Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1911-05-19
GOMPERS GOES FREE
SUPREME COURT HOLDS LABOR
CHIEF, MORRISON AND MITCH
ELL NOT IN CONTEMPT.
LOWER JURISTs REVERSED
Highest Tribunal Holds Jail Sentences
in Bucks Stove company's Boy
colt Suit as Invalid and They Are
Set Aside.

ashington.-Setting aside the SEN
fences of Imprisonment imposed by
the supreme court of the District of
Columbia for alleged disobedience to
boycott injunction, the Supreme
court of the United States held that
Samuel Gompers, John Mitchell and
Frank Morrison, president, vice-presi-
dent and secretary, respectively, of
the American Federation of Labor,
had been enormously sentenced to
Jail on a charge of contempt of
local court.
The justices unanimously held that
fines were the only sentences that
could be imposed on the labor lead
ers.
In so holding. the Supreme court
of the United States found that the
court of appeals of the District of Co
lumbia and the supreme court of the
district erred in treating the contempt
proceedings as a criminal case and
not civil one. The effect of hold
ing the proceedings civil one was to
make Jail sentences impossible
Hence the jail sentences had to be set
aside.
To correct the error the case was
sent back to the local courts, with d.
rection that it be dismissed. At the
same time the court expressly made
it possible for civil proceedings to be
instituted against the labor men.
10
contempt proceedings in this case
must be civil in nature because Grim
inal punishment is exercised by courts
to force persons to do acts command
ed. In the present case the court took
the view that the labor men were be-
ing sent to Jail not to make them do
something the court ordered but be-
cause of something they had done"
Inasmuch as all the differences be-
tween the labor men and the COM
plainant have been adjusted, including
the boycott" case out of which the
contempt proceedings arose, the deci-
sion is probably the last heard of this
famous action.
The charges of contempt against
Messrs. Gompers, Mitchell and Nor
rison arose out of a bitter labor war
between organized labor and the
Bucks Stove & Range company of ST.
Louis.
The concern had come into the SUI
preme court of the District of Column
bia to prevent, by injunction. the
American Federation of Labor and its
officials from boycotting its own prod
ucts or the business of those who
dealt with it,
The company claimed that the fed
GRAFTON was trying to unionize the
company's shops. The labor leaders
urged that the company was unfair"
to labor The head of the company
was j. w Van Cleave, president of
the National Manufacturers associa.
ton, which had often come into CON
fiict with the federation. He was
charged with having been opposed to
organized labor
Justice Gould of the district SUI
preme court issued the Injunction
prayed for by the company, and con-
tinued publication of the Bucks firms
name in the federation I've do not
patronize" list led to the contempt
charges.
Justice Wright found the union off,
GERS guilty and sentenced President
Gompers to one year in jail; Vice
President Mitchell to nine months,
and Secretary Morrison to six months.
1t was further charged that in the
succeeding number of the Federation
list Gompers, Mitchell and Morrison
joined in an appeal to organized labor
for funds to carry the injunction case
to the higher court. 1t was contended
that this appeal was used as a vehi-
Gle to continue the boycott.
The charges stated that the appeal
referred to an editorial In the same
number of the magazine as setting
forth the attitude of those making the
appeal. This editorial was attributed
to Mr. Gompers
In addition to the urgent appeal"
in which Mr.. Mitchell joined, he was
accused of having acted in contempt
by presiding over the United Mine
Workers convention when it adopted
resolution to fine any member who
bought a Bucks stove