The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1908-03-21
Supreme Court and
The Trades Unions

land'-enacted by the courts but
not by Congress-the treasures of la
Dor unions are at all times subject to
raids by the predatory interests, and
union labor must henceforth wear
muzzles and gags
1t is to be noted that while the Su-
preme Court of the United States de-
] clares that a boycott of labor union
men against an employer is crime,
it legalizes a boycott of employers
against labor union men!
President Gompers of the American
! Federation of Labor, deserves great
praise for the manly and law-abiding
position he has taken in regard to
these decisions, especially in the Hat
ters' case and in the Injunction case
against himself. He protests against
their injustice, as he should protest,
but he says labor union men must
abide by and accept them until "the
supreme law of the land' as made by
| the federal courts is changed.
| The American Federationist for
March contains a symposium on the
Hatters case, written by twenty-five
men, twenty-three of whom are Off
GERS of labor unions, the other two
writer's being ex-United States Sena-
tor Henry W. Blair and Professor John
Bascom
| 1t is worthy of note that not one Of
the contributions to this symposium
| is of an 'incendiary' character There
are no threats of revolution, no talk OF
| overturning the government, no asser-
tions that I'VE will do as we damn
please, no. charges that the federal
courts are corrupt The decisions are
treated with all the courtesy they de-
serve.
| These decisions remind us forcibly
| of Jefferson's declaration that "the
| federal courts are the sappers and
miners of the constitution" They re-
! mind us of the wisdom of the constitu-
tional convention in refusing to place
in the constitution a provision permit
ting the supreme court to nullify law
Of Congress-; and they remind us of
the unwisdom Of congress in not put
tingting a stop to that business when
law of congress was first nullified by
the court.
| The most striking thing about the
symposium in the American Fedora
ZIONIST is the one thing overlooked by
all the writer's. They discuss means
by which labor unions may be rescued
from the trap in which the Federal
courts have placed them-but not one
mentions the one thing that the pre-
datory interests and the enemies of
labor unions most fear, the initiative
and referendum.
| Labor union leaders and members
propose to combat these adverse deci-
sions in a decent, orderly and law
abiding manner; and 1t is to their
credit that they take that position.
They propose to have Congress enact
laws for the protection of laboring
men.
| Congress should do that. But what
guaranty is there that after the new
legislation has been enacted the feder-
al courts will not set it aside as "un-
constitutional" There is no guaran-
| ty, and it Is mere guess what the
courts will hold in regard to par
ticular law. A case might arise in
vinced of the injustice and wholly
strained nature of a decision, might
say: "The court has rendered its de-
cis.on, now let the court enforce it's
own decision without the aid of the
executive
To use that power would establish
dangerous precedent; and we have
had more than enough dangerous
precedents set by presidents. In the
case of the Taff-Vale decision in Eng
land, similar to the Loewe decision in
the supreme court, the labor unions
went into politics, elected their own
members of parliament, and thus had
enacted a law oyerturning the deci-
sion
| But in England no court can over
turn a law of parliament There the
law of parliament is the supreme law
of the land; here the decision of the
supreme court is the supreme law of
the land even though our const:tu-
ton does not give to any court the
power of legislation.
The Star believes that labor unions
should "go into politics" for the init:a-
tive and referendum, not for Offices
The holding of offices will not cut the
claws of the predatory interests; but
their claws can be cut and their teeth
pulled when the people have the ini-
| tiativa and referendum San FRO ncis