Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-04-04
Approves Of Organized Labor, But Every Man
Should Have Right to Join or Not...Exp|ains
Anti.|njunCtion Bi||---A| Worcester Welcomes
Hinl.-.visits Aunt at Mi||bury, Mass.

President w. c.. Brown Of the New
York Central, President G. s. Mellen
of the New York, New Haven & Hart
ford, and President Lucius futile of
the Boston & Maine all listened to
President Taft with great interest and
with frequent applause. They also
made brief speeches to the trainmen.
Among other things. President Taft
said:
Il believe in labor organization, and
if ] We're skilled enough to become a
member I should apply for member
snip. But in spite of my sympathy
with organized labor. | put above them,
above everything, the right of every
man to labor as he will, to earn the
wages that he WILL and. if he chooses,
to stay out of labor organizations. That
is the STANDPOINT that the President
of the United States must occupy in
giving equality To every citizen of the
United States.
Now the reason why | am in favor
Of organized labor is that labor must
organize to be on an equality with its
employers and the capital of it's en-
ployers. 1t has shown in the past that
by such organization and proper meth
Gus IL can SECURE tie wages " NlilCH IL
is entitled. It can secure them when
the market is going up and earnings
are increasing and it can prevent the
100 hasty reduction when earnings are
falling off ana business is becoming
light.
1T is at the hands of the intelligent
organization that the case of labor is to
triumph. 1t is when labor organiza-
tons are not managed by intelligence
and conservation that the cause Of
laoor suffers and with the suffering of
labor, suffers the entire community
Now ] was proclaimed to you, gen
tlemen, when | was nominated and af
terrards. as the Father Of injunctions.'
Well ] am not so old n man. The rem
edy by injunction, without respect to
! labor disputes, is a remedy in equity
that is the most valuable one that l
know in doing justice. because instead
of attempting to compensate for injury
it prevei IS it. being done
Tho President discussed the pending
anti-injunction bill at some length and
continued:
Il believe and my predecessor. Theo-
dore Roosevelt, believed, that the pow
er to issue injunctions ought 20 be de-
fined and limited in such a way that
there was to be in future no danger
Of i'll advised issuing of such injunc-
tons We have got a bill of that sort
in Congress. My friend and quondam
/ brother Gompers says it is no good at
all. MY embarrassing friend, Van
Cleave. says it is very vicious. And
they are at the two poles. which, my
dear friends. is one of the best evil
denCes that | have that the bill is
good thing.
Il don't know whether l am going to
get that bill through or not. We prom
| Used it in the Republican platform and
that is the platform | was elected on.
But l was talking to a gentleman yes
terday about it, and he said: What is
the good of passing it? You will just
be damned by both sides / said: The
good of passing ii seems 10 be in this;
that there are two small reasons for it
the first is that we promised it and
the second is that it is right
The President said his many travels
had brought home a feeling of SYM
pathy, first, and of an earnest desire
for the safety, the intelligence and the
skill Of the railroad men OF the coun-
try upon whose steady hand, whose in
tellgence and whose courage SO many
millions of lives depend.
You do not believe, neither do / in
boycotting." said Mr.. Taft, you don't
believe in the sympathetic strike;
neither do T.: because it is a blind
movement that never accomplishes
anything. You do believe in organiza-
=, ~ cto
do I. You have reached the conclu-
sion that everything that does injus-
tice to the railroads that employ does
injustice to you. Now l am trying to
get through Congress a bill amending
the interstate commerce law, and
one of the objections to my bill Is that
l consulted six railroad presidents be-
fore / made my recommendation.
II consulted shippers; l consulted the
Interstate Commerce Commission,
consulted everybody that had an in
terest and then it occurred to me that
possibly the railroad presidents knew
something about interstate commerce
and SO ] consulted them, and that to
some people damns the bill.
Now gentlemen, If there is one thing
that l hate 1t is a sham, it is l1ipoc-
.icy; it is fraud and in represent
ing virtue when it does not exist. 1
believe in being fair to all. and am not
afraid to consult railroad authorities in
determining whether law ought to be
put on the statute books. They know
about the railroad business / am not
bound to follow what they recommend
but am bound to give them a hearing.
One Of the things that is going to end
a little of the demagogy about the