New-York tribune., 1909-03-13
AGAINST THE SECONDARY BoTcoTT,

The Court of Appeals of the District OF
Columbia has Just affirmed the decree Of the
District Supreme Court permanently enJoinlhg
Mr.. Gompers and the other officials OF the FED
GRAFTON of Labor from instituting a secondary
boycott against the Buck Stove and Range
Company by putting that company's name on
the I'VE don't patronize' and unfair Ists
published in The American Federatlonlst
The affirmation was made, however with Ger
tain qualifications and restrictions when moo
ify the original decree. That decree is declared
10 have been too broad in enioning the Fed
Grafton of Labor from publishing or otherwise
circulating. whether in writing or orally, any
statement or notice of any kind or character
Whatsoever calling the attention Of the COM
'plainants customers, or of dealers or trades-
men, or the public, TO any boycott against the
complainant" The higher court does not sane
ton what seems to it n too radical abrldSe-
ment of the freedom Of speech and of the press
II holds that the Federation OF Labor ana
4sThe American Federationst should have been
enioined from oral or printed utterances of the
sort described which were clearly in further
ance of a secondary boycott. The publication
of tba Ruck Stove and Range Companys name
in n We don't patronize'' or unfair list must
he forbidden as a furtherance of an unlawful
conspiracy. But general references TO the COM
pany and its business policies, not taking the
form of overt intimidation or coercion Of pos
sihIe customers would be allowed under the
guarantee Of free speech and a free press.
The decision of the Court of Appeals there
fore narrows the scope Of the injunction
against Mr. Gompers and his associates. But
It does not upset the fundamental reasoning or
the Judges Of the lower court, who held that
the Federation officials had in fact Instituted
an unlawful secondary boycott. It was within
the rights of those officials and the organiZa-
ton which they represented to decline TO pur-
chase the goods of the Buck Stove and Range
Company. But when they attempted TO intimi-
date the dealers who handled those goods Or
the people who purchased them by such devices
as published blacklist they exceeded their
rights and could be restrained from damaging
the business of the company by methods which
tbe law holds TO be in themselves an evidence
Of conspiracy
The chief value Of the decisions reached in the
Gompers case and in preceding cases similar in
character is their clear insistence that person
or firm which has incurred the enmty of other
persons or firms or of a labor organization
shall not be subjected TO the outrage Of the
secondary boycott. The parties at war must
fight their fight out between themselves and
not draw innocent outsiders into their quarrel
If an outsider buys boycOtted goods he should
not be penaIized by the manufacturers foes. If
he QecIlneS 10 DuE IDeln he Snouiu HoL be HeHai-
ized by the manufacturer. That was the com
mon sense ground taken by President Taft
when he served on the bench and maintained
by him when he was candidate for President
1t is the right of the innocent handler or pUr-
chaser of goods 10 he protected from injury
through quarrels with which he has nothing
to do
Justice Van Arsdel in his concurrng opinion.
said that "a citizen cannot invoke the constitu-
"tional rights of free press and free speech to
destroy the rights of property secured TO his
'neghbOT by the same instrument" That goes
TO the root Of the matter. Mr.. Gompers holds
that man has no property right In his busi-
ness and that equity court Is not competent
10 intervene to annul secondary boycott. But
the Judges who have ruled in secondary boycott
cases have disagreed with Mr. Gompers. They
have decided that mans business is entitled
70 protection against intimidators who CON
spire to ruin It. and that n court Of equity can
properly intervene to prevent irreparable In
jury being done by the secondary boycott long
before the plaintiff can bring the bOycOtters 10
account through a suit for damages.