Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-03-26
works BOTH Ways
NATIONAL CIVIC FEDERATION BILL
IS INTRODUCED.
The Ne aSure Relieves The StrinQenCv
of the Sherman Antitrust Law
so as to Permit Certain COmbina.
fiOnS ang Give Unions Right to
Strike.

WASHINGTON, ID. c., March "a
The bill prepared by the National
Civic Federation after conferences
with the president and representa-
tives of capital and labor to relieve
the stringency of the Sherman anti
trust law, was introduced in the
house today by Representative Hep
burn of Iowa, chairman of the COM
mittee on interstate and foreign COM
merce. 1t was referred by Speaker
Cannon to that committee for consid-
Grafton and report and it is under
stood that President Roosevelt will,
in message to congress, make rec
| concentrations concerning it. =:
One of the most Interesting sec.
tions of the federation hil is that
which seeks to relieve organized la
Dor from the suppressive effects OF
the recent supreme court decisions,
declaring labor unions to be conspir-
acies in restraint of trade and there
fore unlawful. The bill broadly
their right of peaceful existence, in
Guiding the right to strike but leav-
ing them still amenable to the Sher-
man act in the matter of boycotts,
picketing and similar coercive prac-
tices. The section is as follows:
Nothing in said act approved July
2, 1890, or in this act is intended,
nor shall any provision thereof here
after be endorsed so as to interfere
with, or to destroy any right of en-
ployes to strike for any cause or to
combine or to contract with each 9TH
er or with employers for the pur-
pose of peaceably obtaining from en-
ployers satisfactory terms for their
labor or satisfactory conditions of
employment, or so as to interfere
with or to restrict any right of en-
ployers for any cause to discharge all
bine or to contract with each other or
with employers for the purpose of
peacably obtaining labor on satisfac-
tory terms" =,
The bill does not attempt to change
the status Of anything condemned
as in restraint of trade under the
Sherman antitrust act; but it aims
to provide way by which, under GER
tain conditions, combinations and
contracts in restraint of. trade that
are not unreasonable may be saved
from attack. The benefits and immu-
mites offered by the proposed bill,
therefore, will be in the main con-
fined to those who register in accord
ance with the terms of the bill. Com
mon carriers may register with the
interstate commerce commission and
and all others with the commissioner
of corporations in the department of
commerce and labor. 1t is proposed
to amend section seven of the Sher-
man antitrust act by cutting out the
provisions of three-fold damages, re-
ducing the amount that can be coll
lected to simple damages under the
common law. Everybody, whether
registered or not, will get the benefit
of this provision.
Both corporations for profit and
having capital stock and also corpOr-
ations not for profit and not having
capital stock may register, but neith-
er are obliged to do so. This descrip-
tion is intended to include co-opera-
tive organizations, as well as busi-
ness corporations, agricultural and
labor organizations and the like. II
they do register, they get the benefits
of the act. If they do not register
they remain under the Sherman anti
trust law unamended
CAPT. STREAM ACQUITTED.