The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-12-09


sess. and wherever necessary exercise.
the power to determine whether in a
given case employers and employees are
not on an equal footing, so that the
necessities of the latter compel them
to submit to such exactions as to-
hours and conditions of labor as I'M
duly to tax their strength; and only
mischief can result when such deter
mination is upset on the ground that
there must be no interference with
the liberty to Contradiction merely
academic liberty" the exercise OF
which is the negation OF real liberty.
There are certain decisions by va
rious courts which have been exceed
" detrimental to the rights of wage
workers. This is true of all the de-
cisions that decide that men and wo-
men. are by the Constitution, guar
anteed their liberty to contract to en-
ter a dangerous occupation. or to work
an undesirable or improper number
of hours. or to work in unhealthy
surroundings; and therefore can not
recover damages when NAMED in
that occupation, and can not be for
hidden to work what the legislature
decides is an excessive number OF
hours, or to carry on the work under
conditions which the legislature de-
cides to be unhealthy. The most dam
.gerous occupations are often the poor
est paid and those where the hours
of work are longest; and in many
! cases those who go into them are drlV-
en- by necessity so great that they
have practically no alternative. Decf-
sions such as those alluded to above
nullify the legislative effort to pro-
tect the wageworkers who most need
protection from those employers who
take advantage of their grinding need.
They halt or hamper the movement
for securing better and more equ1ta-
bile conditions of labor. The talk
about preserving to the misery-hunted
beings who make contracts for such
service their liberty to make them.
is either to speak in a spirit of heart
less irony or else to show an utter
lack of knowledge of the conditions
of life among the great masses of our
fellow-countrymen, a lack which I'M
fits Judge to do good service just as
it would unfit any executive or leg
1slative officer.
There is also, think, ground for
the belief that substantial injustice is
often suffered by employees in con-
sequence of the custom of courts is
suing temporary injunctions without
notice to them. and Furnishing them
for contempt of court in instances
where, as a matter of fact, they have
no knowledge of any proceedings. Out
side of organized labor there is wide
spread feeling that this system often
works great injustice to wageworkers
when their efforts in better their
working condition result in industrial
disputes. A temporary injunction pro-
cured eX parte may as a matter OF
fact have all the effect of a perma-
nent Injunction in<causing disaster to
the wageworkers' side in such dis
pute. Organized labor is chatting
under the unjust restraint which
comes from repeated resort to this
plan of procedure. Its discomfort has
been unwisely expressed, and often
Improperly expressed, but there is
sound basis for it, and the orderly
and law-abiding people of a commun-
ity would be in a far stronger posi-
ton for unfolding the courts If the
undoubtedly existing abuses could be
provided against.
Such proposals as those mentioned
above as advocated by the extreme
labor leaders, contain the vital error
nf tho n0ncf
offensive kind, and even if enacted in
to law I believe that the law would
rightly be held unconstitutional.
Moreover, the labor people are them
selves now beginning to invoke the
use of the power of injunction. Dur
ing the last ten years, and within
my own knowledge, at least fifty in
functions have been obtained by la
Dor unions in New York City alone,
most of them being to protect the
union label Ga property right'O, but
some being obtained for other reasons
against employers. The power of in
junction is a great equitable remedy,
which should on no account be des-
troyed. But safeguards should be
erected against its abuse. / believe
that some such provisions as those
< I advocated year ago for checking
the abuse of the issuance of temporary
injunctions should be adopted. In
substance, provision should be made
that no injunction or temporary res
training order issue otherwise than on
notice. except where irreparable in
Jury would otherwise result; and in
such case a hearing on the merits OF
the order should be had within short
fixed period. and if not then continu-
ed after hearing it should forthwith
1apse. Decisions should be rendered
Immediately, and the chance of delay
minimized in every way. Moreover.
believe that the procedure should
he sharply defined. and the judge re-
uuired infinitely to state the parucu-
lars both of his action and of his rea-
sons therefor, so that the Congress
can If If desires examine and inves-