Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-25

public men anxious to retain offices of
! honor and trust has been found in the
! fact that in several communities il votes
| solidly in blocks Of scores or hundreds
Tor those who cater to it and against
those who refuse to bow to its demands;
| but call your attention to the fact
/ that, besides multitudes in the cities
and towns whose interests are leopard
| lied by its exactions, there are upward
~ 2OO,OO0 voters In the rural portions of
| his State whose welfare can only be
protected by holding the members Of
the labor union to the same non-interfer-
/ ence with the rights of others and the
same accounta bility to law which they
admit as governing themselves They
! viii certainly claim that the labor union
men, individually and collectively, are
| than they
1 will add that it is no answer at all to
say that labor can not get its rights
| IN any other way than by a strike and
boycott. The courts are as open to the
| labor union man as to the farmer, and
! there is not the slightest reason why the
/ latter should be required to settle his
| dlHerence in the States way, which In
lures no third party, and that the labor
union man be left free to damage every
| 9ody else while settling his difference
J by a strike.
| He, therefore, who would remain in
| public life would do well to merit the
] approval Of those myriads Of law-abid-
| lng and peaceloving citizens beside
| whose numbers the labor unions is
| trifie.
Calls It Labor Trust"
Finally, on this subject. I will observe
| that the trend of the laws Of the present
! day is to the suppression of combina-
lions, generally styled trusts, organized
| for the restraint of trade. These trusts
| are condemned by law because they
! endeavOr to force from business all com.
petitors save those in their guild and to
exact out Of the people unduly high
| prices for products they handle
| Yet, while ii Is a matter of public note
] that the labor trust is the most wide
! spread and aggressively exacting trust in
| America, politicians pander to It, states
| men stand in awe of It, and the public
seems helpless in its grasp. Why? Be
| cause 1t votes in blocks OF thousands in
almost every State in the Union. II is
| composed Of allied organiza tions which
stand as one man against all other ele-
ments of society
Recent events have shown that some
/ OF the leaders of one of these organiza-
| states Court to Imprisonment for
! crimes or violence against those who
| did not yield to their exactions, and the
members have bailed them out and re.
| elected them to high offices in the or
ganization. Such a development Is ap-
I palling to every lover of law Yet II is
| an object lesson which tells more Wv
| IDLY than words that the labor union
law.
Unions In Minority.
| The labor unions have but small
minority Of the people of Georgia yet,
| by combinations which work through
\ strikes and kindred methods, they are
| aggressively levying a toll upon all the
| other elements of our citizenship. In
| other words, they have organized a
trust and demand that all other people
| BUY labor at whatever price they choose
to put upon it--and that price is higher
| than other workmen In like OCCUPATIONS
receive and higher by far than the peo-
PIE PIE nave eyer paid before. And con-
10 force from employment all similar
| workmen who do not join their orders
! 10 attempt, as nOn-uniOn men, to COM
pete with them as laborers means to be
| treated with open contumely, attended
sometimes by personal violence To
hlre non union men means for employ
ers to be boycotted and not infrequent-
| ~ 70 sufer serious damage to their
Equal Opportunity choked.
Therefore, as the labor unions have
combined against all other classes in
| thelr determination to defeat the equal
| ny OF opportunity assured by the laws
OF the state the necessity Is forced
| - all other classes to stand together
IN the refusal to concede TO the unions
the preferential privileges they are en-
| deaYoring to exact for themselves alone
|
words, the password of all other citi-
zens should be: The Law
1t is not improper here for me to de-
| clare that not all of the members OF
/ the labor unions are wiIfuI violators NJ
law. A very large percentage of them
4 love their State and would not know
lngly do any one an injustice. Yet they
are the victims Of a system which is
breeding anarchy. which has already
put the States Constitution in CON.
tempt. which has relentlesly wronged
hundreds Of thousands of their fellow
| citizens who have not offended them.
| which, in plain words, has applied
lynch law methods to millions of dol
( lars worth of property. l pass no harsh
criticism on them, but every person
! who reyerences the law must condemn
| the reckless disregard of the rights OF
/ the public which has characterized
their leaders; And the State must,
with unmistakable cfearnes, not only
condemn these acts, but must force the
| doors of them as clearly to know that
she will not suffer such occurrences to
be repeated.
Law Should Protect"
1t Is cardinal principle Of ciyiliza-
ton that law abiding people should be
protected in the enjoyments of life.
liberty and the pursuit of happiness
d me state does not Interfere with her
orderly citizens in the possession of
these rights, and ii is the intent OF her
Constitution that no one within her
borders shall be permitted so to inter-
I
have no more interest in this matter
than has any other average citizen OF
Georgia; but, as her Chief Executive
whose duty to obey her laws bv en-
| forcing them is supreme over every
ambition and personal interest, l have
, noted the recurring instances OF omen
contempt Of her Constitution, of incon-
yenience and damage recklessly in
tiicted upon multitudeS of her citizens
by one class and OF brutal assaults upon
working men who were engaged in obey-
ing her laws and serving the people BY
operating the public utilities which she
had chartered and whose operation she
had commanded, and I would be I'M
worthy of the confidence with which the
electorate has honored me should | faE
to lay these facts before you and call
upon you to enact such statutes as will
force all classes and all individuals 10
equal allegiance to the State and equal
obedience to her laws
Upwards Of two millions of people in
Georgia will look with no patience upon
the continuance OF a condition which
leaves their basic rights in life at the
mercy of the star chamber Of the labor
union.
Compulsory Arbitration.
Under the conditions I have por-
trayed II has been made the duty Of
the State, therefore, to protect her citi-