Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1914-02-25
FOUGHT BY WILSON
EXEMPTION OF LABOR UNIONS
AND FARMERS FROM TRUST
LAWS PLANNED.
IS AWKWARD FOR PRESIDENT
If Paragraph is inserted in Anti-Mo-
nopoIy Measure Consistency Would
Require That He Veto the
Entipe Legislation.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.


Washington. is possible that
President Wilson may be obliged to
use his personal influence to prevent
his partly in congress from inserting
in one Of the antitrust bills a para
graph which 1aay cause trouble. The
president it is known is opposed to
any legislation which will exempt GER
tain organizations from prosecution
under the antitrust laws, but it is be-
heved that tho majority in congress is
preparing to insert just such provi-
sion into pending legislation and Mr.
Wilson, it is said, wants to stop it.
1t is the intention of these Demo
Gratis, who probably can dominate the
house, to secure the insertion in one
of the antitrust laws of a provision
which shall exempt from prosecution
labor unions and farmers organiza-
lions. 1t is CT course the intention of
the Democrats to make some excep-
tons. The organizations of the kind
named of course can be prosecuted if
they do certain things, but they first
are not to be prosecuted for entering
into any combination or agreement
having in view an increase of wages,
a shortening Of hotrs, a lettering of
the conditions of labor, or, and most
important. FOR any act done in fur
therance thereof that is not in itself
unlawful" AS for the farmers or
CARNATIONS, it is Intended to exempt
them from prosecution when they CO.
operate In an effort to obtain and
maintain fair and reasonable price
for their products.
Fear 1t viii BE Abused.
On the face Of things this legisla-
tion may look fair and square. Per-
haps it is, for many of the legislators
and thousands of their constituents
are coming to the belief that labor and
the farmer should be put into classes
by themselves and should be helped
by legislation which would be perhaps
unconstitutional if enacted in favor Of
any other classes, or divisions if you
will, of the citizenship of the United
States. The objections which will be
entered to the legislation rest upon
what some men say is the certainty
that it will be abused and that if it
becomes a part of the law Of the land
labor unions will be allowed to do
what they will unchecked, and that
the farmer will be allowed to raise
prices to the sky provided he can do
it through cooperation with his fell
lows.
Last year the Democrats did what
they could to exempt labor and the
farmer from prosecution under the
Sherman antitrust law. In the sundry
civil bill which was passed one year
ago this month there was inserted a
provision forbidding that any of the
money voted for the use Of the attor-
ney generals office in prosecuting the
trusts should be used to prosecute la
Dor unions and farmers organizations
engaged in such lines of endeavor as
those drawn above. Mr.. Taft vetoed
this bill as one of the last acts of his
administration.
In March last the Democrats re-
passed the sundry civil bill in virtual
ly the form in which it was sent to
Mr.. Taft. President Wilson approved
the measure, but attached to it a
memorandum "condemning the prin-
ciple of special exemption of organi-
cations of farmers or laboring men
from prosecution for maintaining
combinations in restraint of trade and
commerce"
Would Tie McReynoIds' Hands.
After President Wilson had signed
the sundry civil bill, including the ex-
emption clauses, Attorney General
McReynolds started a prosecution of
labor unionists in West Virginia. He
was not allowed to use any of the
sundry civil bill money in the case,
but there were funds at his disposal
which enabled him to secure indict-
ments, carry the matter into court
and start the trials. This was pointed
to by the administration as showing
that it had no intention of exempting
labor unions from the operation OF the
Sherman antitrust law.
If the Democrats, however, carry
out their present intention and exempt
the unions and the farmers organ1za-
lions from prosecution by means OF an
actual law of exemption, the hands OF
the president and his attorney general
will be tied AS things are, the inhi-
bition lies simply against the use of
certain money to pay for prosecutions
of this kind. The paragraph OF ex-
emption in one of the antitrust laws
actually will prevent the bringing of
any suits against labor unions and
farmers organizations for acts which
On the part of other combinations
would be criminal.
Some of the Democrats seem to
think that if their party shall insist
upon legislation of the kind outlined
Mr. Wilson will veto it, even if in so
doing he must veto all of the anti
trust elgislation which goes with it..
II the matter is put up to the pres1-
dent he viii be troubled to sign the
bill containing It and be consistent
with his ntterances of last March,
when he ~irtually rebuked his party