United labor bulletin., 1909-12-31


If they, for some reason sufficient to
themselves, should decline to abide by
and perform the award they are willing
that the Judge alone, without any jury
and without any limit as to time, may
send them to prison until they shall con-
sent to perform the labor which the
award enjoins upon them. The thought
underlying this law is that the individual
man may ALLEVIATE his right to liberty,
and it is, therefore, destructive of the
fundamental principle of the Republic
of the United States. It is equally dan
gerous with the New Zealand law, the
Hungarian statute OF the proposed law
of Germany because d aims at tying the
worker to transportation upon which he
works.
The Manufacturers association, of the
South, in 1900, decided TO submit to the
legislature of each Of the Southern states
law providing for term contracts, the
violation of which would be punished as
felony, and that they did this with the
specific purpose of preventing strikes
and of the mine, the factory or the means
of inviting Northern capital When their
attention was called to the fact that they
were as yet not bothered" by labor or
ganizations they answered: That's true
and that's just the treason why we de-
cided to take steps to prevent the forma-
tion of any and to stop strikes in the
most effective manner"
All these schemes are reactionary in
their character.
I believe that the reason why many
well-meaning. honest and conspicuous
men and women favor some form of COM
pulsory arbitration Arises from the fact
that their attention. has been called to
the refusal to arbitrate on the part of
some large corporations or other employ
ers of labor. It is felt that the rest of
the public are made innocent sufferers
and victims and that there ought to be
some way to give the public the facts in
order that it might be known who is &C.
tually to blame. Whenever they are
asked do you want to send a man or
woman to jail for quitting work." they
Immediately answer: NO, no." What
they seem to. desire is that these cor
porations or employers who refuse to ar
bitrate shall in some way be compelled
to do so.
This is manifestly impossible Laws
that are "jug-handled," even II possible
of enactment and execution. invariably
have the handle so placed that the large
corporations and employers Of labor keeT
hold of the handle Commissions with
power to examine and report would
seem to be more in line with what is &C
tually desired; but would call attention
to the fact that even these have in them
feature dangerous to liberty because
from them there may come. and some
times do come. reports which have 6
tendency to warp public opinion and pre-
pare 1t for measures which. without such
preparation. the public would unhesitat
ingly repudiate.
We shall insist upon the right to quit
work whenever the conditions of the la
Dor are irksome TO us. II we should
commit an error-which is likely-ther
we will be the sufferers more than any
other or all other peoples and we shall
have learned by that error to avoid them
in the future. But I repeat with all the
emphasis that l can command that we
shall always insist upon our right TO quit
work for any reason or for no reason
at all.