The Socialist and labor star. [volume] (Huntington, W. Va.) 1911-1915, 1914-06-12
No Labor
Exemption
Clause
WASHINGTON LETTER.

Washington. June 10.-Although
the politicians will protest to the CON
trary, the Clayton antitrust bill
which passed the house last week
DOES NOT CONTAIN 4 CLAUSE
ENEMPTING LABOR FROM PROS
ECUTION under the Sherman act.
! The compromise clause which WAS
agreed upon it an eleventh hour con-
| ference at the White House is Il fake.
! In private those who We're most con-
cerncd in drawing il up and IL riding
! it through as 4 sop 10 labor are con-
Tossing that it is Il fake. that under
it the unions can still be prosecuted,
and that at the very best it will have
to go to the courts for calculation.
Let there be no mistake about this:
the one big labor measure for which
the labor lobby and the labor poll
ticians of the two old parties have
been pressing for nearly 4 year has
been hamStrung. The story Of this
! hamstringinw rs one member OF con-
! gress put it. is another Legislative
| tragedy" for labor. The labor "conic
asked for an amendment to the trust
|
ing in the trust laws Should apply
TO" labor unions. That was Gear amt
| concise It's meaning was unmlSiak-
able. 1t was in accordance with he
suggestion of the sunrcmc court-thC
supreme law-making body Of the land
in it's decision in the Danhury Hat
case. To this clause the labor men
| in the house rallied, and, rs describe"
! in these dispatches. Il terrific parma
mcntary battle was imincnt when 1t
was scheduled to come up.
But At the last moment the Sauvc
politicians prevailed. and c"mpro-
misc provision WAS brought in. rms
! compromise added 10 the original hi!l
these words: Nor shall such or
| CARNATIONS, orders. or associations 81
| the members thereof. he held or con
strucd TO be illegal combinations or
conSpiracies in restraint Of trade un-
der the antitrust laws.
1T seems to me that there l. 4 con
ccalcd purpose here 10 throw 10 tho
! laboring men Of the country some
thing that means nothing.' declared
one member. "That amendment VIII
not exempt those organizations from
the operation of the antitrust laws.
declared Rcn. Macdonald, Of Mirhl-
gan. In THIS AMENDMENT YOU
| HAVE for certain purposes and as tn
certain acts BROUGHT THESE OR
CARNATIONS W + R f, T H +,
| COURTS MAY HOLD THEN En-
PRESSLH WITHIN THE OPERA
TION OF THE SHERMAN LAW"
he continued 'Evcry amendment pro
posed in the past to this law has used
the words shall not applr. and that
was in the amendment that the ST.
preme court in the DanburV hat case
said if congress had done those
things there would be no question
about the operation of the law"
1t is significant to note that Rep.
bartlett. Of Georgia, the man who
introduced the original exemption
amendment. could not stand up hon
cstly for the fake compromise. al
though, for political reasons he voted
for it. "Whatcvcr may be the result
of this amendment to the antitrust
bill" he said. II claim no special
credit for it." II the result Of the
amendment had been clear in his
mind. Bartlett would be the last man
in the world not to claim credit for
it, In this remark, therefore, ,hcr' II
what amounts to Il confession that
the amendment is Il fake.
The big business men standing be
hind the Democratic party are today
laughing in their sleeves at the way
in which they have huncood tho work
inc class. They had assurances IN
advance that everything would ho IA!
right" President Wilson 'ict il b"
known" without coming out boldly
and saying so in so many words. that
! the amendment would not exempt
labor unions from prosecution mdcE
the antitrust act ASIutr legal minis
in Washington completely realize mat
the amendment will not rX"mnt The
unions, bat the politicians arc delight
cd with the success Of the game they
have nut across. Representatives OF
the n. 4. NJ. labor takers. reaction
aries. most Of the "ProgrcS&Iyc5 and
practically every Democrat voted t"t
The compromise. When birds Of such
feathers flock together, there is th'
devil to pay. Mr. Workingman will
nay the devil next tine he ""ts the
) federal government down on him 20:
being 4 trust.