Evening star., 1920-12-31
Editorial Digest
Stopping Strikes BY Statute.

Ot0Pp1S nSt1keS ~ SosUV0s
Whether tho Poinaexter anti-stFiks
bill passed tho Senate by accident or
unfair advantage, It II plainly the pur.
pose Of the press to change tho Seuats's
sideration Of the measure before It goes
any farther. Editorial opinion u d.
vided about evenly on tho merits Of the
proposal to prohibit strikes on railroads.
But it is conceded by both sides that It
Is matter Of such great importance.
Sa tn mns no be sod pu Is
due regard to its Significance.
Whatever .Ae merits Of the blu.
whether cit is just what the country
needs or entirely at variance with
dmefSan eh lassll id' 1dsp.naen is saS1
feels that the manner Of It's passing.
when 1.-The senators undoubtedly under
stood the importance OF the measure.
leads naturally to the suspicion that
there must be something wrong with
the acid test Of a proper public hear
ing"
However, the Buffalo Commercial ire
publican), bitter opponent Of trades
unions. thinks the manner Of passage
Of the bill can be dismissed with the
conclusion that III the friends Of the
labor leaders are not in their seats
when a bill is called up for passage,
nobody is to blame but themselves;
particularly since this legislation is
a public necessity"
The country has lately learned a
lot" the Boston Transcript (independ-
ent-republican) finds. about the ef-
feet of transportation embargoes on
the price of food. clothing, coal. and
even house rents" and the Whining
~ ha
lieves that the Poindexter bill simply
carries out the wishes Of tho vast
majority of the people" arising from
that knowledge.
Objection to such legislation, the
New York Tribune (republican) holds,
pie fail to realize that the relation
of the railroads to the government
has been radically changed" Be-
cause of this change the system OF
normal balance between the power
of labor and the power Of Ownership
disappeared from the railroad in
dustry."
Granting the peculiar relation of
railway employees to the public, the
Sioux City Uowa) Tribune Gndepend-
ent) points out that provision has
ruptions in operations of railways"
by means Of the labor board created
by the Esch-Cummins law. Hence.
unless or until this board proves Q
failure. there is no reason for ad.
ditional legislation applying to car
riers.''
The right of the public to uhin-
terrupted public service" is para
mount" the San Francisco Chronicle
independently holds, and since the
property of a public service "is dedi-
Gated upon that understanding" the
Lob s-I~ o.
be dedicated under the same condi-
tions." That this principle OF "dedi-
cation to public service" should, how
ever, be translated into criminal law
is Objectionable, the Chicago Journal
democratic) grants, and proposes as q
themselves under the civil law by
devising some plan which will make
labor contracts enforcible by civil
suit
Legislation to take from any group
'the right to use collective action for
must come if at all only through
sheer necessity in the opinion of
the Ithaca Journal-News (independ-
enD. Until it has been definitely
proved that I'VE cannot run railroads
pmy Gther srts Ts in hat s ws 90 ss
be viewed with distrust and sus-
picion."
Almost any activity, the MuskeEon
Chronicle independently suggests. els
more or less related to Interstate
commerce, nowadays. and the possi-
bilities of blanket legislation forbid
ding such interference are limitless,"
and with this as a precedent, the Syra-
cuse Herald Gndependent) remarks
that Congress could now properly
forbid organization and strikes among
workers by solicitation, conspiracy or
argument"
dependent) condemns the attack on
the freedom of the workers.