The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1922-07-20

every time this Board has rendered
decision its terms have been dis
puted. When the railroad operators
were dissatisfied they sought to null
| ify the acts Of the Board. In this,
however, they used good deal of
care and avoided open conflict with
the authority of the Board. But
the union leaders were not so dis
Greet, and they learned only when
President Harding issued his pro-
clamation declaring that "the main
tanned supremacy of the law is the
| first obligation of the Government
and all the citizenship Of the coun-
try" that they had CARRIED the per-
verseness of their human nature to
the point where they had placed
themselves in open opposition to the
National Administration.
DENYING THE GOVERNMENT
Aaron Burr was arrested for trea-
son because he ignored the policies
of the Government when he started
out with the idea of conquering
Mexica. Burr got out of it, but his
troubles served to warn others, and
now whenever Americans want to
upset the Mexican situation they do
| it more craftily and keep within the
pale of the law. Defying the Gov
eminent is bum policy-to which
statement even Eugene v. Debs and
a lot of other misguided gentlemen
will--or ought to subscribe.
OF course there are nothing trea-
sonable about the strike of the shop
craft employees. Neither is the con-
tract system of shop work with out
side agencies a crime. But Presi-
dent Harding in his proclamation
points out that the railroad operators
and the railroad employees have in
these specific instances .fici, the or
ders of the Railroad Labor Board,
and that in SO doing they have also
defed the Government.
The issue was made clear-cut by
the President, and in defining the sit
uation in his proclamation he had the
advantage of finding the employers
and the employees equally to blame,
inasmuch as both sides had attempt
ed to annul the rights of the public.
rPUBLIC'' rs THE REAL BOSS
The public interest jumped dis
tinctly into first place when President
Harding issued his reclamation con-
corning the railroad situation. By
it he pointed out very clearly that
the decisions of the Government, as
the arbitrator of differences in rail-
road management and operators
must not be lightly cast aside. A
few stubborn railroad operators and
few pugnacious labor leaders were
faced with new situation when they
found the President challenging their
right and good faith in defying the
Railroad Labor Board. The board
itself has no power to make its de-
cisions mandatory. But public opin-
ion can do that little trick, just as
it did in sustaining the Supreme
Court in its earliest days, even when
men like Thomas Jefferson, as Presi-
dent of the United States, attempt
ed to tell Chief Justice John Mar
shall to ego way back and sit down."
The President has the best of any
controversy when he shows that the
''intent of the law" is to prevent just
such interruptions in the mail SER
vice and the flow of interstate COM
merce as had been ooccasioned by
the latest strike. And when he adds
that the operation of the railroads
is necessary to preserve the public
peace and to facilitate those opera
tons in safety which are essential to
life and liberty, and the security of
property and our common public well
fare" he is talking language that
all can understand.
1t needed something dramatic like
this to demonstrate conclusively that
in the new triangle that is to rule
with reason the transportation affairs
of the country, that in the final an
alysis the Public is the Real Boss.
A LITTLE SENATORIAL GOSSIP
According to the Seniority rule"
the successor of Senator McCumber
as chairman of the Finance Commit
tee of the Senate will be Senator
Smoot of Utah. This craftsmanship
is the most important one in Con-
gress, and when it passed by reason
Of the death Of Senator Penrose to
Senator McCumber, the ultra-conser-
Waists were alarmed because Nc
Cumber was supposed to be ito Ii
beral." But the minute he got
into the Penrose shoes he was class
ed as "too conservative" for Month