The sun., 1908-06-10

JAMIE NJ TAYLOR,
The emotions with which this document
has been read in the White House may be
magined It Ia true that the Bryan con-
vention OF 1896 did speak OF the court nterms
which to the judicious seemed dsrespectful.
There Is some warrant for the present memo
rial In this plank from Mr.. Bryans first
platform:
We denounce arbitrary Interference by Federal
authorities In local affairs viola ton OF the Con
stltutlon Of the United States and crime against
free Institutions, and we especially object to gov
ernment by Injunction as a new and highly dan.
gerous form OF oppression by which Federal Jud ges
In contempt of the laws OF the States and rights OF
citizens. become at once legislators. Judges and
exccutloners: and approve the bill passed In the
last session OF the United States Senate and now
pending In the House OF Represent tatives relative
TO contempts In Federal courts and providing
for trials BY jury In certain Of contempt.
But WAS it the fear that this attack upon
the courts made twelve years ago might be
repeated by the Democrats this year that
moved these memorialists to address the
convention? We're they thinking OF Denver
or of Chicago? President Roosevelt, as the
public well remembers, has upon occasion
hat freely spoken his mind about the
courts He was cold and critical in his com
ments upon one of the decisions In the beef
trust cases. In his message OF January 81
last. referring to the injunction process when
strikes he said:
But there is no question Ia my mind that II has
sometimes been used heedlessly and unJustly and
that some OF the injunctIons Issued innict grave
and occasionally ifreparable wrong upon those
enJolned. II is indefrnsble for men TO be EN-
Joined from peacefully soliciting others to join a
labor union or under any ordinary circumstances
from withdrawing from the service OF any employer
In controversy arising In good faith as to the
terms Of their employment.
In the same message he declared that a
Judge who by misuse OF the process OF in
junction or by his attitude toward all meas
ures for the betterment of the conditions OF
labor makes the wage worker feel with bit
terness that the courts are hostile to him, or
who fails to realize that all public servants in
their several stations must strive to stop the
abuses OF the criminal rch-such q man per-
forms an even worse service to the body
polite than the legislator or Executive who
goes wrong"
That confidence which the memorlalists
say they feel in the integrity of the Justice
OF the courts. State and national" is not felt
in equal degree by the President lie is fun
or distrust OF the courts on their equity side
In England and In this country it has been
felt for some hundreds oil years that the
power OF the injunction process might be
vested in the courts without fear that, as the
President puts it, 1t would be used heed
lessly and unjustly" Mr. Roosevelt would
take away the Chancellor's pen, or at least
would prescribe within rigid limits how he
should use II in affiXinR his signature to orders
He has 80 often appealed to Congress to
modify the injunction power and his author
ity over the convention proceedings is pre-
sumably so great that but for this memorial
something about injunctions would very
likely have found its way into the platform.
1t remains TO be seen whether the petition OF
these eminent and respectable Republicans
will be thrown into the waste basket