Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1914-06-11
Trades Unions /
Are Lawful

-O-
Richmond, Va, June 1.-THE Uni
ted States Circuit Court of Appeals
has thrown large-sized monkey
wrench into that labor injunction ma
chine officially designated as the
United States Circuit Court for the
northern district q West Virginia,
presided over by Judge Dayton, who,
|. following the decision of the late
Judge Jackson, held that trade un-
ions were illegal conspiracies."
This judicial position has been r.
versed by the Circuit Court of APP
Ipeals, sitting in Richmond, The first
Of these was an appeal from an IN
junction issued by Judge jackson,
FNoyember rs, 1907, against John Nit
lchell, T. J.. Lowis and w. B. Wilson,
who were, then respectively president,
vice president and OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
of the United Mine Workers OF Amer
Iica, and scores of other uniOnists and
strikers, who were enjoined from at
tempting to unionize the employees OF
the Hitchman Coal and Coke Com-
Lpany without the plaintiffs consent.
Efhe union was denied the right to
maintain pickets for the purpose OF
Inducing or persuading employees OF
the company to join them, and were
debarred from going to the homes OF
the conpany's employees and persuad-
ing or entreating them to join their
ranks.
In deciding this case,- the Circuit
Court of Appeals held that the evil
dence in this face failed to show tAat
any unlawful methods had been re
sorted ito by the defendants in this
instance, and therefore tie court be-
low. erred in holding the organization
! he unlawful upon the theory that
it was guilty of conspiracy.
1 Il the opinion, an I'M
usually lengthy one, is as follows:
IS As an age of cooperation
through organization. In fact, organi-
cation is the only means by which
united effort can be secured in any
lbranch of human endeavor. The doc
ltors, dentists, school teachers, whole
sale and refil merchants, and, in
fact, every b.anch Of industry in this
country, are organized for the purpose
OF the mutual protection of the re-
spectiye parties interested. Such be-
ling the case, it is juts as essential,
and perhaps more important, that the
laboring pecEte organize for their ad-
vancement aid protection than it is
for any of the vacations we have
mentioned" -,
In defining the rights of the parties
in this controversy, the court held: :.
I'm the first place, it should be
understood once and for all that SO
long as capital employs legitimate
means for the protection of property
rights, that 1T is to be accorded the
protection of the law; but this does
not mean that capital may, by impro-
per methods, form combinations for
the purpose of preventing labor from
organizing for mutual protection.
Likewise, it should be definitely IN
derstood that the laboring men nave
the right to use peaceable and laWNll
methods to unite their forces in order
to improve their conditions as re-
aspects their ability to earn a decent
living, give their children moral and
intellectual training and secure the
lenactment of legislation requiring
mine owners to adopt such methods
as may be necessary to keep their
mines in a sanitary conditions, and,
above all, to adopt methods to mini
lmize, as much as possible, the occur
renee Of the awful catastrophies by
which so many human lives have
lbeen lost"
;. The Circuit Court of Appeals took
q the same position in regard to Judge
iDayton's injunction order against
president Van Bittner, of the Pitts
burgh District, United Mine Workers,
land miners on strike against the West
Virginia. Pittsburgh Coal company.
Judge Dayton issued an injunction in
Ithis case, November IL, 1913, and last
March sentenced several miners to
terms in JAIL The unions was denied
contributing financial aid to the strik-
ers. Among those sentenced was Fan
ME Sellers, who was given six months
in jail, because the court found, among
other things, that she was "a paid
organizer of the United Mine Work
Iers," and that she "frequented the
camp at Collier, which was not a fit
place for any decent woman" and
that she had paid their (strikers)
fares on the car to the place where
they divided into three several troops
for the purpose of intercepting the
cOmpanys men whom you expected to
come from work by one of the roads,
THESE workers, including Fannie Sell
Tiers. are now in jail. A petition bear
ing thousands of signatures have
been signed for judge Dayton's i'm
peachment, and this, together with the
y foFFeaching decision of the Court of
Appeals, indicates that the czar-like
rule Of this injunction judge is near
ing an end. "