New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-10-27

| EVening-Madison Square Garden.
is question of vital Importance to the hundred
thousand railway employees in this state a.
they are prohibited from Baying unions to raise
wages or from appealing to Congress for that PuT-
pose under pain OF instant dismissal. CndOubted-
~ under government ownership the different unions
Of railway men like brotherhood OF Locomotive
Engineers, Of Locomotive Fireuen OF Conductors,
Of Trainmen and Of Switchmen, which are the best
Of labor organizations, would be instantly dissolved
The pay. in countries where government ownership
exists to railway employees I'm every grade Is about
one-thrd what It IS in the United States; A strike
Of government employees is crime, bat lawful un,
b@ J GSFPor TSff ownership 0S decision
One other view The taxes and assessments paid
by the railroads in the State of New York amount
annually to S5.500OO0 In the towns through which
f f a4payr run Th amount ocay relieves to
large extent the taxes of the farmers and builds
pays no taxes upon its property, and, therefore.
Villages and cites Would under government own
ershp be assessed upon the houses and lands Of the
Under President Harrison the sherman Anti
corporatons and the prevention Of monopolies It
vas not II operation during CleT Gland adIAinis
cleared by brilliant decision in the Circuit Court
weapon for the curbng Of trusts and the proven
ton Of mcnopoies, and was so used By Mckinley
and Roosevelt.
Simon F Rothschtld presided at the meeting
and made a brief address in introducing Sena-
tor Deliver. of Iowa, VIII orepudiated report
that he had said that God had made the trusts
ACADEMY OF MUSIC MEETING.
! It was fully ten minutes before the four thou
! sand men and women in the Academy Of Music
/ would let Mr.. Taft speak when he got there.
| long after II o'clock BY that time Mr. Taft
was hoarse. but he spoke for nearly an hour on
the labor question. defending the use OF the in
/ junction in proper cases. upholding The dignity
/ Of the courts and exploding the claims Of Com
! pers and the Democratic candidates.
There is one subject dear TO my heart and
= one on which I would like to speak if l had
time" said Mr.. Taft. when the cheers had sub
sided And that is labor"
60 on" yelled the crowd, one crying,
We stay all night.
Perhaps you can" Mr. Taft replied to him,
/ but perhaps you have not been sleeping on
train for thirty days. have" Mr. Taft then
said:
/ There has been projected into this campaign
not by the Republican party but by gentlemen
! pUrpOrLn3 to represent the wage earning class
issues supposed 70 peculiarly affect them. MI
Samuel Gompers, who is the heaa or the amer
{ lean Federation Of Labor has delivered-I must
! use parliamentary language, sir-has delivered
the labor vote of this country into the POCKET OF
/ Mr.. Bryan. Well he has attempted TO do II;
! then, l VIII put il that way And IL has been
/ my earnest and humble effort in going about
/ the country point out that the laboring men
/ of this country too indulgcnt and too indie
! pendent and too patriotic to be handed over by
! any labor leader to any party on any issue.
Now. the national government has jurisdic-
ton with respect to labor that is quite limited;
( il can only pass general labor statutes. where
/ il has exclusive jurisdiction. like that OF the
/ District of Columbia. 1t only pass labor
statutes affecting particular classes Of employees,
! like government Workmen and employees and like
/ the employees of Interstate railways. Now.
! within that narrow jurisdiction the Republican
/ party. and especially the administration o. Mr.
/ Roosevelt. has placed upon the. statute book
/ eight ten most important statutes in giving
/ to labor an equality and level in dealing be
~ ,ifSts ,T,l.n ,ly,r-4
/ In General Grants time they passed an eight
hour Jaw. In General Harrison's time they
passed the safety appliance act, requiring the
railways To put into operation the automatic
brake and the automatic coupler. in order to
duCe that shocking list of loss of life that ought
! 10 make US all ashamed as We read II among
/ the railway employees. Then they passed the
! sixteen hour bill. bill intended to limit the
/ continuous service of employees on the railways
/ one that believe has not worked quite we'll
. but the purpose Of il IS plain that doubI less
with amendments il can be made TO work we'll
/ Then they passed the arbitration act, by which
railway employees and employers may invoke an
/ official arbitration ip respect Of differences IN
. terms OF employment. They passed the model
/ child labor law for the District OF Columbia.
They passed an act providing for compensation
to government workmen for injuries received
/ through the negligence of superior officers.
! Heretofore it has been principle OF the com
mon law and governmental law that the gov
/ eminent IS not at all responsible for any injury
/ suffered by government emplOye.
/ NY own judgment IS that there is not the
/ slightest reason why the government, in EN-
. plOylnS WOrkmen, SnOuld not ne put on eNdClly
the same basis as any private corpora ton and
that ii should be made responsible. This new
act just passed does not make the compensa-
ton adequate. but it recognizes the principle,
and | have no doubt that in the next Congress
! or .in some future Congress early in the future
the whole system Will be adopted as In respect
/ to private corporations.
NO HELP FROM DEMOCRATS.
All these things have been passed by tie Re
publican party. In the eight years of the Dem
/ ocratic administration out of fOrty-eight not a
single line Of legislation has been put upon
the statute books with reference to labor.
: say. therefore, in point of deeds done, of bene-
fits conferred, OF actual statutes put upon the
/ statute docks there il not any comparison ne
/ tween what labor owes TO the Republican party
and what II owes To the Democratic party zap
! plause) and that when history IS To determine
the support Of labor should be given to the Re
publican partyA
! But il is said that the attitude of the Repub-
/ Hcan party is not favorable To labor in the
/ matter of iniunctlons and that especially the
candidate OF the Republican party. in the mat
ter OF iniunctions shas shown himself an enemy
OF labor in every way Well that hits pretty
/ hard. / "A Judge FOR twelve years on the
bench ( not running for the Presidency
! didn't expect 10 yield TO amy sucty weak
ness. Perhaps IL / had anticipated such a night