The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-05-15
Mitchell, Gompers and Nor
rison Not Properly Ad-
judged Guilty Of Contempt
in Buck Stove Case.
GREAT VICTORY FOR
AMERICAN LABORER
In Labor Magazine Publish
ed Name of Complaining
Company in List of We
Don't Patronize.'
tAmerican News Service,

x * 4 &
(Amcrican News Scrvicc)
Washington. May --Gompers.
and Morrison OF the American
Federation OF Labor. will not be COM
PEELED to serve the jail sentence i'm
posed by the lower courts according to
the decision handed down BY Judge
Lamar today. The cases were dismiss-
ed on the ground that they were not
adjudged contempt OF court.
but should have been damage suits
against the labor leaders by the Buck
Stove and Range Company.
This 10 the most sweeping victory
for union labor in its history In the
United States. The defendants were
not In the court room but the news
was quickly conveyed to them at the
American Federation headquarters
where a large number OF labor leaders
had gathered in expectation that YER
dict would be handed down today and
Gompers and Morrison received one
of the greatest ovations OF their lives.
The power of the courts to punish
for contempt II sacred. said Lamar
in rendering q decision
Without 1t the courts become mere
~ boards Of arbitration. Congress has
conferred on the courts the power to
punish contempt with either Z flne or
imprisonment, but very amplitude Of
this power is = warning to use II with
discretion. Punitive contempt IL to
be punished with imprisonment where
the defendant has refused to perform
an act required by the court. such -
non-payment Of alimony, but In this
case there was no refusal to DO an act
required by the court
Punishment In punitive contempt II
an act OF coercion. by the court and
the punishment should end when the
defendant agrees to bow to the decree
of the court In the civil case. and OBJ
viously right, the action should have
been suit for damages by the plain
tinf
1T appears that the plaintiff had no
suit for damages. because the points
of the contention In the main c4se
were settled ont Of court, and It there
by becomes meot case. But this con-
tempt case grew out Of the main case
and 1t therefore must now be regarded
as moot case.
III the Bucks Stove and Range com
pany has settled its differences with
the American Federation Of Labor. It
can hardly claim to have valid con.
tempt case against Gompers. Morri-
son and Mitchell. on the ground that
the boycott was formed In violation of
the courts order To Ane the defend
ants on account Of the courts order.
1t would be necessary to show the
amount Of damages sustained by the
| plaintiff.
IF the plaintiffs claim that the boy.
colt was an act in restraint Of trade,
they should have sought relief by pre-.
senting their case before the attorney
general and showing the violation oi
the interstate commerce act. That
the proceeding was not a criminal one
is shown by the fact that the defend
ants were compelled to testify on the
stand. In true criminal proceedings
no man can be cOerced into testifying
against himself
The contention OF the defendants
have been three fold-tD They claim
there was no intention Of violating
4 the law. (2D That there was no viola
ton OF an Injunction. t3) That thu
injunction was null and void because
it abridged the liberty Of the press
guaranteed by the constitution.
1 This last claim. however. may be dir
missed In the first instance the lib
erty Of press applies to individual
and not TO organizations.
These were the principal points en-
pbasized by Lamar In his decision
which was quite lengthy.
The case grew out Of the publica
tion OF the name OF the Bucks Stove
company In "fhe Federationfsts" Ii
1--we Don't Patronize' list against
which temporary Injunction wa,
issued The Federationists" contin
lued to publish the same pntiI the in
junction was made permanent and ths
contempt proceedings resulted Tn
decision Of the court holds thnt n
asmuch as the right Of action Ah0ult
have been q suit for damages ~ thl
plaintiff the main cases becomes moo
and contempt cases therefore mnS
now be regarded ~ mo6t cases.
Nst