Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1908-01-03

TIT C&ANAC wy NVtt'
The case grew out of the publication
in the American Federationist and
some other labor publications of lists
of what are called a'unfair shops"
The publication of these lists means
merely that workingmen are urged
by indirection not to buy goods at the
places named. There are other organ
izations trying to influence public SEN
timent In the same way-for, example,
the Consumers league, not at all made
up of organized labor, but of people
who are trying to influence public SEN
timent against stores that employ chill
dren under age or subject women
clerks to intolerable conditions and ex-
act hours of labor always repugnant
to any true ethical sense and often in
fat violation of the state law. The Ia
Dor papers, being more militant, print
what might be called a ''black list"
The Consumers league more cautious
" prints a 'white list" giving the
names of the stores that are fair. 1t
might be nice question to determine
whether, three men being present, a
fourth should select one and say, "You
at least are not thief, and / pick you
out as the only one who is not" it
would not be quite as much of an at
tack on the two others as If he had
charged them with stealing.
Be that. as it may, the supreme judge
Of the District of Columbia has issued
an injunction against the American
Federationist restraining it from pub
fishing unfair lists. His whole de-
cision is based upon one rendered by
Judge William Ell. Taft when circuit
judge in Ohio. Judge Taft then issued
an injunction prohibiting the mere ad-
vice by one member of an organization
to others that they should not deal
with certain hostile corporations. Mr..
Taft found in this a scandalOus viola
ton of the law. From this decision Of
his has proceeded the sweeping injunc-
ton issued by Justice Gould of the Dis
trict of Columbia supreme court. Those
who have read both cases can readily
understand why it is that Secretary
Taft went way down into Oklahoma in
order to argue in favor of the system
of government by injunction. His ar
guments there were not very satisfac-
tory to the people of the territory, for
they promptly overturned them by
some 10000 votes. He seems, how
ever, to have his admirers still in the
District of Columbia, who are willing
to take up the cause which he first
championed and to carry it to success
even though it mean the end OF organ
izations of labor or of purchasers.
Crusades and Crusaders.
On the wall of my Office is pasted a
rough reproduction of a cartoon from
London Punch representing President
Roosevelt mounted on a rocking horse,
clad in chain armor and waving d
sword. Under it is the legend, '"The
Stationary Crusader; Follow Me! OF
about $4,000 words to that effect" The
allusion to the presidents recent ency-
clopedic message is obvious.
The other day one of the keenest OBJ
servers of politics and of government
in the United States, former Senator
r. f. Pettigrew of South Dakota, stop
ping in to chat, looked at the cartoon
and was struck by its justice and its
humor. l do not profess to quote him
| literally, but he called attention to the
very little Roadway that had been
made in any of the reformatory cru
sades under this administration.
The whole country, he pointed out,
was lately much excited about the
beef trust So much interest has sell
dom been awakened by any series OF
investigations. What has happened
The packing houses have been washed
up and somewhat deodorized at public
expense, 1t is true, but the trust itself
exists 1t still fixes the price of beef
to the consumer and the price at which
the farmer must sell his cattle. The
extortions of private car lines, icing
charges and the like still are in force.
A federal judge in Chicago made
himself the most talked of man in the
United States by pressing fine Of $780,
OOO,OO upon a subordinate branch of
the Standard Oil company. Everybody
said the Standard Oil company was
ruined AS matter of fact, the fine is
uncollectible, as the company against
which it was assessed is capitalized
for only 100000. John D. Rockefel-
Ter goes untouched.
Senator Pettigrew, who has seen po-
litical events from inside and from
without and who has engaged in large
business enterprises and is SO engaged
today, hazarded the opinion that the
very barren results of all the Repub-
lican agitation of the last eight years
afforded a certain justification for the
acrid satire of the Punch cartoon.
Washington. n. n.