Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1908-12-10

property right, ard IL 4 second pro
vision their bin made legal in labor
dispute any act or All aeift By or
between two or mere persons that
would not have been psalsHyul If d9le
BY a single person. In other words,
this bill legalized blacklistilg and boy
getting ia every form The demand
was made that there should be trial
I by iury in contempt cases, thereby
most seriously impairing the authority
Of the courts. All this represented a
course of policy which. If carried out,
would mean the enthronement of class
| privilege in its crudest and most
brutal form and the destruction of
one of the most essential functions of
the judiciary in all civilized lands.
The wageworkers, the workingmen,
the iaboring men of the country. by the
way ia which they repudiated the eff
fort TO get them to cast their votes in
response to an appeal to class hatred
| have emphasized their sound patriotism
and Anericanism
Courts Innperiled by Judges.
But the extreme reactienaries. the
persons who blind themselves to the
wrongs now and then committed by
the courts on laboring men, should
also think seriously as to what such a
movement as this portends The
courts are jeoparded primarily by the
action of these federal and state
judges who show inability or unwill-
ingness to put a stop to the wrong
doing of very rich men under modern
| industrial conditions
There are certain decisions by va
rious courts which have been exceed
ingly detrimental to the rights of
wageworkers This is true of all the
decisions that decide that men and
women are by the constitution guar
anteed their liberty" to contract to
enter dangerous occupation. or TO
work an undesirable or improper num-
Der Of hours, or TO work in unhealthy
surroundings, and therefore cannot re-
cover damages when manned in that
occupation and cannot be forbidden
to work what the legislature decides is
an excessive number of hours. or to
carry on the work under conditions
| which the legislature decides to be un
healthy
There is also. think. ground for
| the belief that substantial injustice is
often suffered by employees in conse-
quence of The custom of courts issu
ing temporary injunctions without no
tice to them and Furnishing them for
contempt of court in instances where,
as a matter of fact, they have no
| knowledge of any proceedings. Pro-
vision should be made that no iniunc-
issue otherwise than on notice, except
| where irreparable injury would other
wise result. and in such ease Il hear
ing on the merits of the order should
be had within short fixed period.
and ii not then continued after hear
ing il should forthwith lapse Deci-
sions should be rendered Immediately
and the chance Of delay minimized in
every way
The courts are to be highly com
nended and stanchly upheld when
! they set their faces against wrong
doing or tyranny by a majority. but
| they are to be blamed when they
fail to recognize under government
| like ours the deliberate Judgment of
the majority as to matter Of legiti-
mate policy when duly expressed by
| the legislature. The people should
not be permitted to pardon evil and
slipshod legislation on the theory that
the court viii set it right They should
be taught that the right way to get rid
of a bad law is to have the legislature
repeal it and not to have the courts by
| ingenious hair splitting nullify it.
People Themselves to Blame.
For many of the shortcomings OF
| justice il our country our people as a
whole are themselves to blame. and the
Judges and iuries merely hear their
share together with the public as q
whole. 1t is. discrediIablc to us as Il
people that there should be difficulty
in convicting murderers or in bringing
to justice men who as public servants
have been guilty Of corruption or who
have profted by the corruption of pub.
| lie servants.
The huge wealth that has been ac-
cumulated by few individuals of re-
cent years. in what has amounted K
| 4 social and industrial revolution, has
been as regards some of these individ-
uals made possible only by the improp.
er use of the modern corporation. Cor
porations are necessary instruments OF
modern business. They have been per
| mitted to become menace largely be
cause the governmental Representatives
Of the people have worked slowly in
providing for adequate control over
| them
Real damage has been done by the
manifold and conflicting intcrpreta-
lions Of the interstate commerce law.
Control over the great corporations do
ing interstate business can be effective
only if It is vested with full power In