The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-11-12

Washington, Nov. 3-The district
court of appeals yesterday affirmed the
decree of the supreme court of the Dis
trict of Columbia, adjudging President
Samuel Gompers, Secretary Frank
Morrison and Vice President John
Mitchell, of the American Federation
of Labor, guilty of contempt of court
in the Buck Stove and Range case.
Chief Justice Sheppard dissented
from the opinion of the court on con-
stitutional grounds.
The court held that the fundamental
issue was whether the executive
agencies of government should be
obeyed or defed The mere fact that
the defendants were the officers of Or
ganized labor in America. said the
court, lent Importance to the cause and
added to the gravity of the situation,
but it should not be permitted to in
f1uence the result.
eff an organization of citizens. how
ever large" the court held, may dis
obey 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. If a citizen, though he may
honestly believe his rights have been
invaded, may elect when and to what
extent he will obey the mandates of
the court, instead of pursuing the or
derby course of appeal, not only the
courts but government itself would be-
come powerless and society would be
reduced to state of anarchy"
The action of the supreme court of
the District of Columbia in sentencing
Gompers, Mitchell and Morrison to
twelve, nine and six months imprison-
ment in Jail, respectively, was the re-
res ult of failure of these three defend
ants to obey the order of the court di-
recting them to desist from placing
the Buck Stove and Range Company,
of st. Louis, on their unfair list in
the prosecution of their boycott
against the corporation
While the name of the corporation
was removed from the unfair list of
the federation, Messrs. Gompers and
Mitchell continued to keep alive the
boycott by frequent reference to it in
the Federationist, official organ of the
federation
In announcing the decision Justice
Wright had declared that the defen-
dants had "intimidated, browbeaten
and coerced" the patrons of the stove
and range company until it had suf-
fered severe loss.
Pending an appeal, the three defen-
dants were allowed to give bail for
their temperance.
Last March the court of appeals
modified the decree granted by the
supreme court of the District of Co
lumbfa by adding to the injunction the
words, 'in furtherance of said boy
cott"
The modification was looked upon
by attorneys for the defendants as
materially affecting the proceedings
for contempt. They claimed that had
those words appeared in the original
injunction the contempt proceedings
them.
When the decision was rendered
neither the labor leaders nor their
counsel was present. AS forecasted
by Mr.. GOmperS in recent issue of
the Federationist, an attempt will be
States supreme court. The right of
appeal, however, is matter of con-
torversy Some attorneys hold that
as this decision finds the contempt to
have been criminal offeDse, the court
of appeals would have the last say
in the matter, as it has of all criminal
cases in the district. Others, however,
contend that as the constitutional
right of free speech and liberty of the
press is involved, the labor leaders
may prosecute an appeal. No action
will be taken toward the arrest of the
men until the matter of the appeal
has been determined.
Chief Justice Sheppard in his dis
senting opinion, held to the view that
| the decree should be reverse ed, be-
cause he was convinced the lower
court was without authority to make
the only order which the defendants
| could be said to have disobeyed. The
chief justice says:
II have heretofore expressed the
opinion that much of the injunction
order was null and void because OBJ
posed to the constitutional provision
concerning freedom of speech and of
the press. Subs equent reflection has
confirmed this view"
Frank Morrison, the only one of the
defendants now in Washington, while
| disappointed over the adverse decision
of the court, declared he found much
consolation in the dissenting opinion
of the chief justice. President Com
pers is in New York.