Weekly Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1919-1920, 1920-01-07
JUDGE STAFFORD
ON THE RIGHT
TO STRIKE
Rutlafll Herald Comments on His
Bennington Address


Speaking in Bennington Sunday
night Judge Wendell p. Stafford ut
tered some notable expressions in re-
gard to the labor 4ituaton,' with
especial reference to the pending leg
i:!ation for the return OF the rail
roads to their owners. Considering
the fact that the speaker is a more
Or less potential candidatey for
United State, senator, the speech is
OF more than ordinary Importance
After outlining the right of the
community or majority to act for the
whole as against the claims of the
Few, he took the position firmly that
public servants could not strike for
the purpose Of forcing the people to
do their will. Otherwise, he said:
"Iiromcn can do it in the face, of
/. coHiiaeration. Policemen can. do
it in the midst of Il riot. Is that
right? Can that be tolerated? Yet
l need not remind you of what hap
pcncd in Liverpool short time ago
when the mob swept through the
streets and wrecked the stores, while
the police stood by and watched it;
nor what happened more lately in
Chicago, in Montreal, in Boston" ,
Disclailning any prejudice against
labor unionism, Judge Stafford said
that on the contrary the unions had
done tremendous amount of good.
"They have succeeded" he said, "and
sometimes against fearful odds il
wrestling from the greedy hands of
richer classes Il fairer portion Of the
products Of their toll .f.. We
all rejoice in that. " D.. q
The speaker however, was out
spoken against the proposition to
make the people subject to the DOM
ination of any union Except the
union of these United States" IA
The situation was described by
Judge Stafford in which, after oni
having Recognized the right Ut labor
to unite and strike at any time with
all its power, it now stands prepared
to say to the country
"Hand over the roads to us: let
US fix Qua own wages, or We will
leave you in the lurch. We propose
to have what we consider is our due
or you must take the chance Of ruin
to the country and starvation to the
people" r7 t5
This, the speaker urged, was, the
result of considering men in public
employment as OH the same basis al
those in private enterprises.
took the ground ,oldlyand WI
promisinglv that, l0fTkilati
such stllktN ~ |n
"What is the
out is to retrace y
ognizc the fact. ThO
men who engage in an
that are not private endF
public servants. To use an expresSl
that socialists admire, they are 'sold-
icrs of the common good And they
have no more right to strike than any
other soldier has. That is what is
right in the moral sense; it must be
made the test Of what is right in the
legal sense. The law must be so
changed that when men engage i'll a
service of that character it shall be
u crime to strike"
Answering the charge that this
might constitute industrial slavery,
Judge Stafford said that there is
nothing in such proposal to prevent
any individual from quitting g public
employment when he so desired, but
could not quit it in combination with
Others when it put in hazard the
very existence of the community.
Then it outreachcd the bounds of lib
elty and became conspiracy.
Judge Stafford's remedy is, in
fact fundamental with the constitu-
ton and form of government of the
United States. 1t calls for the rule of
the majority and the determination
by the legislature national or state,
of what it public utility-a business
on which the public depends for its
continued life. That being deter
mined, he would consider employees
in such business as enlisted in the.
service Of the United States and de-
barred thereby from engaging in
strikes.
The position is a bold one, but
one cannot doubt, in reading Judge
Stafford's strong and logical presen-
tation Of the public's case, that he
has arrived at the conviction after a
profound and diligcnt study into the
law, the facts and the fundamental
right Of the 'public-as a whole, not
as a .part-to life, liberty and the
pursuit Of happiness.
AMERICAN LEGION MEETING