The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1919-12-12
CLAYTON ACT USED
TO GET LABOR VOTE
INJUNCTION SUIT SHOWS WILL.
SON PLAYED ONLY FOR
SUPPORT.

WASHINGTON, ID. Cit is the
concensus of opinion in political cir
cles in the national capital that the
Wilson administration has irrapar-
ably lost its hold upon labor because
of its use of the injunction in the
coal strike after its promise, written
into the Clayton antitrust act. not to
do so.
Just as the president in 1916 gave
an implied promise to keep the coun-
try out Of war and failed to do SO be-
cause of circumstances which he and
others had forseen, and just as he re-
peatedly asserted on the stump earlier
in the year that the league Of nations
covenant would end all future wars
in spite of preparation in several parts
of the globe for conflict, SO put
through congress an injunction law
which is now abandoned in face of
the necessity Of getting coal.
Labor had for years been making a
vain attempt to limit the use Of the
injunction by the courts in labor dis
putes as means of protecting prop
erty and placing strikers at dis
advantage. In 1914 its leaders were
therefore delighted when the Clayton
act included the following provision:
The Act.
=
That no restraining order or in
{ junction shall be granted by any court.
Of the United States, or a judge or
the judges thereof, in any case be-
tween an employer and employees, or
between employers and employees. or
between employees, or between per-
sons employed and persons seeking
employment, involving, or growing
out Of dispute concerning terms or
conditions Of employment, unless
necessary to prevent irreparable in
jury to property, or to a property
right, OF the party making the applica-
ton, for which injury there is no
adequate remedy at law, and such
property or property right must be
described with particularly in the APP
: plication, which must be in writing
and sworn by the applicant or by
his agent or attorney"
Though the war has been over for
more than year. Judge Anderson's
injunction was granted because of
the application of the government,
through the attorney general, based
upon the terms Of the Lever war act
to prevent any attempt to limit the
Nproduction and distribution of food
and fuel. It has been particularly dis
tasteful to the mine workers because
of the promise made in the law and
not kept, as because violence to
property had not been resorted to
and the injunction was issued even
before the strike began Miners and
all union workers are therefore in
censed at the administration which
made its injunction legislation one of
the baseszfor its plea for support from
labor-that and the Adamson law and
thank God for Wilson, he kept us
out of war"
Operators Lose Money.
What makes union labor all the
hotter is the following statement
issued by Secretary of the Treasury
Carter Class:
Goal operators generally in the
United States in the years 1914 and
1915 lost money when normal de.
pletion and depreciation ard taker
into consideration. What is meant b,
this is that proper item in fixing costs
is depreciation of plant and deple
= ton Of the cost or value Of the Goa
in the ground.
an 1918 conditions, were not g
good in the Appalachian and centra
being reduced rs to SO per cent iesl
competitive districts, profits general,
than for the preceding year, the rang
being from IS to 800 per cent on in
vested capital. In the west condi
tons in 1918 were better than II
1917, the profits in the Rocky Noun
tain districts ranging as high as ~
per cent on invested capital.
Unofficial figures for 1919, incom
piete Of course, indicate that profit
Of the operators are less than 70
1918. some Of the operators claimin
10 have actually lost money