Denver labor bulletin., 1917-08-04

be considered sufficient. However,
there are no property rights involved
and it is not sought by the plaintiffs
to enjoin the defendants from doing
anything that the defendants claim a
legal right to do"
Property Rights Come First.
Judge Leslie finished off this re-
markable opinion, setting property
rights above other rights, with a ser
mon on patriotism and his earnest
wishes that labor would be patriotic.
With the ak of this injunction close
to its neck, labor struck back at its
enemy. A covert internecine warfare
has gone on with results that were
started by the Omaha Labor Defense
League as follows:
"Omaha lost the location of fed
eral cantonment camp that would have
brought the expenditure of about $10,-
100000 in cash thruout Omaha and
competing for the location of this can
tonment, Omaha was the only city
which came with hands dirty from
industrial war. When the Omaha del
egation presented its claim to the war
department in Washington, Omaha
was the onlv city from which the
department had evidence that treach-
erous and needless strife against la
bor unions had been instigated with
the aim of destroying the labor union
movement. In this particular, all 9TH
er cities competing for the location of
the $10,000,000 cantonment came with
clean hands.
"2. Omaha lost wages of more than
$4,000 a day for weeks. These were
the wages of locked-out workmen.
"3. Omaha has lost more than l.
900 carpenters, building laborers, and
skilled workmen within three months.
These men are scattered over Iowa,
Nebraska and the Middle West. They
will not come back to their homes and
families in Omaha until their home
town stands before the world with
cleaner hands and a winter record for
the treatment of labor. Incidentally,
scores of these exiled carpenters are
earning wages of S7.15 day at build
ing federal cantonment camps, this
standardized federal wage being from
81 to 50 dav more than the wages
paid by members of the Business
Mems Association of Omaha.
200 Negroes Imported.
a. Omaha has lost definite meas
urable amount of its community safety
thru the importation of unfortunate
casual laborers directed to Omaha thru
efforts of proft-greedy business inter
ests, blind to the permanent welfare of
this community. Race riots are not
wanted in Omaha. On July IL, how
ever, thirty-one negroes were counted
as drivers on wagons of the Omaha
Merchants Express & Transfer COM
pany, wagons always manned by white
men until the B. NJ. A. lockout. Two
hundred negroes were brought from
East st. Louis since the terrible holo-
caust in that city, some going to work
as building laborers and at excavating
jobs. 1t is a fair and open question
whether the Business Mems Associa-
ton of Omaha is doing the right thing
for Omaha by driving 1000 skilled
workmen out of town in the same pc
riod that it is bringing in hundreds of
black men. 1t is a question whether
this is justice either to the white or
the black races of Omaha.
"5. Omaha has lost its reputation
as a city that is fair to labor, that
accords workingmen their constitution
al rights. In an era of history when
the. American nation is fighting
world war for democracy as against
the business men of Omaha
reach a judge with petition and the
judge waves the American flag with
his right hand while he serves an in
junction on organized labor with his
left hand"
Another Injunction Issued.
Besides an injunction issued by
Judge Leslie on petition of Omaha
business men, there is another notable
decree. Attorney General Willis Reed
asked for it. He specified that both
and the workingmen of
Omaha were in conspiracy to harm
the community and therefore both
should be restrained from doing any
harm to each other. Judge Leslie
granted the decree.
Reed at once warned the state board
of mediation to stop it's hearings be-
cause the swearing of witnesses and
taking of testimony would further in
cite the controversy. Chairman Cow
ell, an Omaha dry goods merchant,
who represents business on the state
mediation board, refused to obey the
attorney generals warning. Witnesses
were all ready and the board was go
ing ahead with a hearing as usual
Entered then the bailiffs from the
court of Judge Leslie with restraining
orders bidding the state mediation
board to hear no witnesses. On the
ground that the Reed injunction petit
tloH aileSeu leueral laws were DelnR
violated, the state mediation board
to Federal District Judge
who ruled that the state
mediation board could proceed with
hearings. Then came W. B. Drake,
president of the Drake Realty Con-
struction company, as a witness before
the board, attended by F. II. Gaines,
for the Business Mems asso-
citation. On July 9, the record shows
this:
Declines to Answer Questions.
Gaines-I am here to protect this