The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1919-06-10
CLAUSES
ARE UPHELD BY
LABOR COUNCIL
League Of Nations Approved
IN Report = Labor Ad-
vancement is Considered.

Al LANIlC CITY, N. j., June TO-
Important projects for the advance
ment and improvement OF working
conditions, as well as comprehensive
outlines of what has been accomplish
ed on labor's behalf during the last
year, are set forth in the report Of
the executive council of the American
Federation of Labor, submitted today
10 the officers and delegates attending
the opening session of the thirty-ninth
annual convention
The advent of peace is taken by the
council to hold out bright prospects
for labor OF the peace treaty, itself,
the labor executives forming the coun-
Gil. after endorsing the triumph of
freedom and democracy as exempli
ned in the covenant of the league of
nations, says that the labor sections
are compromise but that it must,
however, be a source OF deepest sat
isfaction to the American working
people to know that the American
position and the American declara-
lions as presented for insertion in the
treaty ranked above all others in point
OF progress measured and in point of
actual and practical application in the
lives of the working people. What
ever OF compromise appears was made
because of the claim that other ma
tons of the world could not pledge
themselves to an immediate and def
mite acceptance as the established
practices of our day"
Oppose Court Authority.
Foremost among the matters sub
mltted by the council to the conven-
ton are suggestions dealing with leg
islation to prevent any invasion of
the rights and prerogatives of the leg
1slative branch of our government by
the judiciary. The report of the
council on this subject was made in
accordance with resolution adopted
by the ST. Paul convention. In that
resolution the council was ordered to
study the successive steps which
have been taken by our federal and
supreme courts through which, with
out constitutional authority and in op-
position of the action of the constitu-
tional convention, they have laid hold
upon power which they now exercise"
The study has been partially com
pleted and contains remedial sugges-
tfons made by Jackson H. Ralston,
attorney of the American Federation
of Labor Three propositions are
submitted in the report for considera-
ton of the convention. each proposing
that authority of the supreme court to
pass upon acts of congress should be
Cancelled or abridged.
Arguments for and against the pro-
posals are discussed at considerable
length, Mr.. Ralston giving it as his
opinion that, coupled with judicial re
forms there should go hand in hand
the initiative and referendum, proper
tional representation and the prefer
entail ballot without which, he says,
methods of attaining justice will lack
much of completeness"
This section of the report closes
with the statement that the writer is
convinced that in this subject the ex-
ecutive council has had before it
.one of the gravest fundamental ques-
tions with which we have had to deal
the preservation OF a truly demo-
cratic government against what has
often been called the .aristocracy of
the robe
Hoarding Is Charged.
Considerable attention is devoted by
the report to labor legislation 1t is
said that some rule should be adopted
in congress which would prevent OBJ
structive legislative methods. The
report lists among the measures STALL
ed by the weary waste of worthless
words" in the last congress and in
which labor was especially interested,
the appropriation bills Tor the war
labor board United States employ
ment agency, Women industry service,
Working conditions service and the
investigation and Inspection service.
Discussing what is called the meat
packing monopoly" the council quoted
the report of the Federal Trade COM
mission to President Wilson and said
that hearings by the house interstate
commerce committee seemed to
show conclusively the existence of
a combination which not only controls
and regulates prices of beef lambs,
hogs and other meat. but also eggs,
butter poultry. cheese, rice. fish,
canned goods of all descriptions,
leather and wool"
1t is then stated that insofar as
this combination restricts the sup
ply and enhances the cost of these
neeessries. the laboring people of the
country are adversely affected and the
matter becomes one of vital concern
to the American Federation Of La
bor" 1t is charged in the report
that the packers "durin gthe war
shortage of leather, when it was diff
ticult to furnish shoes for soldiers,
boarded such quantities of hides that
it was impossible to find proper stor-
age room for them" The development
of Armour and company is discussed
at length, but no definite recommen-
dations are made by the executive
council.