The daily Nome industrial worker., 1916-09-13
MENACE TO FREEDOM.

portant voice to be raised against the railroad eight hour day should be that of a preacher. This holy man in the Pilgrim Congregational Church in St. Louis discovers in the eight hour legislation menace to free government.
 That is very interesting and important point of view for a preacher It is one that awakens considerations as to what is really a free government and why in partl- cular eight hour legislation should be such menace to freedom.
 Nevertheless, Reverend H. Wood Eight hour legislation has been con- demned no less emphatically, poss nbly not for the same reason. by Samuel Gompers. But surely there is such an extraordinar. coincidence in tie :act that it is well worth con siGerIng. Be it remarked that Com lers did not condemn the eight hour law fer railroaders. On the contrary he held that it was victory for gabor. Yet at the last convention of the organization over which he presided he opposed with all his might any such thing as eight hour legislation.
 The position in which te nov finds himself by giving an approvlt to the legislative settlement of the railroad trouble, is merely another one of those inconsistencies varying circumstances occasion, just as they vary.
 The eight hour law is not at all a menace to free government, Rev. Woodrow to the contrary notwith- standing. On the contrary. it is the first time that the government has been directly lined up with those who have very little pretensions to political or industrial freedom.
 The objection to this eight hour legislation is only to be filed when it hangs in abeyance. The short coming in the merely legislative method of settling disputes is found only when the officials fails toenforce the law or courts which are not inn partial set such legislation aside. The eight hour day to be without -snaw as an industrial condition must have at it's back such a strong and determined economic organization that its enforcement as such will re squire neither official activity nor be affected by any adverse judicial de- .cisions. a
 If the labor organizations are so strong that by industrial action they can enforce an eight hour day. they will have no need of legislation at all, and their work day is shortened without any possibility of such eco homie action being thrown out by the courts. S
 Gompers position that this was an economic question, to be settled by economic action is sound. but he must have noted that it was the lack of confidence in his methods that had driven the socialists and others to resort to the legislature.
 Tn this instance before us, Rev. Woodrow overlooks the real reason why the law was passed. It was not. in fact, to surrender the position to labor and thus deny those who were not workers any legislative expres- sion to their side.
 While without doubt political capital will be made out of Wilson's action among the laboring world, il is safe to say that quite other in terests inspired it. The fact is that Wilson and Congress feared tho consequence of railroad strike. It would create condition of things that no one could safely say where 1t would end. It would inconyen- fence shippers to such an extent that 1t would result in paralysis of industry in many sections.
 Although the railroad presidents were all of them affecting confid- ence in their ability to operate their systems even if the railroaders struck. 1t is quite safe to say that there wan no such confidence In ex- istence, and everyone knew tbat with such solidarity among tho