Milford chronicle., 1911-05-19

II Labor.
When President Taft arrived il
d Harrisburg. Pa, to address the con
p vention OF the railway uainmen ht
T was greeted at the station by Cover
l. nor Tener, OF Pennsylvania, and q
e committee the Brotherhood of Rail
j way Trainmen.
r As he stepped from his car the
president was presented with a badge
Of membership in the general lodge
OF the brotherhood and gold badge OF
membership Of the local lodge.
Owing to Mrs. Taft's illness the
: president remained in the city but
- three hours.
In the few hours he was in Harris
burg the president motOred through
streets that were lined with thousands
OF people. silent for the most part, be
cause they had heard through bulletins
posted about town of Mrs. Taft's ill
ness; visited Representative Olmsted
for half hour and made a speech to
several thousand people The speech
was delivered to the tenth biennial
convention of the Brotherhood of Rail
road Trainmen of the United States
and Canada.
The president was introduced by
Governor Tener It was a strai ght-
from-the-shoulder talk, the president
made, but the delegates seemed to
like it.
The president kept close to his text
He spoke OF trades unions. their good
and bad points, but he wound up by
defining his position in regard to the !
aftliation with the American Fedora /
ton of Labor or organizations of gov. /
ernment clerks. The question, he said, |
is most likely to come up in congress.
It presents a serious problem. which
the president declared demanded the
attention OF the whole people He
said in part
i think some persons have gone to
the extreme Of holding that there
ought to be no combinations of gov
ernment employees permitted. I think.
however, that in a governments. and
have given some SamnatiOn to the
subject, the government employees are
permitted to combine and have asso-
Citations for their betterment, but the
now is that such cOmbina- y
ions should be allowed to affiliate
With trades union organizations made
lp of the employees of private employ :
RS, and 20 use the same methods in y
occurring better terms of employment
hat are recognized as lawful and
ustifiable in the ordinary trade union: ,
q other words, that it is entirely
roper for combinations of postal en- z
lOyes and others to combine in an >
ssociation to affiliate with the Ameri-
an Federation of Labor. and then to >
old in reserve as an instrument for :
their claims, presented to :
)ngress for increased compensation. =
r the betterment of terms in other :
espects, the boycott and the strike. Z
hich are instruments recognized by ID
lie American Federation of Labor and
lppOrted and justified by it when y
ied by the trades unions affiliated in {
lch federation.
This presents a very serious ques-
IN, and one which, if decided in favor
the right of government employees Z
strike and use the boycott, will be 4
II Of danger to the government of
e republic I
THE government employees of Z
ance resOrted to it, and took the
vernment by the throat. The execu.
e was entirely dependent upon Z
ese employees for its continuance. 90
4 do not think that reasonably -
nded trades union men who are
ly alive TO the necessity for rfgor-
S means to enforce their rights ia
,tr controversies with capital and
h their employers will fail to see 4
} broad difference that exists be- S,V ~
cen their case, in which they are ~ ~
ltending for the betterment Of their VIII
elihood against the naturally selfish pre
tives of their employers, and that OBJ
the class of government emploves Doi
o are privileged not only in the Ro.
cunt Of their compensation. the less Fra
nber of hours of their employment Fri
the greater permanency of tenure
who serve the government of all
RCoRtCf INC fGAs NAloAtutG OF WnlCn
be threatened should they com. =.
2 together to quit the government NJ
rice all at once and paralyze the T Spel
eft and the equal benefits that the M
ernment is properly supposed and itin,
to confer upon the people at M
70. D.
t is likely that this question IS Mrs
ig to be made an issue in con- NJ
IS and it calls for the most earnest ter
;ideration" wee
rhe government employees are a vi; A.
ileged class, whose work is neces- frorr
to carry oG the government and imni
/ whose entry into the government 4
ice It is entirely reasonable to Pont
,se conditions that should not be Mon
ought rot be imposed upon those Nj
serve private employers" addl