The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1919-05-23

have forty days in which to perfect
an appeal.
"We propose to fight this case to
the end and through the court of last
resort.
'"The decision affects the existence
of every labor organization ~ Ameri-
ca. The issue involved is so vital that
decision must be sought from the
highest court to which we can appeal
Everything will be done that can be
done to win this case"
The history of the Coronado Coal
Company's suit against the United
Mine Workers of America is told in
detail in the report of the Executive
Council of the American Federation
of Labor convention in st. Paul
Dealing with that suit the Executive
Council of the Federation said:
Suit Charging Conspiracy
"A. S. Dowd, receiver for nine coal
corporations brought action against
the United Mine Workers of Ameri-
ca, July 25, 1914, charging that the
organization since 1898 had been in a
gigantic conspiracy with union oper-
ators to interfere with the production
and commerce of the corporations
that followed a non-uuion policy By
means of strikes and attendant vio-
lence
"The case grew out of a local strike
of the Arkansas miners. The Bache-
Denman Coal Company alleged that
they were damaged by reason of the
strike and that the officers and mem
bers of the United Mine Workers of
America conspired to prevent the op-
GRAFTON of their mines and the ship
ment of their coal in interstate COM
merce. A demurrer was sustained to
this complaint by the federal Judge of
the district court An appeal was
made to the Circuit Court of Appeals
but that court held that the complaint
was good and remanded it for trial
In lis opi.,on, the Circuit Court I 'ok
the potion that labor union y.
though un.lcorporated,co ,could he sued
in It's union name This op ION ot
the !udgc Is without precelent We
reported th,s decision tc the 1916 Con-
vent.on
Tie trial took placo before Judge
Elliott A.,er the jury had been out
about fray eight hours they were cal
led be,n,e tine court and instructed
by the lldss:
Charge by Judge.
Now, gentlemen of the jury, this
is a pretty serious situation and
want to say to you that the court has
no thought at all of discharging you
You were sworn upon your oaths to
do your duty as jurors. In the opin-
ion of the court there is no reason on
earth why reasonable men with due
regard for right, and each having
due respect and consideration for the
others opinion, should not arrive at
conclusion in this case What would
be fortune to either of you or ! has
already been spent and failure to
render justice in this and others is
what brings the courts into contempt.
81 say this to you that you may un-
derstand the seriousness of your sit
uation The facts in this case have
got to be found by jury. Another
jury will have no better opportunity
of knowing what these facts are or be
in any better position to determine
these facts than you, and it is your
duty as jurors under your oaths to
get together and return verdict.
"Now the Federal Courts recognize
the right of this court under these
circumstances to say what this court
believes in relation to the facts in this
case, and you are advised that this
court is of the opinion that the facts
in this case justify you in The conclu-
sion, overwhelmingly, that it was the
policy and therefore the agreement
for years of this national organization
to prevent mining of non-union coal
for the unlawful purposes named in
this complaint that it might not come
into competition with union mined
coal; that there is no question in this
courts mind but that that strike was
ordered down there for that purpose
to prevent the mining of non-union