The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1920-02-06
By Laurence Todd.

Washington Organized labor kill
ed the Sterling Graham sedition bill
this week
That IS a big political fact to be
written down by every long headed
politician in America.
Samuel Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor, acted
as chief executioner. He was assist
ed by every trade union official in the
national capital, and by thousands
outside, who wired or wrote letters
each on his own responsibility, de-
manding that congress cease to add
to its previous stupidities and oppres-
sions of labor this final insult to a
free people.
Bill of Servitude
This measure should be entitled
Bill to restore involuntary servitude
and to suppress the aspirations of the
wage workers Of this republic to bet
ter their condition" said Mr.. Gompers
in opening his discussion Of it,.
"There is abundant law now upon the
statute books, both state and federal,
to deal with every effort to incite Or
bring about resistance to the govern
ment, the constitution or the laws By
the exercise Of physical force and vio-
lence There can be no excuse for
this whole species of legislation ex-
cept upon the theory that this is a
nation to be ruled from the top down
ward, and that the masses Of the peo-
pie, among whom are the wage-work-
ers, must be prevented from trying to
change the laws, change the constitu~
ton, or even change the form of the
government through legal means, in
the course of their efforts to secure
better conditions of life for them
selves and for those who shall come
after them"
He pointed out that nowhere in the
sedition bills had any distinction been
made between moral force and physi-
cal force. Under this legislation, any
Judge might declare that the calling
of strike was the use Of force,
since it surely was an act of moral
force; then, since it would usually re-
suit in a loss of property to the en-
ployer, strike was the use of force
to destroy private property Under
the BILL any member Of labor organ
ization would be guilty Of conspiring
to use force, and to the extent that a
strike led or might be held by a court
to Suggest" a change in the laws, the
members of a union would be crimi-
nally liable.
Wrong Legislation
"There is no place in a free nation
for this species of legislation" the
president of the American Federation
of Labor repeated, over and over, to
the technical questions and suggestions
of patching-up Of the bill offered by
various members of the rules commit
tee eve are a people whose whole
history is one of establishing the rule
of the people by and for the people
from the bottom up, and not from the
top down. This bill is calculated to
turn loose upon US an army of spies
and agents of the department of just
ice, as we'll as imposing upon US the
censorship of our mail by the post
master general. We are totally anc
unalterably opposed to it.
"The committee may we'll take note
Of the fact that the only previous Sc
dition law in this country was thai
of 1898, passed by the federalist party
when it controlled congress. From the
day that bill was enacted began the
downfall of the federalist party, anc
they never were heard from again
Going farther back into history, yor
will find that the beginning of the de
cay of the Roman republic was the
moment the Roman people were de-
prived of their ancient right of public
assemblage and free discussion Of pub
lie affairs"
In charge of the hearing before the
house rules committee was jackson
H. Ralston, attorney for the A. F. Of
L. Ranged around the room were th<
legislative staff of the Federation, to-
gether with Flaherty, of the Posta
| Employees; Lord, of the Mining De