The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-05-16
LABOR MEN ESCAPE JAIL
Famous Contempt Case Reversed by
Supreme Court.


Supreme Court.
Washington, May 16.-Setting aside
the sentences of Imprisonment impos.
ed by the Supreme Court of the Dis.
trict of Columbia for alleged DISC
bedience to a boycott Injunction, the
Supreme Court of the United States
yesterday held that Samuel Gompers,
John Mitchell and Frank Morrison,
president, vice president and secre.
tary, respectively, of the American
Federation of Labor, had been CHROME
ously sentenced to jail on a charge of
contempt of local court.
The court unanimously held that
the only sentences that could be i'm
posed upon the labor leaders were
fines. In SO holding, the Supreme
court of the United States found that
the Court OF Appeals of the District of
| Columbia and the Supreme court of
the District erred in treating the con
tempt proceedings as criminal case
and not a civil one. The effect of
holding the proceedings as civil was
to make the fine sentences imposed.
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 explicitly made
1t possible for civil proceedings to be
instituted against the labor men by
the Buck Stove and Range company,
at whose instance the original con-
tempt case was brought
The charges of contempt against
President Gompers, Vice President
Mitchell and Secretary Morrison
arose out of bitter labor war be.
tween organized labor and the Bucks
Stove and Range company of St
Louis, Mo.
The st. Louis concern had come in
to the Supreme court OF the District
of Columbia to prevent by injunction
the American Federation of Labor and
tits officials from boycotting its own
products or the business of those who
dealt with it, The questions involv
ed and the parties concerned attract
ed widespread attention. The com
pany claimed that the Federation was
trying to unionize the company's
shops. The labor leaders urged thai
the company was unfair" to labor
The head of the company was j. w
Van Cleave, president of the Nationa
Manufacturers association which
had often come into conflict with thu
Federation He was charged will
having been opposed to organized la
Dor and with having sought to put hi
nickel plate workers on ten hour in
stead of nine hour basis.
Justice Gould of the District Su
preme court issued the injunction
prayed for by the company An ap
peal was taken to the Court of Az
peals of the District of Columbia bu
before that court could pass upon tn
validity of the injunction the Buck
Stove and Range company agaii
came into the District Supreme cour
this time with charges of contemp
against President Gompers, Vice Pres
ident Mitchell and Secretary Morr
son. These men were accused of hay
ing violated the injunction decree.
Justice Wright found them guilt
and sentenced President Gompers I
one year in Jail, Vice President Mi
chell to nine months and Secretar
Morrison to six months. An appea
was taken from this sentence, first {
the Court Of Appears, which afiirme
1t, and finally to the Supreme court o
the United States.
The alleged violations consisted o
utterances and acts in furtherance o
the boycott. 1t was charged that MI
Gompers had rushed out the Januar.
number of the American Federationis
the official organ OF the American
Federation of Labor, so as to evad'
the decree, which went into effect thu
day after most of the magazines were
out of his hands. This magazine