The Glenwood post., 1908-10-24

WASHINGTON. Oct. 21-President
Roosevelt today gave out copy of the
following letter which he has sent to
Senator Philander C. Knox of Penn
sylvania, commencing Senator Knox s
speech on the labor question.
Ny Dear Senator Knox:-In your
admirable speech of yesterday, you
speak of the action of Mr. Bryan and
certain gentlemen claiming to be the
special representatives of organized la
bo., foremost among them Mr.. Comp
ers, to secure the support of laboring
men for Mr.. Bryan on consideration of
his agreement to perform certain acts
nominally in the interest of organized
labor, which would be really either
wholly ineffective or else widespread
injury not only to organized labor, but
to all decent citizens throughout the
country. You have peculiar right tn
speak in the labor questions; for it
was you who, as attorney general, first
actively invoked the great power of the
federal government on behalf of the
rights of labor when, for the first time
in the history of tho government, you
speaking for the department of justice
intervened in private lawsuit which
had gone against locomotive fireman
who had lost an arm in coupling ears,
and by your Intervention secured from
the supreme court n construction of the
safety appliance act which made it
vital remedial statute, and therefore
has secured to hundreds of crippled
employees and widows of crippled EN-
ploycs compensation which they would
not otherwise have obtained.
Gompers' Remarkable Letter.
The daily papers of Oct. 13 contain
an open letter from Samuel Gompers,
president of the American Federation
of Labor, appealing to workingmen to
vote for Mr.. Taft.
In that letter are certain definite
statements which interest the Ameri-
can public quite as much as those to
whom Mr.. Gompcrs makes his appeal.
These statements warrant all you have
said in your speech, and they would
warrant you in asking Mr.. Bryan to
say publicly whether Mr.. Gompers
states correctly the attitude of his
parry and himself on subject that is
of vital concern to every citizen, in.
cluding every business man, as well
as every farmer and every laborer who
looks to the courts for the protection
of his rights.
Mr.. Gompers, in his letter, asserts
that the judiciary of this country is
destroying Democratic government and
substituting therefor an irresponsible
and corrupt despotism in the interest
of corporate power. and he further
makes clear that the means of which
he believes this alleged despotism has
been set up in the place of democracy
is by the process of injunction in the
courts of equity.
MI. doHpeTS, III MS lcttti, statcS
that his appeals to the Republican con
vention at Chicago for remedy against
the injunction was denied, and he then
goes on to state not only that the
Democratic party promised remedy,
but promised him the particular rem
edy that he had already asked of con-
gress.
His words are: "Labor's represent
atives then went to the Democratic
party. That party made lal or's con
tentions its own. 1t pledged its can
didates for every office to those rene
dies which labor had already submit
ted to congress"
The last sentence in this quotation
indicates very definitely tho specifs
remedies 70 which Mr.. Gompers under