The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-08-19
Congress May Pass
On Right to Strike
When Public Suffers
BY MARK SULLIVAN

v
WASHINGTON, D. c., Aug. 19.-It
isn't possible to pick out any one
aspect of the present strike and say
that it is the single big question in.
volyed. There are several extremely
important aspects of the situation.
One, for example, is whether we are
to have in the United States in the
near future a labor government.
Some of US who have followed these
strikes carefully have arrived at a fair
ly confident judgment that one OF the
heads of the railroad brotherhoods,
Mr.. Stone, is as much candidate Tor
president of the United States as, let
us say, Senator Arthur Capper of Kan
sas. The same surmise can be made
about Mr.. Lewis, the head of the min
ers' union.
Another of the questions involved is
whether we are going to have in this
country group domination on the part
of the workers in various industries.
exercising an economic and political
leverage through compact organization
on nationwide scale.
Right To Strike.
Omitting for the moment these
aspects of the strikes, there is one
other question which by its nature per-
! mits a more exact analysis. That
question is whether men engaged in
railroad work shall be permitted the
same right to strike that is conceded
to men in some lines of work and de-
MED to men in others.
! Superficially, the casual answer to
this question is that no men shall be
denied the right to strike. This is the
I 10 100 tJxy
| in congress and that has determined
the past attitude of congress on this
subject. In fact, however, the answer
is not so easy as this. There are many
men engaged in many lines of work to
whom the right to strike is denied by
the overwhelming consensus of public
feeling.
/ Consider the Soldier.
! Let US start with the soldiers. The
soldiers are not allowed to strike. II
the attempt is made in time of wa,
they are promptly shot down and bur
led in dishorored graves. The public
sentiment which regards mutiny in
time of war as the last word in dis
honor is practically universal. Ever
in time of peace soldiers who attempt
to strike may be shot. If the eondi
extreme of punishment, they are, a.
least, put in Jail for long terms.
In the same class with the soldiers
are seamen and others engaged in the
armies and navies of the world.
4 Next consider policemen. 1t is al
most as generally conceded that po
licement must not strike as it is tina
soldiers shall not strike. The public
dictum which fell on the policemen
who attempted to strike in Bosto.
three years ago is still fresh in tn
| public memory. 1t was largely be
cause of his prompt action that Vice
/ president Calvin Coolidge, then goN
| ernor of Massachusetts, got his pres
! ent standing with the public.
In the same class with policemen
are firemen.
, Postal Men Included.
( One degree removed from the bind
, ing prohibition against striking ar
mail carriers and men otherwise en-
!, gagged in the postal service. Amonl
! this class of workers there was fey
/. years ago, an incipient gesture tc
I wards a strike, which was promptl
and severely repressed by the the
Y Postmaster General Burleson, with tn
, complete assent OF public opinion
We now come to the railroad worl
ers. The theory is that the unintel
: rupted functioning of transportation
such that men engaged in it are onl
, little different from soldiers, polic'
men, firemen and mail men, we are q
: the point now where public opinion
| little short of crystallizing but seem
CONTINUED on Page Nine)