The Connecticut labor news., 1922-02-24
ANTI-STRIKE LAW
 RESTS ON VIOLENCE
 DECLARES LAWYER
Attorney for Phone Company Also Adds That It's Principally
 Bluff.

Topeka, Kan, Feb. 24-The Allen "can't-stril<e' law is a violent statute. It rejects moderate methods. It makes no attempt at mediation. Even its friends do not think the law can be fully en- forced To create crimes which no one expects to punish IS simply not honest. It IS sheer bluff.
 The above were a few of the blows delivered by C. J. Evans attorney for the Bell telephone company, in his discussion with Judge Huggins of the industrial court before a church forum in this city.
 Mr. Evans said the fallacy which un- derlies the industrial court law IS demon Strated in its very name. It IS called a court, but Justice Burch of the state supreme court says 1t IS simply an ad- ministrative board, and that 1t was callee a court 'as matter of legislative Stra- egy."
 That is to say" said MT Evans, ''the authors of the law were guilty of false pretense in the very act of bringing 1t to life
 Tt IS the business of a court to settle controversies over legal rights. In so doing 1t makes findings as to the facts and then applies predetermined rules to these facts.
 "A so-called labor dispute is some thing altogether different. Neither party contends that the other deprives him of legal right which can be settled by ap- plying some rule of law to the facts. Neither employer or ernploye claims that there Is any existing rule of law which, when applied to the facts, will determine just what wages must be paid or what working conditions must be. Each party simply claims the right to bargain and the right to contract if the parties can agree. If the parties can not agree the worknen claim the economic privilege of withholding their labor. A strike in it. self Is not an act of violence. It is sim ply the withholding of labor, due to the failure to come to an agreement.
 The judgements of courts do not furnish the basis of future business deal ings between parties. A law suit gener- ally contemplates a termination of busi- ness relations. When a business part nership Is ready for the court it is ready to dissolve and goes to court for final settlement.
 ''The court of industrial relations law IS a violent statute. It breathes anathe- mas all the way through. It rejects mod crate methods. Its chief dependence is the criminal law. Even its friends do llOl lIlIllh lIo law Cd1l DG 1UilE. If ten thousand worknen strike the law makes of their action ten thousand mis- demeanors, subject to ten thousand fines and jail sentences. Nobody expects that such law will be fully enforced To ere ate crimes which no one expects to punish Is simply not honest. It Is sheer bluff. There have been only two severe labor controversies in Kansas since the law was enacted, that in the coal fields, and the case of the packers industry. In the case of the packing employees strike | the failure was hurniliating. Tn that case the court made a tenn | orary order as a basis for temporary | conduct of the industry while the court | should be engaged in investigations to | determine what permanent order fixing wages and conditions 1t should make | We'll, 1t failed to enforce its ternorary order.
 Then. after making some investiga- tons, the court utterly abandoned its proceedings and made no permanent order | whatever.
 l Tt had to face the probability of hay ing to put some of the managers of the packing companies in jail and it straight way lost its nerve and ran away"