The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1909-11-11
LABOR leaders LOSE
Gompers, Morrison and Mitch
ell Not Sustained in Appeal.
One APPEAL YET FOR Them.
Penalty of Imprisonment by Lower
Court, For Contempt to be Fought
to the End.

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 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 Su-
preme Court of the United States.
Chief Justice Sheppard disscnted
from the opinion of the court on con-
stitutional grounds.
The court held that the fundament-
al issue was whether the constitution
al agencies of the government should
be obeycd or defied. The mere fact
that the defendants were the officers
OF organized labor in America, said
the court, lent Importance to the
cause and added to the gravity of the
situation, but it should not be per-
mltted to influence the result.
Courts Decision.
IF the organization of citizens,
however large" the court held, "may
dlsobey the mandates of the court.
the same reasoning would render them
subject to individual defiance. Both
are subject to the law and neither ia
above 1t. If citizen, though he NAV
honestly believe that his rights have
been invaded, may elect who and to
what extent he will obey the man.
dates of the court and the require
ments of the law as interpreted hv
the court, instead of pursuing the or
derly course of appeal, not only the
courts but government itself would
become powerless and surely woul,l
be reduced to n state of anarchv.'''
,,.-.-yhe action of the SupremG Court
of the District of Colupi5iia in sen.
tencing >SawueelI &Sompers, John Mitch.
ell and Frank Morrison of the Amcri.
can Federation of Labor to II. 9 ant!
G months Imprisonment in Jail re.
sepctively, was the result Of tie fail.
ure of these three defendants to obey
10, the order of the court directing them
to desist from placing the Buck :
Stove e. Range Company of St.
}, Luis, Mo-, on their unfair list in the
- prosecution of their boycott against
the corporation.
. While the name of the corporation
was romeved from the unfair list of
tie federation, Messrs. Gompers and
Mitchell continued to keep alive the
boycott by frequent references to it
In The Federationist. the official or
gan 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 adoption of a resolu-
tion at the convention of the United
Mine Workers of America in antag-
onism to the Bucks Stove & Range
Company. The result of the boycott,
it was said was to cause a decline in
= the business Of the stove and range
'rt tppany of so per cent.
ONE boycott placed by the fedora
lhlS 'gainst the products of the
Stove & Range Company grew
= ~! of fight made by the metal pol.
shers' tnion and supported by the
deration for an eight instead of n
ne hour day. This was resisted by
tie company and The Federationist
published the name of Bucks Stove g.
Range Company under the caption of
"We Don't Patronize"
GoInper's Comment on Decision.
New York, Special.-President
Samuel Gompers of the American
Federatin, Z, Labor, issued state
Tent.v out tneto the decision.
AN"'Es the t. respect to the major
Il reach 25,OOot cannot surrender
irm quite a lot O Guaranteed rights be-
nal -, will issue an injunction
YET out Sd denying these rights.
u AS 'unning e Sheppard's dissenting
~ save IN defense of the constitu-
tional and inherent rights. Minority
opinions of courts in the past in
which human rights have been invad-
ed have ultimately prevailed, become
the law Of the land and the generally
accepte. rule of life. and | have an
abiding faith that the rule in this
case will prove no exception.
"If L must go to jai! [ shall have
the consciousness of the fact that
! other men have in the past been COM
a PEELED to suffer in defense of Justice
and right in the cause of humanity
/ and for The maintenance of human
IS liberty.
= 81 intend to stay over here We'd
ncsday to finish my report for the an
nual convention at Toronto and also
to ate J tie wedding Of the daugh-
Irr 7ach1ng on lear friend of mine,
This lat has b. % change my plans
wear n can get into
UMi as / can. /
HIS Gbo iur;cd;.t;oy, of