Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1914-06-05

land, regarded as union labors spokesman
in Congress. brought the debate to close
on the compromise amendment which he
helped frame. The Marylander spoke only
five minutes and he was repeatedly cheered
by both sides Of the House when he an
nounced that he was authorized to stamp
organized labor's approval and satisfaction
with the labor union section of the bill.
A dozen representatives Of union labor
sat in the galleries and heard the debate.
After the provision had been approved,
members of the union stated that the
Democratic party had met its pledges to
union labor and they were satisfied with
what had been done for them.
The compromise amendment is added to
Section 7 of the bill, which provides for
the organization and operation for legiti-
mate objects Of farmers, labor, fraternal,
consumers and horticultural organizations.
The amendment reads
Nor shall such organizations. orders,
associations or the members thereof be
held or construed to be Illegal combinations
or conspiracies in restraint of trade under
the antitrust law"
In his speech on the amendment Mr..
Lewis said;
1T is not too much to say that this sin
gle measure, with its complementary sec
tons on injunctions and contempts, by
one single stroke of the legislative pen
more is being done in our country for the
great toiling masses than has ever been
accomplished in history before. Nor does
this mean violence and radical treatment
Of the relations of labor and capital.
This section, taken with its complement
tary sections, merely puts the American
workman where the British subject was
placed by Parliament in 1906. Property
will be safe. the right of employers will be
secure If this measure is enacted into law.
and it will become the great Magma Charta
Of American workmen.
Everybody understands that Section 7
would have been written into the Sher-
man Act of 1890 had there been any
thought of the application since made of
this act. Everybody knows that Congress
at that time had no thought Of legislating
with regard to the relations of employers
and employees. | challenge contradiction
of that statement.
IF Congress had ever intended to legis-
late upon these relations, il would be do
ing what the States may well do and are
doing. 1t is their subject matter. and not
a Federal subject matter prescribing pen
alties for wrongs when committed for labor.
| challenge the members of this House to
say that Congress ever would have said to
labor; II you overstep the line and permit
a violation, you shall be subject to three
fold damages. That is natural sentence,
pronounced on commercial outlaw Organi-
cations that sought to suck up all the COM
mercial property and power of the republic.
That is sentence that never can be pro-
now or in future on peaceful
of workingmen.
81 know there is some misapprehension.
Some honest people are inclined to think
that this section may mean a species of
class legislation. They make the error of
treating labor as commodity. There are
under which the price of la
Dor unfortunately is determined by the cruel
laws of the market, but there is dstinc-
lion between it and barrel of oil. Labor
under our institutions can never become
property either before the court or before
the Legislature. Under our Constitution
in human beings has forever
ceased but barrel of oil is not only
in the market but it is COM
modify before the courts and COM
modify before the Legislature. Its legal
attribute is property, and the leading at
tribute of the workineman is citizenship"