Evening star., 1922-09-29
STRIKES ENTER
POLITICAL ARENA
G. O. P. Declared to Have
Strengthened Position by
Railway Injunction.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
CHICAGO, September 29.-Illinois
is SO overwhelmingly republican that
Senator Medill McCormick's re-elec-
tion is assured, and there is far more
interest in this community in the
effect of the injunction secured in the
federal courts here by the govern
ment against the railroad strikers.
Briefly. the injunction is looked
upon as epochal. Unless labor should
succeed in setting it aside through
reversals in the higher courts, the
decree is permanent. This means that
strikes on public utilities have at one
fell swoop been declared taboo with
out any further legislation. That,
however. is just the rub. Many Of the
critics Of the Injunction contend that
it would. be far better for America If
such drastic prohibitions as are i'm
posed by the Injunction were really
passed upon by Congress. There is
naturally a reaction against the in
junction in labor circles, but it is a
fact that the business community as
a whole welcomes the step as a start,
at any rate, toward the settlement
of industrial disputes, and argues
that, even II the injunction should
fail to stand the test Of the higher
judiciary, 1t will serve as a basis for
action by Congress or the states. In
other words, public sentiment against
strikes on public utilities and in the
industries which control the necessi-
ties of life is rapidly crystallizing
and must be reckoned with in politics.
Harding Administration Strengthened
There is no question but that the
Harding administration has been i'm
measurably strengthened among its
own supporters hy President Hard
ing's veto Of the bonus and the
Daugherty Injunction. The business
men who contribute heavily to the
support Of the republican party from
year to year have always felt that the
Wilson administration catered to
labor and that its successor must in
q measure do the reverse. 1t was
therefore with considerable disap-
pointment that the proposal Of Presi-
dent Harding to restore seniority
rights to rail strikers was received.
Some business men went SO far as to
say that the proposal was surrender,
like the Adamson act" Business men
became critical of the administration.
But the Daugherty injunction and the
veto of the bonus turned the tide. Re
ports received by republican chief
tains from all parts of the country
show that Mr.. Harding boosted his
political stock a good deal by the
position he has latterly adopted.
Labor AntaEoni.ed.
What Mr.. Harding. gains. however,
h~e ic 10
extent Offset by the antagonism he
has earned on the labor side. The
injunction fight is by no means over.
The fight will be carried to the Su-
preme Court Of the United States.
Attorney General Daugherty told the
writer that he welcomed a thorough
test of the injunction. The decree is.
Of course, based upon the famous
antitrust law Of 1890, which makes
1t unlawful to restrain trade. One of
the chief points brought out by the
critics as. to the durability of the in
junction as a legal proposition is the
fccntention that the acts complained
not federal but state -offenses and
that conspiracy to violate state laws
Is not sufficient ground for federal in
functions.
So the chances are when the injunc-
tion is finally passed upon it will fur
whether any act may be committed
which Is in itself lawful-such as a
meeting or the taking of q strike vote
If such an act results in the re-
straint Of trade or the interruption OF
commerce. The Brotherhood OF Loco
motive Engineers, Trainmen and Con-
ductors, who were not party to the
rail strike, are UP in arms about it:
They are gathering here the best legal
talent available to them to fight the
Injunction. They insist that as 1t
stands now they cannot order strike.
and that 1t was never the intent OF
Congress to permit such prohibition
to be derived from the act of 1890 or
subsequent statutes.
Lesislation Ii Likely.
One thing is certain-if the high
er courts reverse the Daugherty in
junction a movement will begin for
the enactment of legislation just as
drastic. The injunction may be a
bitter pill to swallow and, from the
In miustices, but, like all things that
70 to extremes, it is the result Of a
disturbed and to some extent embit-
tered public opinion, which sees two
sides contending perennially while
the public suffers and pays the bill
There. IL some regret voiced here
that the aSlministratio ton did not see
al to INQUIRE more closely iuo6 those
acts Of the railroad executives which
in a broad way have contributed
oauses Of dissatisfaction among the
workers and led indirectly. II NOT
directly. to the strikes. To retain
public confidence some steps that
will be convincing of the govern
ment's impartiality as between the
factions are again and again point
ed out as inevitable. Naturally the
epvernment Is trying its hand AMI
Experimenting and IL the decree IL
higher. MP, unquestionably the sans
method viii be used to prevent lock