The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1909-03-20
Chief Justice Shepard Of District
Of Columbia Vindioates Fed
eration Officers. :
,FREEDoMsoF THE PRESS
Is A GUARANTEED, RIGHT
Holds There Wa. Nothing Libel
GUS in Anything Published by
/. the Federationist.

WASHINGTON, March 18.-Chief
Justice Shepard rendered an opinion
dissenting from the decision of the
Court Of Appeals Of the District of
Columbia partly sustaining the decree
Of Justice Could OF the Supreme Court
of the District. of Columbia granting
the injunction: prayed for by the Bucks
Stove and Range company, of st. Louis
restraining the officers Of the Ameri-
can Federation OF Labor from prose-
cutting a boycott against the stove
company and from publishing it in
the Federationist, under the caption
1--WE Don't Patronize.''
Assuming thatl@the publication of
| the Bucks Stoye and Range company
in the I'VE Don't Patronize" column
of the American Federat1onist was a
| step, in thu formation of a conspiracy
to coerce independent dealers into re-
fusing to have further business rela-
tions with that company, I cannot
! agree that the publication be restrain
| ed for that resson. Regardless of it's
character or purpose the publication
is protected from restraint in my
| opinion by the First Amendment to
the Constitution which forbids any
law abridging the freedom Of the
press. ~ YS
| Defends Liberty Of Press.
"The liberty Of the press became
! an established principle of the Brit
| ish Constitution after long and ardu-
Gus struggle, and consists in complete
freedom from any kind of restraint
The trainers OF our state and federal
constitutions were compelled to choose
| between the danger to free institu-
tions that would result from any
abridgement OF the freedom of the
press and the evils that attend the
abuse Of that freedom through the
frequent publication of matter cal
culated to wound feelings, injure
lscharacter and rights Of property and
provoke the disturbance: of the peace,
They preferred 50 risk the latter evil.
sOne person ma yaanot only cease to
labor tor another Without liability to
action; batt n1a alao cease or decline
| to further purchase his goods or to
| have any business relations with him.
This being lawful for one person to
| do, does not become unlawful when
two or more persons, impelled by like
| motive, agree to do the same thing.
I Consequently, the persons composing
the organization of the Federation of
Labor had legal right to agree to-
gether not to purchase the goods of
the stove company. Refusing to pur-
chase these goods does not constitute
a boycott in the legal sense.
Courts of equity cannot act as
censors Of the press or abridge it's
freedom by the exercise Of any char
acter Of restraint. The only remedy
for nbelous or otherwise malicious,
wrongful and injurious publications is
by civil action for damages and Grim
inal prosecutions. There is NO power
to restrain the publication.
Injunction Is Censorship.
1T would be difficult to conceive of
a more effective method of establish
ing government censorship than
through the writ Of injunction"
In conclusion the chief justice said
that the only remedy which the stove
company had in the premises was by
civil action for damages and criminal
prosecution, adding:
the decree as modified. In my opinion
it should be modified so as to restrain
the act only by which other persons
have been or may be coerced into
ceasing from business relations with
the Bucks Stove and Range company,
but so as not to restrain the publica-
tion of the name of that company in
the 1--WE don't patronize" column of
the American. Federationist, no mat
ter what the object of such publica-
tion may be suspected or believed to
be-
1.-THE dissenting opinion of Chief
Justice Shepard" said Mr.. Gompers
last night, "is exactly tha
the federation has been all along con-
tending, SO far as It refers to the free
dom of the press, The right to freely
express opinions is constitutional
guaranty. There is nothing ubelous in
anything the federation has published
in connection with this whole case"
-o----