The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-06-09
LABOR PROGRAM
FOR YEAR GIVEN
By Executive Council of the
American Federation
of Labor
THAT PART OF TREATY
CALLED COMPROMISE
Encroachment of Judiciary
on Legislative Branch
Is Condemned

Atlantic City, n. j., June 9.-Impor-
tant projects for the advancement of
labor and improvement of working CON
ditions, as well as comprehensive out
lines of what has been accomplished 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 to-day to the officers
and delegates attending the opening SEES
sion of the 39th 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 council,
after endorsing the triumph of freedom
and Justice and democracy as eXemplitied
in the covenant of the league of nations"
says that the labor sections are a com
promise but that it must, however, "be a
source of deepest satisfaction to the
American working people to know that
the American position and the American
declarations 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 working people. Whatever Of
compromise appears, was made because
of the claim that other nations of the
world could not peldge themselves to an
immediate and definite acceptance of the
standards maintained by the American
labor movement as the established prac-
tces of our day"
Foremost among the matters submit
ted by the council to the convention are
suggestions dealing with legislation to
prevent any invasion of the rights and
prerogatives of the legislative 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 SUI
preme courts through which, without
constitutional authority and in opposi-
ton of the action of the constitutional
convention, they laid hold upon power
which they now exercise" The study
has now been partially completed and
contains remedial suggestions made by
Jackson II. Ralston, attorney of the
American Federation of Labor. Three
propositions are submitted in the report
for the consideration of the convention,
each proposing that authority of the SUI
preme court to pass upon acts of Con-
gress should be cancelled or abridged
Arguments for and against the propos-
ais are discussed at considerable length,
Mr.. Ralston giving it as his opinion that,
coupled with judicial reforms, there
SHOULD go hand in hand the initiative
and referendum, proportional representa-
ton and the preferential 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 con-
WINGED that in this subject the executive
council has had before it "one of the
gravest fundamental questions with
which we will have to deal-the preser-
walton of truly democratic government
against what has often been called the
'aristocracy of the robe"
Labor Legislation.
Considerable attention is devoted by
the report to labor legislation. It is said
that some rule should be adopted in Con-
gress which would prevent obstructive
legislative methods. The report lists
among the measures stalled by ''the
weary waste of worthless words in the
last Congress and in which labor was
especially interested, the appropriation
bills for the war labor board, United
States employment agency, women in in
dustry service, working conditions serv-
ice and the investigation and inspection
service.
The executive council suggests that
the convention authorize the printing
and wide circulation of list of measures
in which the American Federation of
Labor is interested, among which are
the bill forbidding immigration for four
years during the period of industrial re-
construction, bill for an old age re-
tirement system for federal employees in
the classified service, bill providing a
minimum wage of So day for federal
employees, Secretary Lanes bill to fur
nish land for soldiers and sailors. bill
to give states the same power over the
products of convict labor from other
states as they exercise over the products
of their own prisons, industrial vocation
al education for persons crippled in in
dustry, increased pay for teachers, and
educational bills designed to end adult
illiteracy in the United States.
Appropriations for the department OF
labor are discussed at some length 1t is
stated in the report that Congress in
granting meagre funds to that depart
ment has failed to interpret correctly
the spirit and trend of present-day de-
yelopment" especially "at a time when
there is worldwide recognition of the
fundamental Importance of industrial
problem"
1--WE maintain" the report continues
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