The morning journal-courier., 1908-09-11
CANNON FIRES ON DEMOCRATS RECORD Speaker Opens Campaign for Re Election by Attacking
 Attitude Toward
 Labor. AND ANSWERS G0MPERS Lack of Labor Legislation in Demo. cratic States Significant of
 Party's Real Intcn-
 tions.
AND ANSWERS GoMPERs

Danville, H., Sept 1o,--speaker Joseph G. Cannon of the national house of representatives. opening his campaign for reelection to congress from the Eighteenth district of llli- nois, tonight delivered q speech doal- ing with the leading issues of the ne tional campaign. devotne tonsidera- ble attention to William l. Bryan an | to Samuel Gompers. The speech n part took the form of a reply to Mr. Gompers' attack on Speaker Cannon, made In speech in Danville on l.n- bor day.
 In leading up to .cp.y to MT. Con- pers, Mir. Cannon said the two para mount issues in this campaign were the tariff, and the integrity and indc- pendence of the judiciary.
 Mir Gompers complains, said Speaker Cannon that the supreme court of the United States ms placed new Interpretation on the sherman antitrust law in the decision of the Danbury matters case. Mir. Gonpers is mistaken. Like other spe 'ial plead CTS he puts Into that decision things that were not written. or decided, or considered The matters ease was a complaint against an interstate bow colt. The American Federation If Labor had ordered boycott through out the United States against the Dan bury hat manufacturers. because of a refusal to unionize their shops. Tho complaint was against the boycott as restraint of interstate c,,mmerce, and In defiance Of the sherman law. The case was decided on that ground. and the opinion of the supreme court sustained the decision of the lower court on that ground. Mir. Gonpers says that this decision for the first time brings the labor unions under the restrictions of the Sherman law. He is mistaken. The United States courts, district and circuit, have In numerous cases held that the law ap- piled to labor organizations. In the opinion Of the supreme court. chisf Justice Fuller. democrat cited ses- eral of these decisions
 Ton Labor day, Mir Gompers ad- dressed the citizens Of Danville. I am informed that he. paid his re- poets to me This was his privilege as an American citizen. The offense that brings me under his ,ondemns- ton is that as a representative Tn congress and speaker of the house. have refused to take orlers from him, and to agree to scheme of leg islaton which would make one law for one set of American citizens and an other law for all other citizens.
 Mir Cannon asked what the dem ocratic party had done for labor He said that of the many statutes for the benefit of labor the great majority had been passed when the republicans were in control He cited many labor laws passed by the republicans in cluding the eignt-hour law. the anti immigration law, against Chinese, the prohibition of convict labor, the safe ty appliance laws. the employers lia- bility law and many others.
 If the working man wants fur tner llluStrdtlon. salu MT, cannon, 'as to where labor laws have been enacted, let him 30 over labor legis- lation of the various states. He will find that they. are. most efficient in the states of the north and the west where republicans have been in con trol and least effective in the south where the democratic party has had undisputed control for many years IL is from the south that come the complaints of convict labor competing with free labor of violation of the peonage laws of lack of laws for the protection of workers in mines and factories and Of long hours of labor without regulation and also of child labor. If the democratic party should come into control of the federal gov ernment, It would be the mem bcrs from the south who would control the democratic caucus in the house of representatives and the organization of committees in the senate. just as they have controlled in every dem mo- cratic administration since the civil war;