The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1914-05-01
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Organized Labor Stands For Lib
erty and Justice.
PROTESTS AGAINST WRONG.

! American Federation of Labor De-
mands That VioIators of the Law,
! Whether Union Men or Not, Be Pun
ished and Pay the Penalty.
The organized labor movement is a
| protest against wrong and injustice. 1t
seeks to secure freedom and justice.
That is the reason it now demands la
| bor's amendment to the Sherman anti
| trust act That act was passed by con
| gress in 1890 for the purpose of check
ing combinations among capitalists
formed for the purpose of controlling
| the supply and price of articles of trade
| and commerce. The trainers of that
! law did not intend that the law should
| apply to labor organizations and farm
ers unions. They did not intend that
/ organizations formed not for profit, but
| for human betterment, should be classi-
fed as illegal combinations in restraint
of trade. The National Association of
/ Manufacturers and all like combina-
| tiouS of employers who are hostile to
| organization among the workers and
yet who themselves organize for the
| purpose of destroying organizations of
/ labor and of farmers persistently as
sert that those who favor the Bartlett
| and Bacon bills desire to establish a
! special class of evildoers.
The organized labor movement as ex-
tlfnSSpJ Inv tho r1a,,iann FaJoro flor, Of
Labor is an ardent advocate of law
and order. 1t yields first place to none
in its loyalty and patriotism in uphold
ing institutions and agencies for pro
noting and insuring peace, justice and
freedom by permanent. normal agen.
cies. 1t is just as vigorous in its eff
forts to secure the enforcement of all
law rs is any other organization in this
country. 1t challenges a comparison of
its record with that of any other organ
iZation 1t has ever stood for the right
and the good.
The officials of the American FEEDER
alton Of Labor have iterated and re-
iterated that violators of the law,
whether they be union men or not,
should be punished and compelled to
pay the penalty. The American FEEDER
alton Of Labor demands that if work
ingmen are guilty of crimes and illegal
acts, those deeds shall be punished ac-
COrding to the laws provided to apply
to such cases. No one need fear that
the misdeeds of the toilers will not be
| duly punished. But organized labor
| protests against the perversion of law
to apply to acts of totally different ma
ture from those which the law was
| enacted to cover. Organized labor pro-
tests against direct action by the
judiciary as emphatically as 1t does
against direct action" by all other
members of society.
The American Federation of Labor
| has never asked special favors, but 1t
does demand just application Of the
laws and equal opportunity for all to
! receive justice.
The American Federation of Labor
is more interested in the enforcement
Of law than many Of those who prate
| loudly about the enforcement Of law.
It's opponents understand and demand
enforcement of law to protect property
rights only. They have no conception
of human rights-rights necessary for
| human welfare, aye, even for the pro
! lection of human life. The organized
labor movement demands that law
shall recognize these human rights
! enforcement of law shall be mindful Of
/ human interests.
If the opponents of the Bartlett
/ Bacon bills were even honest with
themselves they would concede that
the antitrust act was intended to deal
only with commodities and not with
labor and its activities in securing
equitable conditions between employer
and employee. They would all concede,
as even Walter Gordon Merritt has
been forced to concede, that a law
which applies to the sale and distribu
ton Of products should not necessarily
apply to the relation of employer and
employee and that there is a difference
between a human being and a bushel
of coal
The labor organizations do not want
any special privileges. On the con
trary, they have and do now vehement
ly protest against the granting Of spe
ciaI privileges to any class of society.
They have done more than any other
social force to secure equality of OPP
pOrtunity and freedom for all. All the
labor unions want is the right to work
out their destiny under laws that pro-
mote and assure human rights. Fur
thermore, they feel keenly and resent
the injustice of the courts in placing
them in the same class with organiza-
tions which have been held by the
courts to be illegal combinations"
They declare it unjust to consider la
Dor unions as organizations identical
with such organizations as the Stand
ara Oil. steel and tobacco trusts. The
managers Of these latter combinations
nnutrnL 1niLlinne Of ,rnnIth ruhiln tho