Denver labor bulletin., 1915-08-21

about and maintaining those conditions
is accepting something for nothing. That
is not my highest ideals of honesty.
1t has been long struggle. First
there was the conspiracy laws against
the trade union movements six hundred
years ago. In the thirteenth century the
king proceeded against the tub women
in the breweries because they had organ
lied to stop work until they We're ad-
vanced in wages.
Combating Conspiracy Laws.
AT that time, as now, part OF the
revenues OF the state We're secured by
taxes upon beer and ale The king, thru
his representatives, proceeded against
the tub women on the theory that they
had entered into conspiracy to deprive
the king OF his revenues, and the tub
women were convicted. 1t was step
from the theory OF depriving the en-
ployer of his revenues, and there was
built up the precedence for our conspi
racy cases in the trade union movement.
Year after year for these six centu-
ries the trade union movement combat
ted the conspiracy laws, and the last
difficulty | recall occurred in the state
OF Pennsylvania in lS75-the Common
wealth of Pennsylvania vs.. Joseph Siney,
ct al. in which lingo Parks and about a
dozen of his associates We're sent to Jail
for conspiracy tho they had committed
no other crime than that OF combining
for the purpose OF stopping work until
they had better wages.
Away From Injunction Process.
The struggle to get away from the
injunctive processes has been short and
decisive: the injunctive process can issue
only from an equity court, court deal
ing with the relation OF man to property
rather than the relation OF man to man.
The reason for an equity court issuing
writ of Injunction restraining me from
interfering with you because the inter
ference might prevent some employer
from operating his plant, was upon the
theory that the employer had property
right in the labor of the employe.
NO man can have property right in
the labor of another without having
property right in that other himself. La
Dor is the mental and physical energy
generated and stored up in man; 1t Is
part OF him; it is inseparable from
him. Labor itself is part OF man. and
You can not have property right IN
that labor without having a property
right in man; and the thirteenth amend-
ment to the constitution specifically de
clares that neither slavery nor involun-
tary scrvitude shall exist in the United
States except a. II punishment for crime
Labor's New Magma Charta.
Recently we have had enacted into law
a measure that declares that the labor
OF human being is not commodity or
an article of commerce. If it is not a
commodity or an article OF commerce
and within the jurisdiction OF the equity
court, then il there is any quarrel as
between the laborer and someone else,
that quarrel must be determined in the
law courts with jury trial instead OF
in the equity cocurts that deal with
property and property rights only.
The declaration in what is known as
the Clayton bill then becomes labor's
new Magma Charta. The conspiracy laws
have been wiped out OF existence. The
fight is only partially won. the Clayton
act only applies TO the federal judiciary,
and the fight must now be guarded.
There was created a new departm ment
-- the department of labor. In 1865 the
American labor movement first gave eN.
preston to a desire to have depart
ment of labor created. Since that time
there has been continuous agitation
which resulted in the early sos in the
creation OF department OF labor with y
commissioner at its head
Higher National Standing.
Neither our constitution nor our stat
utory laws provide for a cabinet for
the president of the United States; that
is purely Il matter OF personal selection,
regula ted by the precedents which have
been established When the department
of labor was created the position was
taken that commissioner did not have
sufficient standing in the government to
warrant the president in accepting the
head OF the department OF labor one
OF his counsel. The agitation was in
tended to increase the standing or status
OF commissioner to that of secretary.
Instead OF creating the status from
commissioner to secretary, il resulted in
establishing the department OF commerce
and labor, with the old department of
labor as bureau OF labor in the new
department OF labor and commerce. The
agitation continued. The bill finally was
enacted into a law, and one OF the last
acts performed by Mr.. Taft was to at
tach his signature TO. the bill creating
the department Of labor.
New Branch of Government.
1t came into existence with secre-
tary as its head, and the president ac-
ccpted the secretary one of his official
family for the first time in the history
of our government-for the first time in
the history OF any government, the labor
movement or wage workers of our coun-
try had voice in the inner councils;
their interests were represented; their
commercial interests, the legal interests,
the land nterests-in fact nearly all the
activities of our people were specially
represented in council in disputes within
the official family of the president.
while many new functions have de-
volved upon the department, which have
/ not been exercised by the federal gov
ernment, to my mind the greatest
achievement is TO be able to state the