Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-07-17
Mr.. HARDING BELIEVES THAT
GOVERNMENTS MUST GOVERN
His Industrial Program Is Based on
the Correct Assumption That the
Public Interest Is Supreme

NlOlcnt or DenfpNDlP interference bi any 'l'.
Any Government which sits idly by while
such interference goes on. by that very in
difference abdicatcs it's functions and SUR
renders them to the forces Of anarchy.
President Harding has decided that the
Government of the United States will not
abdirate
This is the meaning of the outgivings from
Washington regarding his purposes toward
the railroad and the coal strikes.
He has insisted for weeks on the right OF
n man to stop work If he is not pleased with
the wages or with other conditions Of en-
ployment.
And he has insisted with equal frmness
on the right of man to take any vacant
Job, whether It has been abandoned by a
striker or NOT.
This Is industrial freedom. It 10 Just as
much the business Of tho Government to
protect a man in the right to work as It Is
to protect him In the right TO vote.
The members Of political gangs who sur
round the polling places and attempt to pre-
vent men opposed 10 them from voting are
summarily arrested and their leaders are
sent TO jail
The President evidently is determined that
the members Of labor gangs who surround n
workshop which they have deserted and
who use force to prevent other men from
working shall feel the hand of the law.
In no other way can industrial freedom
be maintained.
II is n platitude Of sociological discussion
that orderly society cannot exist unless its
members make some concessions for the
general good
Therefore there are traffic ordinances in
the large cities.
And health ordinances
And general police regulations. They
may cause some slight inconvenience TO the
individual at times, but that inconvenience
is more than offset by the benefit to the
community at large.
The right of men to strike Is admitted
But the right Of strikers to interrupt the
business of the country by deliberate hold
ing up Of trains or by purpoSeful stopping
of the supply OF coal to industry cannot be
admitted under any circumstances.
If the President in the exercise Of his
power as the head Of the Government finds
il necessary to take over the railroads IN the
present crisis and to direct their operation.
and to take over the coal mines and see TO
II that tho men willing 10 mine coal are
allowed to mine II without moleetation. no
on" with any sound conception of the func-
tIOns Of government will charge him with
exceeding his power
His right TO intervene 10 insure the move.
mont of trains in Interstate commerce has
been Sustained by tho Supreme Court And
this right extends n the movement Of freight
and Of passengers rs well as of the mails
Those who have any doubt OF this would
do well 70 read the decisions Of the court
sustaining the course Of President Cleveland
in the Chicago railroad strike in the nineties.
The President has the right and the
power TO use the force OF the National Gov.
ornment in State when the Government
Of the State fails for any reason to protect
the movement of trains.
Governor Altgeld Of Illinois, protested
against the presence Of Federal troops in
the State when Cleveland sent them there
But his protest went for naught
The decision Of the court was not npces-
sary to justify the course Of Cleveland. II
was justifable from the very nature OF the
case. All the court did was TO say that
those who disputed the power Of the Presi.
dent in the emergency had not leg to
stand on.
If President Roosevelt had found Il
necessary In 1902 TO take over the anthra-
cite mines, as he was ready 10 do in the
event Of the refusal OF the operators and
the miners TO submit their differences TO
adjudication before competent tribunal,
the court would without any doubt have
sustained hts course against the protest Of
any one who might have insisted that the
! community at large had no rights which the
! miners and operators were bound 10 respect
But THIS method of asserting the authority
/ Of the Government is not the best. II is
defonsiblo only in crisis. And it IS neces-
sary only because Congress has neglected TO
provide tho machinery for nm orderly set &.
tlemrnt Of industrial disputes
The creation Of tho Railroad Labor Boa I'd
does not so far enough. That board deals
with disputes in only one industry.
What is needed is an industrial court with
universal jurisdiction over disputes between
employers and employees, and with clearly
defined powers to enforce It's decisions.
Tho whole military and police fore. OF
the Government stands behind every decision
Of the Supreme Court. Its DEGREES are
obcycd without question until they are re.
vised or until new laws are passed which
make legitimate that which the court. in.
terpretlng the old laws, said was forbidden
But it Is all done in an orderly manner
Men who disagree on their constitutions
rights do not fight 1t out on the street cor.
ncrs. interrupting traffic and endangerin.
the lives Of others by the stray shots from
their guns. They 60 TO court.
There is no reason in justice or rquit,
or common sense why industrial dlsputan,,
should not take their disagrecmcnts to ,
properly constituted court
That court should be composed of dis
interested and unprejudiced men sworn I,
administer justice with an even hand. rathe
thun nn arbitration board of Interested mn