The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-24
Civic Federation BiI Introduced
 In the House
LABOR UNIONS RELIEVED
Bill Aims To Restore To Unions the Right of Peaeeable Existence, Including Right To Strike,
 But Barring Boycotts.

Washington, March 23.-The bill pre-
 pared by the National Civic Federation
 after conferences with the President and
 representatives of capital and labor to
 relieve the stringency of the Sherman ! antitrust law, was introduced in the
 House today by Representative Hepburn
 of Iowa, chairman of the committee on
 interstate and foreign commerce. It was
 referred by Speaker Cannon to that com
 mittee for consideration and report, and | it is understood that President Roosevelt | will in a message to Congress make
 recommendation concerning it. There is
 no information on which to frame pre-
 dction of the failure or success of the |
 bill in the House, nor will there until |
 hearings have been given by commit | tee. Party leaders today professed to be | | wholly ignorant of the details of the bill | and to have only a general understand 1 ing of it's purpose.
 l One of the most interesting sections of | the federation bill is that which seeks to l
 relieve organized labor from the suppress l
 sive effects of the recent supreme court i | decision declaring labor unions to be con |
 spiracies in restrain of trade and there- |
 fore unlawful. The bill, broadly speak ,
 ing. aims to restore to unions their right |
 of peaceable existence, including the right | | to strike, but leaving them still amen
 able to the Sherman act in the matter Of
 boycotts picketing and similar coercive | practice.
 The section Is as follows:
 .iNothing in said act approved July ?,
 1890. or in this act is intended or shall any provision thereof hereafter be en-
 forced, so as to interfere with. or to re-
 strict any right of employees to strike TOT
 any cause or to combine or to contract
 with each other or with employers, Tor
 the purpose of peaceably obtaining rom
 employers satisfactory terms for the labor |
 or for the satisfactory conditions or em-
 ployment or so as to interfere with or |
 restrict any right of employers for any l | cause to discharge all or any of their | | employees or to combine, or to contract |
 with each other or with employees, for
 the purpose of peaceably obtaining lapor
 on satisfactory terms" |
 Origin of the Bill. In October, 1907, conference was heio | at Chicago on the subject Of trusts ana |
 combinations, under the auspices or the | National Civic Federation This con1er- | ence was attended by delegates appoint | cd hy the governor of almost every state | | in the union, and by many important | commercial agricultural and labor or | ganizations. At this conference certain | | resolutions on the subject of trusts were | adopted. and a committee was appointed | to nresent the resolutions to the Presi- | dent and Congress. The subcommittee l charged with this duty brought about the | nresentation of these resolutions to both
 houses of Congress In February by the | courtesy of the chairman of the commit | tee on interstate commerce, senator Ei- l kins. in the Senate, and of Colonel Hep burn, chairman of the committee on in- terstate and foreign commerce, In the | Uouse At the time when these resoiu- | lions were presented both of these gen. tlemen asked the subcommittee to pre- ! pare a bill embodying the views or those whom they represented. The bill so pre- pared Is enttled An act to regulate | commerce among the several states or
 with foreign nations, and to amend the | act approved July 2, 1890 entitled: An | act to protect trade and commerce against | unlawful restraints and monopolies. | The act which it Is proposed to amend 1 is popularly known as the Sherman anti l trust law The bill has been prepared | under the auspices of the Nationa CIVIC | Federation, in consultation on the one | hand with the President and other exec | | utive officers of the government, and on | | the other hand with representatives or | l the business and railroad interests or the | country and of organized labor Ine CT
 fort has been to prepare olii Wnich m | it's general scheme would command tne | support of the President, and which Wouio 1 deal with all interests affected oy the | Sherman antitrust law falrly. ana SD l far as conditions would permit, Tn the | same way summary Of the measure l thus prepared follows herewith
 Summary of the Bill. | | The Sherman antitrust law forbids | l all contracts or combinations or conspira- | 1 cies in restraint of trade. and any monop- l | olizing of or attempt to monopolize trade. ! 1 The first six sections of the act deal with 1 l the powers of the government in rela- | l tion thereto. The seventh and last sec | | ton of the act gives private parties l
 right to sue and to collect three-fold dam- | ] ages 1 2. The United States supreme court, by | l a long series of decisions. has held that l l this law applies to common carriers, to | l business corporations and to business | 1 men. and also to labor organizations and ! l to labor men. The supreme court has | also decided that any action in restraint l of trade. so far as it applies to interstate | 1 commerce, is unlawful. whether such &C., l tion be reasonable or not. 1 g. The bill submitted by the National | l Civic federation does not attempt to | change the legal status of anything con | l demned as in restraint of trade under | l the Sherman antitrust act: but it aims l to provide way by which, under certain l | conditions, combinations and contracts Tn l restraint of trade that are not unreason- | | able may be saved from attack. The ben | | efits and immunites offered by tine pro- l
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