The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-11
GOVERNMENT BY INJuNCTIoN.

The friends of Secretary of War Taft have reason to encourage re- sponsible organizations in their habit of questioning him upon his views to- wards matters and issues in which they are interested. As institutions whose members are asked to support | him in his quest for the presidency | they are entitled to know his attitude, | as a candidate for the presidency he | should be willing to have it known | exactly where he stands on such mat ters. The country would excuse him from answering letters and communi- cations which were obviously phrased to unhorse him, just as the country will grow to like him better as if the more clearly understands the certain ty with which his mind works.
 In a letter to the Ohio Federation of Labor, in response to letter which he received from its secretary, MT Taft discusses with his customary clear ness and simplicity what has come to be known as government by injunc- ton Not all candidates for office would advance so boldly upon a ques ton which has come to be almost | fetish with certain glb-tongue per I formers. He gives no sign of being made the least bit nervous by it. As lawyer he must have settled con- victions as to the use Of the injunction the bench he knows exactly the rela- tion the courts bear to it's use In stead of laying down the extreme view that the country would go straight to the how-wows if the law as it is was amended, or approving the other extreme view that human liberty de- ponds upon the repeal of the law, he
 docs just what might have been ex-
 pected of him He shows wherein the
 
 advocates of both extremes do moi
 value at its true weight an injunction
 process which carefully protects thu rights of all concerned without undue end unjust discrimination He agree,
 that certain amendments would bt satisfactory to him and admits tha
 in given instances the process ha
 been abused He assents 10 the pro
 posal te have the law define the scop
 of the restraining order and the righ
 Of the enjoined to he heard befor
 coming under the terms of the law
 and in ether respects discloses tha
 broad catholicity of judgment whic
 is characteristic of him
 It is not easy to estimate the valu
 of this letter from the point of vic
 of the influence it must have in cor
 recting an utterly false understandir of the law of ir,juncticn Nor is
 easy to estimate the harm that ht
 been done by the persistent chars
 that it is an instrument expressly d
 signed to place the worldngman
 the mercy of the employer. One of Il
 weakest blanks in Democratic pla
 forms and in MT, Bryans policies : this condemnation without reservatif l. of the power of injunction. Ii h; s hee = abused and 1t has been abused. rigl - here in the state of Connecticut TT - right to enioin has been granted, v Connecticut judges upon scale e restraint out of all proportion to fri '' government, when the same rest 's could have baen secured and Il III same protection offered had the q 'o fendant been granted a hearing h 's fore the law had been applied. It h le and elsewhere which has given to [ '- movement to destroy inc law e- fierce momentum. It has been easy 'e play upon the emotions of the re' rs less and discontented and still easI as to appeal to the downtrodden VI sE take to nothing quite so sympatheti 'ie ally as 2 promise that certain acti '' will lead them ont of the wildern, ey of distress The lavless element h tu from the first been behind the denu
 ciation. Now Mir Taft comes to f
 rescue with suggestions and adm
 sions which if adopted would reno ;- the evil of wholesale denunciation U
 dertaken for the expressed object
 catching votes, and not for the obi'
 of strengthening the forces of |
 and order and to give ample and edl ch protection to all parties to legal e all troversy or a misunderstanding D. tween capital and labor
 -al It is inconceivable that the lsw to injunction will ever be repealed WI he will happen and what ought to h; " pen is its modification in a way th. equally safeguard the rights of Am .d- ican citizens in every walk of life q should not be permitted to exist so tan instrument to which either pa my to a quarrel can appeal in order nd uniust1r embarrass the action of to other and to give either side an lu- due advantage This done, and il ral this Mr Taft approves. all cause ss- fair complaint will be removed -en q principle useful in itself presery of This attitude should appeal stron zen 10 the wage-earners of the count