The Connecticut labor news., 1921-03-11
WORKERS DECIDE TO IGNORE ORDER
 OF INJUNCT[ONS
Will Disregard, Regardless of Cost" Unfair Rulings of
 Biased Judges.

Washington, March 11-Organized workers have finally reached the con- clusion that attempts to obtain relief through legislation will be intellectual until some method is devised of com polling complaisant judges to deal fairly with them The flat declaration in the bills of rights" promulgated by the American Federation of Labor that hereafter unlawful injunctions and de- crees issued by the courts will be dis regarded, regardless of the cost" IS admission that organized labor has given up all hope of ever getting along with its work until the menace of judicial usurpation is finally and definitely re- moved.
 A glaring example of the average en- ployer's disregard of laws that do not benefit him and the easy facility with which courts are induced to do unlawful q ts intended to harm workers IS the case of the Atlanta, Birmingham X At lantic railroad,
 The road undertook to reduce the wages of its employees III open defiance of the provisions of the transportation act. When 1t was stopped by the Rail road Labor Board, 1t persuaded a friendly creditor to apply for a receiver ship for the road which was immedi- ately granted. The president of the road, who had initiated the wage con troversy before the labor board, was made receiver, and his first instruction from the court was to reduce wages in the exact sum originally proposed by the railroad.
 By judicial methods, therefore, the railroad seeks to accomplish results that are unlawful and which it was pre- vented from doing by law written at the dictation of railroad lawyers. The court, in authorizing a wage reduction, went in direct violation of the New lands act, which restraints federal judges from reducing wages during receiver ships until after 30 days notice and the parties in interest have had opportunity to appear and present arguments against the proposed action.
 The judge who IS pulling the chest . nuts of the Atlanta, Birmingham & At lantic railroad never heard of the New lands act or has placed himself above 1t. He has violated the spirit of the transportation act and the letter of an ether act of Congress.
 It is noteworthy that closely follow ing this declaration of independence against venal judges the United States supreme court declared the Lever con- trol act unconstitutional Enacted dur ing wartime to prevent unconsc1Onable prohteering, a federal judge was in duced to invoke the law against the miners and they were forced to submit to the most degrading and damaging in vasion of their rights They contended that the Lever act was unconstitutional, but the court was deaf to this argument.
 But when an effort was made to curb proflteers through the provisions of this law, which was the real purpose of its enactment, the court stepped III and wiped 1t off the books.
 Congress specifically exempted labor organizations from the provisions of the Clayton antitrust act but the supreme court has ruled that Congress did not know what it intended doing and has perverted the law into an instrument of oppression.
 Labor intends to proceed along con- stitutional lines in the development of its movement, but 1t intends that judges shall also respect the organic law.