The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-18
From the New York journal of Commerce
and Commercial Bulletin.


and Commercial Bulletin.
HOR the last quarter of century it
- has been recognized a glaring
u anomaly that body of men en-
gagged in the performance of a service OF
vital necessity to every member of the
community should be conceded the right
to be the sole judges, not only of whether
they have any substantial grievance. but
of the manner In which any grievance that
may exist should be redrcssed. Some re-
cent legislation tends TO make this alb
surdity less patent, but the threatened
strike of conductors on the eastern trunk
lines is demonstration of how little real
progress has been made toward holding
the great body of railroad employees 70
as strict a responsibility as Congress and
state legislatures have held the railways
themselves. In the early SOS the late ST.
mon Sterne was called upon by the board
of trade and transportation of this city
to appear on its behalf against certain
railroads which were refusing to accept
freight for shipment on account of what
was then known as the "freighthandlers'
strike" for higher wages. The case was
argued at the special and general term
of the supreme court and resulted in the
decision by the latter tribunal in favor of
Mr.. sternes position. which was that rail-
roads, though in private hands, are af-
fected by public interest; that the pub
lie duty of the railway corporation 10
handle and forward freight offered to it,
the disaffection of its wor Tgmen furnish
ing no excuse for the performance
of that duty. This decision lin People VS..
New York Central and Hudson River Rail-
road company % Hum has been ire
ouently referred to in similar strikes IN
other states and was among the first of
it's kind rendered in the state OF New
York 1t has commanded acceptance by
the courts of other states wherever sim
liar question has been raised. But, as
Mr. Sterne himself argued, in discussing
the question of "The Duties of Railroads
and Their Employees with Professor Had-
lev before the Commonwealth club in
March, 1885, "It is equally true that not
only the railway performs a public func-
ton, which 1t may not neglect or discon-
tinue but that as necessary legal and
logical corrollary it's officers, employees
and workingmen are likewise engaged in
the performance of public function
which they cannot be permitted to dis
continue at will"
More specifically, those employees can
not be permitted to combine to discontinue
this public service, however humble may
be their part of the functions performed,
inasmuch as the occupation partakes of
La public character, and the employe should
be held in the same measure of RESPONSE
bility TO the public as his employer Mr..
Sterne went on to argue that If the law
as it stands does not sufficiently recog-
there should be no hesitation about adopt
ing amendments to the law by which the
acceptance of function which is SO es-
sential to the public veal as the regular
transportation of passengers, freight and
mails should be regarded as an enlistment
for term of years in the public service
Manifestly, under any such rule, a railway
engineer would no more be permitted at
the instigation of the chief of his trade
union. to take his engine to the round
house than a soldier would be to lay
his superior officer. Mr. Sterne secuted
the idea that such legislation would lead
| to paternal government, though he ad-
mitted that so long as private interests
could be relied upon to perform this trans
portation function duly and thoroughly, it
was as well not to replace them by gov
ernment ownership. But he insisted that
when the community is in danger Of the
stoppage of a service upon which its well
fare depends, the community has the
right to step in and attach such conditions
to the service as will insure its perform
ance and its continuance, precisely for
the same reason that 1t insures the resu-
larity and continuance of the service Of
its armies and navies by terms of service
made independent of caprice or conspira-