The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1909-11-04
Its Champions Lose Their Appeal ana
Must Serve Sentence
WITHOUT BEING TRIED
They Committed No Crime, but ARe
to be Punished Because They
Advised Members Of the Labor
Unions Not TO .rse the Goods Of
o Certain Big Trust.

Certain Big Trust. :.
The decree Of the Supreme Court
of the District OF Columbia adjudge4-
ed President Samuel Gompers, Sec
rotary Frank Morrision and Vice
President John Mitchell, of the
| American Federation of Labor, gull
fty of contempt of Court in the
Bucks Stove and Range case, was
affirmed Tuesday by the Court Of
Appeals of the District of Columbia
The case will now be taken to the
| Supreme Court Of the United States.
Chief Justice Sheppard dissentec
from the opinion of the Court on
constitutional grounds. r
The Court held that the funds-
mental issue was whether the consti-
tutional agencies of Government
should be obeyed or defed. The
mere fact that the defendants were
the officers of organized labor. In
America, said the Court, lent !La-
portance to the-cause- and added to
the gravity of the situation, but" it
should not be permitted Of influence
the result 60, .,
"If an organization OF citizens,
however LARGE" the Court held,
may disobey the mandates of the
Court. the same reasoning would
render them subject TO individual
defiance. Both are subject to the
law, and neither: Is above it.. IT. a
citizen, though he may honestly be-
heve that his rights have saen in
yaded, may faleGt; when and to what
extent he win obey the mandates OF
the Court and the requirements ce
the law as interpreted by the CouFts
instead Of pursuing 1.-The orderly
course Of appeal. not only the Courts,
but the Government itself would
become powerless and society %onl0
be reduced toSa state OF anarchy"
| The action OF the Supreme Court
| of the District tolf Columbia; IN sen
fencing Samuel Gompers, John Mitch
eli and Frank Morrision, Of the
American Federation Of Labor to
| twelve, nine and Sly months i'm
priscSment in jati respectfully, was
| the result OF the failure of these
three defendants; to obey the order
of the Court directing them to desist
from placing the Bucks Stove and
Range Company, of st. Louis, No.,
on their unfair list in the prosecu--
tion of their boycott against the cor.
poration.
While the name Of the corporation
was removed from the unfair list
OF the Federation, Messrs. Gompers
and Mitchell continued to keen alive
the boycott by frequent references
to it in the Federationist, the OF
fetal organ OF the Federation. Mr..
Mitchell was involved in the trouble
by reason of his membership on the
executive board of the Federation,
and because it was alleged he had
made no effort to prevent the adop-
ton of resolution at the Conven-
ton of the United Mine Workers
of America in antagonism to the
Bucks Stove and Range Company.
The result of the boycott, it was
aaid, was to cause a decline in the
business of the Stove and Rangs
Company OF so per cent. The boy
colt placed by the Federation against
the products Of the Bucks Stove and
Range Company grew out of a fight
made by the. Metal Polishers' Union'
and supported by the Federation for
An eight instead Of a nine-hour day.
This was resisted by the company,
and the Federationist published the
name of the Bucks Stove and Range
Company under the caption of We
Don't Pat-onize."