Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-06-05

berlain Of Oregon and Delegate Wick
ersham Of Alaska, gives the president
1 authority to construct about 730 miles
/ OF railroad in the northwestern terri
tory. After building. the roads are tc
be operated directly by the govern
| ment or, at the discretion of the ex
| ecutive, may be leased to private con
| tractors.
| The chances are that this Alaska
| railroad bill will become a law early
next winter. 1t makes detailed pro
vision for the opening of the interior
| OF Alaska to ready communication
| with the harbors of the Pacific oceaI
so that agricultural timber, coal and
other resources speedily may be de
| veloped. One salient feature of the
measure Is the extension of the pow.
er of the interstate commerce com
| mission to Alaska, coupled with a spe
c1al provision that the rates for steam.
ship transportation to and from the
territory shall be regulated. The as
sertion is made that water transporta.
ton monopoly has been one of the
chief causes for the control of Alas,
ka's resources by great syndicate
The completed legislation provides
for the location of town sites. The
acquisition of land for monopoly hold
tngs is prohibited and no person or
corporation can acquire land for the
purpose of holding it in idleness. The
proponents of the measure say that
every safeguard has been taken to
prevent the exploitation of Alaska for
the profit of monopolies, and that the
field will be found to be open for
competitive strivings"
Labor Unions Exempt
Under the provisions Of the sundry
civil bill which has just been passed
by the present congress after hav-
Ing been vetoed by President Taft
at the last session, not a cent of
the 100000 given for the use of the
department Of justice to bring prose-
cutions for offenses against the Sher
man antitrust law can be used to
bring suit against labor unions or
farmers organizations in case there
should seem to be any ground for the
charge that they are violating the
law
The administration of the Demo
cratic leaders in congress already have
defended this exemption against the
complaints of the employers of labor
and against criticism of men who in
sist that it is class legislation and
that no body of American citizens
should be exempt from prosecutions
which may be started against other
bodies Of American citizens for SINH
lar offenses. The legislation in the
sundry civil bill is negative and there
is nothing in it to prevent the use of
other funds of the department of JUS
ttce for the prosecution of labor
unions and farmers associations-but
there is not the slightest chance, prob
ably. that any other moneys of the
department will be drawn on for this
kind of prosecution purposes.
Other Labor Legislation.
The present administration before
it gets through with it probably will
be praised or blamed as the case may
be for a good deal Of legislation af-
fecting labor. In the last congress a
Republican senate consenting, the
eight-hour bill championed by the
American Federation Of Labor was
passed. An anti-injunction bill intro
duced by Representative Clayton of
Alabama, who was the chairman OF
the house committee. on judiciary,
passed the house at the last session,
but failed in the senate because the
judiciary committee of that body re-
fused to report it. Another Clayton
bill provided for the trial of contempt
hapS unnecessary to say that these
bills were opposed by manufacturers
and employers generally. 1t is prob
able that they will be reintroduced in
the present congress as soon as the
committees of the house are organized
fully and the chances are that they
will pass both houses.
It is possible that an anti-injunc-
ton bill already introduced into the
senate by Mr.. Bacon of Georgia and
which is believed by employers to be
much more radical than the Clayton
bill, may get the preference and final
ly be sent to the president for his sig
nature. Representative Bartlett of
Georgia has introduced the Bacon bill
into the house.
Men who have protested against
these Georgian bills say that they
would legalize conspiracy "and all the
various forms of coercion and duress
which characterize the strike conspir-
acy in it's perfect flower" The an
swer to this on the part of the friends
Of the legislation is that they are in
tended simply to bring about an equal
ity Of justice between capital and
labor.
The Democrats are going to do all
that they can for labor. This much
is evident from the preparations "for
doing it" which already have been
made The danger, some of the Dem
ocratic leaders say, lies in the chance
of ''overplaying the hand" by passing
laws which will be so obviously one
sided that the courts will be kept
busy with the work of knocking them
out. When the sundry civil bill was
put up in the senate Senator Cum
Minis, in discussing the labor and farm
er exemption provisions, proposed that
consideration of them be postponed so
that those who believed in changing
the Sherman law so that labor unions
might be exempted from it's provi-
sions would have time to get together
and arrange for legal exemption.
This plan Of the Iowa senator was
not listened to and the Democrats
went ahead with their indirect Iegisla-
ton hich would prevent the depart
ment of justice from using any of its
antitrust funds for the Expenses of
the work of prosecuting labor unions