The daily Alaska citizen., 1919-11-12

Turnout the controversy, subsequent t, the issuance of the restraining by the fed oral court at Indianapolis, the federation has openly advocated adherence to th, strike order by the miners. It has stub bornly maintained that the govcnmcn was exceeding its authority in asking fo an injunction and deliberately offered tht miners all the support of organized labor If they would ignore the courts mandate
 The entire country must have been sur priscd by such a stand on the part of the American Federation of Labor Its former policy has been to give undivided sJlppor1 to the legal procccdings of any duly consti tutcd court. It has insisted on such actioI on the part of it's members and its undoubt ed prestige all over the country is duo largely to the fact that it has stood mhcSi tatingly for the enforcement of law ano order.
 Its argument that the food and fuc control act under which the injunction pro- ccCdings were taken does not now anC never did apply to the workers of the coun. try is too weak to call for refutation. Com mon sense will tell everyone that any mdi vidual or body of men, whether they bC members of capital or labor groups, con spring to limit, restrict or destroy either food or fuel supplies within the meaning of the law, can be handled by that law. The q .I openly attempting to curtail the nation : fuel supply belong to unions does not ren- der them immune to the law Only the rankest sort of class legislation could bring that to pass and the fuel and food control act was designed and enacted to protect every American citizen and not bring inn mumty to anyone,
 And the unions having been proven tc be in the wrong, Mr. Gompers does not inn prove the situation, nor add to his prcSti%C by dcnouncing the administration In it> enforcement of law and order, the admins tratiOn does not have to be concerned over the position taken by the American FedC atiOn of Labor. If that body of affiliated unions objects to such enforcement 1t places itself in rather unenViabc position and 1t will have to do the explaining, not the ad ministration Mr. Gompers should rcmcm- Der the result of the recent Massachusetts gubematorial election when, after tilt with federated labor over the Boston police strike, in which he opposed the federation in the interests of law and order, Governor Coolidge was reelected by the biggest vote ever given a Massachusetts candidate President Wilson correctly diagnosed the returns when he wired Governor Coolidge that all Americans combine when 1t is a question of maintaining law and order Tho administration need worry but little over Mr. Gompers' abjuration of loyalty under such circumstances. It means a gain rather than a loss.
 I've are free men and we propose tC exercise the freedom of our judgment" is a declaration more worthy of Schnabc than fitting for Mr. Gompers. The mem- berShip of the Russian Workers Union is for the most part occupying rooms in fed eral jails for attempting to put that idea in force. America is free country, eacl citizen is free, but none of us may exercise the freedom of our judgment to the disad vantage of the general public interest. That is a well recognized principle of American government and it applies equally to the American Federation of Labor as to the Russian Workers Union.
 Public opinion, once aroused is the strongest force in American life. Such in dustrial or trade organizations as exist il