Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1911-05-19
PRESIDENT CUT
SHORT HIS VISIT
Only Three Hours in Harrisburg
Owing to Wite'S Illness.
kDDRES Cd TRA|NMEN'S UNION

His Position In Regard to Govern
ment Clerks Joining Federation of
Labor.
When President Taft arrived in
Har isburg, Pa, to address the con
vention of the railway trainmen he
was greeted at the station by Cover
nor Tener, of Pennsylvania, and
committee of the Brotherhood of Rail-
way Trainmen.
AS he stepped from his car the
president was presented with badge
of membership in the general lodge
of the brotherhood and gold badge OF
membership of the local lodge.
Owing to Mrs. Tafts 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 a half hour and made 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. 1t was straight
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
affiliation with the American Fedora
tion of Labor or organizations of gov
ernment clerks. The question, he said.
is most likely to come up in congress.
1t presents serious problem, which
the president declared demanded the
attention of the whole people. He
said in part:
Il think some persons have gone to
the extreme of holding that there
ought to be no combinations of gov
ernment employees permitted. ! think,
however, that in all governments, and
| have given some examination to the
subject, the government employees are
permitted to combine and have asso-
Citations for their betterment, but the
proposition now is that such combina-
tions should be allowed to affiliate
with trades union organizations made
up of the employees of private employ
ers, and to use the same methods in
securing better terms of employment
that are recognized as lawful and
justfiable in the ordinary trade union;
in other words, that it is entirely
proper for combinations of postal en-
ployes and others to combine in an
association to affiliate with the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, and then to
hold in reserve as an instrument for
enforcing their claims, presented to
congress for increased compensation,
or the betterment of terms in other
respects, the boycott and the Strike,
which are instruments recognized by
the American Federation of Labor and
supported and justified by it when
used by the trades unions affiliated in
such federation.
"This presents a very serious ques
ton, and one which, if decided in favor
of the right of government employees
| to strike and use the boycott, will be
full of danger to the government of
the republic.
THE government employees of
France resorted to it, and took the
government by the throat. The execu
tive was entirely dependent upon
these employees for its continuance.
| 81 do not think that reasonably
minded trades uniCn men who are
fully alive to the necessity for rigor-
Gus means to enforce their rights In
their controversies with capital and
with their employers will fail to see
the broad difference that exists be-
tween their case, In which they are
contending for the betterment of their
| livelihood against the naturally selfish
motives of their employers, and that
of the class of government employees
who are privileged not only in the
amount of their compensation, the less
number of hours of their employment
and the greater permanency of tenure
and who serve the government of all
the people, the very existence of which
will be threatened should they COM
bine together to quit the government
service all at once and paralyze the
benefit and the equal benefits that the
government is properly supposed and
held to confer upon the people at
large.
at is likely that this question is
going to be made an issue in con-
gress and it calls for the most earnest
consideration"
"The government employees are a
privileged class. whose work is neces-