly the unions of railroad employees,
through the courts and secure a spe-
cific decision as to whether the black
list is more lawful than the boycott.
AS matter of fact, the employing cor
porations themselves are afraid to
meet the issue, feeling sure that they
would be defeated in it. 1t is for that
reason that they are trying to push
through new labor legislation and are
willing to make almost every conces-
sion provided their right to maintain a
black list be guarded. The Democratic
members of the house have been warn
cd Of this purpose, and the proposed
legislation is likely to have a hard
time.
Washington, D. G.