The labor world., 1922-09-16
Bv CHESTER M. WRIGHT

Mr. Attorney 1eneIal Dau8n'
erty. formerly better known a.
an Ohio politician, went to Chi.
easo and asked Judge Wilkerson
for an injunction against the rail
road shop workers.
This injunction ordered the
shop workers to stop interfering
with interstate commerce and in
blanket terms left them nothing
to do but stay home and mind
the baby.
Judge Wilkerson, who was select
I'd by Mr.. Daugherty for appointment
to succeed Judge Landis just few
months ago. kindly consented right
away to grant the injunction asked
for by the attorney general who was
responsible for his appointment to
the judgeship.
There are many other federal
judges in the country, some of them
in Chicago. but Mr.. Daugherty
sought out Judge Wilkerson, pos
sibly so as to give added evidence OF
his esteem for Judge Wilkerson.
Instead of going into the great
silences, labor men generally i'm
mediately began to say what they
thought about Mr.. augherty's in
junction. President Gompers called
it most outrageous" and cited the
Constitution and the Clayton Act and
the decisions and declarations Of ia
nous judges and courts.
Railway shopmen went on hold
Ing meetings and railway shopmen's
officials went on saying what was on
their mind.
The attorney general and the pres
ident began within forty eight hours
to indicate that the Injunction didn't
quite mean all it said. However, the
language in the injunction Is what
counts. What Mr.. Daugherty says
may or may not count.
AS for the injunction, it is not
only in violation Of some of the most
important provisions of the Clayton
Act, but it is in defiance of the
United States Constitution. If the
injunction prevails and if the gov
eminent attempts to enforce it as 1t
stands, then the Constitution will
lose some of its most vital meaning
and Mr.. Daugherty will be a car,
indeed.
And There's Bill Burns, the Famous.
William J. Burns, head of the
secret service forces, of the govern
ment, is Daugherty's chief aide in
the gathering of evidence on which
to prosecute federal cases. That
means that he is the chief of detec-
tives in prosecuting railroad work.
ers.
Burns has made his declarations
that some day he would get" the
unions. He created for himself the
role of hunter Of union men. He
built up a big detective business.
which, it Is generally understood, is
still in the family.
The dictagraph was one Of the
favorite weapons of the Burns
agency. Burns still clings to the
lOSd ludL Illc ulCldSI dQ1l lS 3lIC
thing.
When the administration changed
hands Burns haunted Washington
until he landed his present job. He
seemed to want that job worse than
anything else life had to offer. His
friends sought to create the impress
sion that if he got that job he would
be good to labor. Labor didn't want
anything to do with Burns; surely it
had no reason to cross the road to
make friends with him because it
had nothing to fear from him. On
the contrary, labor protested against
his appointment and President
Gompers called attention to what
Former Attorney General Wicker
sham had said to Former President
Taft (both Republicans) about Burns
in a certain case wherein Wicker
sham asked Taft to pardon a man
whose unjust conviction had been
secured by evidence secured by
Burns before jury secured by
Burns.
1t is Burns present job to gather
the evidence for prosecutions under
the Injunction secured by Mr.. Daugh-
,crty from Judge Wilkerson who re-
Gently got his appointment on rec
,ommendation Of Mr.. .Daugherty. The
way these things work out is inter-
esting.
It will be remembered, too, that
Mr.. Daugherty, back before Harding
was nominated, boasted that he
would put Harding overland it
was quite generally agreed that he
kept his word.
| Daugherty Vows He'll Protect
! "Open Shop
It probably will be a long time be-
fore American workers forget what
.Daugherty said in his speech before
his friend Wilkersonli in court in Chi
cAgo. Let's repeat it:
But it may not be understood that
60 long and to the extent that I
can speak for the government of
the United States will use the pow
er Of the government to prevent the
labor unions of the country from
destroying the open shop.
That's what Mr.. Dausherty told
the Judge. for the benefit Of union
men. It had long been suspected
that Mr.. Dausheryt and his friends
in the administration had been inter-
ested in the protection Of what is
falsely called the ''open shop"
which means the shop closed to union
men. Mr.. Daugherty evidently in