New-York tribune., 1908-12-24
-yr 1,RoR LEADERS, SENTENCES.

Il
The exemplary sentences which j udse 'lNHl
has inst pronounced were called for by lne goli-
6,c+ Of the defendants President FonpeFs'
vioe-Presidert Mitchell and Secretary Morrison
Of the American Federation Of LABOR MoIe
,+,,5ia7 7,arsisrenr deliberate contempt of court
+ban theirs was probably never shown ne"
+,a Ruck Stove and Range Company began Us
s17ir 70 enfoin the officials of the American t
( .-.-fo7 from continuing their boycott Mr. tom
Ders and his associates. through their puoipC"
lions and their speeches. announced their III
tention 10 disobey an injunction II one Sno'iu
be granted Mr.. Gompers said;
When II comes 10 a choice between surrenoer-
ing nv rights as free American clIzeIl o. ~
ia+ir1g -7e Injunction OF the courts, 90 nol nesl
1are to say that 7 shall exercise my tights -
I between the Two.
In his publication he sought TO lh11nie Hls -o'
lowers vxf7b s similarly lawless temper 20 u
r-f+T ro71- iriuncrions.' he wrote n his
~Federationist' an expression when Ne SUI
saouau1fv explained on the witness STAND as
o,71fvaIenr 10 go TO with your n5uncIlohs-
which he had seen in classic works me uL-
familiarity of his followers with bllza DFtN
an literature however. led them 10 nlSuLue--
stand il
decision and the day when the ln1'lht.''l We
ear7a onerarfve. The defendants issued copy oi
..T-ha Fada-a-ioufSr' containing the usual boy
,o-- declaration against the stove company. ana
-ba- continued 70 sell that issue after the VIII
became operative After The writ became oEeT-
alive the officers including Mitchell, issued a1
Urgent Appeal saying. among oJher IhlA%S-
This Injunction cannot compel union men OF
their friends 70 buy The BUCK stoves anu
.--anres " reminding them that "tAe company
continues in its hostile attitude 10 labor ana uI-
ing them 10 exercise their right TO purchase
.or nor 70 purchase the Buck stoves ana
..-anees." In other words, they fatty violated
-he Injunction and encouraged the continuance
OF the bovcorr. Then al indianapolis The JnlIed
Mine Workers with John Mitchell presiding
nsssed q resolution bovcotting the Buck com
rsnv and providing for the fine Of any member
n77ving its products GOmpers- il the mean
while AT every labor mass meeting be at
tended. told his followers that. injunction or no
Injunction. he did not propose 10 buy a BUCK
stove finally. AZ indianapolis, declaring thai
ne was in contempt; that he would explode II
he did not say these things, but between gong
70 7aiI and exploding he would ra ther 20 70 jail
His conduct and that Of his associates JusuHed
me words Of Mr.. James N. Beck. the counsel
for Buck Stove and Range Company;
In al ny ezperience-and I have had some
twenty-five years at the bari have never
known men 10 trv with pickaxe and spade 10
break into prison in the way Goupers. Mitchell
and Morrison have in this case
These men exhibited what the coCrI u--
77ouureS as utter rampant insOlent defiance.
.-1n-efned insult coarse affront." vulgar in
dignity" No court could tolerate It As Judge
Wright said:
Before the Injunction was granted these men
announced -ha- neither they nor the American
Federation NJ Labor would obey Il, since II Is
sued rnev have refused 10 obey IL and through
the American Federation Of Labor disobedlence
has been successfully achieved and the law has
been made 20 fail. not only has the law failed
II 5-s efforts TO arrest q widespread wrong. but
the injury has grown more destructive since the
Injunction than L was before. There Is q stud
the light of 0uer daE. between the DEGREES oT @
. tribunal ordained by the government ot the fed
e-aT Union and ~ The tribunals OF another fedeT-
alton grown up in rle land one or the other
must succuUl0. -s- those v-1o would uElaw the
. land are public enemies
They set themselves UP over the courts as an
authority Oh the Constitution. but their DreteEt
thar the constitutional guarantee Of free speech
and Tree press insured the right 10 destroy
regulations and property as they were doing is
the fimsiesr possible. With Gompers. Oh his
record as a labor leader. there is NO room for
sympathy. now thar he faces the natural con
sequences OF his lawiessness. Mitchell had
seemed 70 stand IN q class apart from Gompers,
saner and more lav-abiding. bur he is IN this
studied affrOur TO the courts as deeply as the
others. # they stood for better cause they
would still deserve exemplary punishment Bu1
they stand for bad cause-in particular boy
corr in support Of q local union which violated
its contract. and in general q combination TO
ers excluded from iJs rolls.