The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1908-03-27
bInatlon complained of was unfair or


| brought by the government under the
antitrust law have been in cases where
| the combination or contract was in
| fact unfair, unreasonable and against
| the public interest
Should Encourage Just Agreements.
1t is important that we should en-
CORE &c trade agreements between en-
| p!oyCr ana employee where they are
| just and fair. \ strike is a clumsy
weapon for rlghting wrongs done to
| labor, ana we should extend, so far as
| possible. the process of Cancellation
| and arbitration as substitute for
| 5trlkeS. Moreover, violence, disorder
and coercion, when committed in con-
| nection with strikes, should be as
promptly and as sternly repressed as
when committed in any other connec-
ton. But strikes themselves are ahd
SHOULD be recognized to be entirely
! legal. Combinations of workingmen
| have IA peculiar reason for their eX-
| istence. The very wealthy individual
employer, and still more the very
wealthy corporation, stand at an
enormous advantage when compared
| to the individual workingman, and,
while there are many cases where it
| may not be necessary for laborers to
| form a union, in many other cases it is
| Indispensable, for otherwise the thou
| sands of small units, the thousands of
individual workingmen, will be left
helpless in their dealings with the one
| big unit, the big individual or corporate
employer.
Trades Unions.
Twenty-Five years ago, by the act of
June 20, 1886, trades unions were rec
| ognized by law, and the right of la
| boring people to combine for all lawful
purposes was formerly recognized, this
| right including combination for mutual
protection and benefits, the regulation
| of wages, hours and conditions of la
Dor and the protection of the individual
| rights of the workmen in the prosecu-
| ton of their trade or trades, and in the
| act Of June /. 1898, strikes were rec
| ognized as legal in the same provision
| that forbade participation in or instiga-
| ton Of force or violence against per-
| sons or property or the attempt to pre-
vent others from working by violence,
threat or intimidation. The business
| man must be protected i'm person and
property, and so must the farmer and
| the wageworker, and as regards all
| alike the right of peaceful combination
| for all lawful purposes should be ex-
plicitly recognized.
Right to Combine Recognized.
The right of employers to combine
| and contract with one another and
| with their employees should be eXplic-
| lily recOgniZed,and so should the right
| of the employees to combine and to
| contract with one another and with
| the employers and to seek peaceably to
persuade others to accept their views
| and to strike for the purpose of peace
ably obtaining from employers salts
| factory terms for their labor. Nothing
should be done to ,legaliZe either Il
| blacklist or a boycott that would be
| illegal at common law, this being the
| type Of boycott defined and condemned
by the anthracite strike commission.
| to act Immediately after 1t comes into
existence. This would necessitate some
| action by the congress at its present
session, perhaps in the shape of direct
ing the proper committee to gather the
necessary information, both through
| the committee itself and through gov.
eminent agents who should report to
| the committee and should lay before |,
| the facts which would permit it to act
with prompt and intelligent fairness,
These government agents, if it is not
deemed wise to appoint individuals
from outside the public service, might
with advantage be members of the ex.
ecutive departments, designated by the
president on his own motion or on the
request Of the committee to act with 1t.
For Free Wood Pulp.
l am of the opinion, however, that
one change in the tariff could with adj
vantage be made forthwith Our for
ests need every protection, and one
method of protecting them would be
to put upon the free list wood pulp,
with a corresponding reduction upon
paper made from wood pulp when they
come from any country that does not
put an export duty upon them.
Permanent Waterways Commission.
Ample provision should be made for
a permanent waterways commission,
with whatever power is required to
make it effective. The reasonable ex-
pectation Of the people will not be met
unless the congress provides at this
session for the beginning and prosecu-
ton of the actual work of waterway
improvement and control. The con-
gress should recognize in fullest fash
ion the fact that the subject of the
conservation of our natural resources
with which this commission deals is
literally vital for the future of the ma
ton.
National Water Power.
Numerous bills granting water pow
er rights on nav igable streams have
been introduced. None of them give
the government the right to make
reasonable charge for the valuable priv
ileges SO granted, in spite of the fact
that these water power privileges are
equivalent to many thousands of acres