Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1924-08-22

the justice gener-
ally melted out in j. p. FREY
these cases affords no relief to the
rights of the many, when opposed
to the privileges Of the few, and
therefore they respectfully refrain
from answering in the hearing on
temporary injunction as asked for in
the bill of this complainant.
That such a course of action is
not dictated in any way by a feeling
of guilt in the premises, but rather,
is a protest against the decisions in
similar cases, and to which these de-
PENDANTS do not care to voluntarily
acquiesce in.
A viewpoint, a condition of the
mind resulting from some well
grounded conviction, prepares men
in a crisis to undertake tasks they
might ordinarily shrink from. The
quotation given above is from the
opening paragraphs of the statement
which Brother John F. Gatelee had
prepared to present to the court
when a temporary injunction had
been issued against the striking bak-
ers in Springfield, Mass. It was not
presented because the court, instead
of issuing the preliminary order, re-
ferred the case to both parties for the
purpose of adjusting their differences
and when it became apparent that
the company's attitude made an adj
justment impossible, another justice
of the supreme court of Massachus-
etts, instead of issuing a temporary
injunction, referred the case to a
master for hearings.
Lengthy casE : ~ -
Previous articles have referred to
some features of this injunction case
without parallel" and we now come
to the closing lines of the story. Hav-
ing decided upon a unique and I'M
paralleled policy in connection with
an injunction case, Brother Gatelee
found himself called upon to repre-
sent the striking bakers before the
master, and afterwards before sew
eral courts, for the case lasted, all
told, eleven months.
The same experiences which had
convinced Springfield trade unionists
that the attitude of equity courts in
Massachusetts made it impossible for
them to secure justice, had also con-
WINGED them of the small value of
employing attorneys to represent
them in injunction proceedings.
Springfield attorneys had represented
Springfield trade unionists in the
Moore Drop Forge company case and
the Springfield Foundry company
case. In both instances the case had
been carried to the state supreme
court, the final decision in both cases
had supported the lower court, and
had denied to trade unionists the
right to collectively resist an effort to
destroy their Organization.
Power of Attorney
The unions lawyers admitted when
the bakers case arose that their pre-
vious experiences with equity courts
and the decision of the state supreme
court, made it hopeless for them, and
it was for this reason that the Spring
field Central Labor Council decided
that no attorneys would be employed
to represent the striking bakers. 1t
followed naturally that Brother
Gatelee's first appearance in connec-
ton with the case should have led the
striking bakers to request him to rep
resent them at the hearings which
followed, and, strange as it may
seem, the appearance of Brother
Gatelee as counsel, was not ques-
toned by the authorities until the
case had been in court several
months. At this time the court asked
Brother Gatelee whether he was a
member of the bar, and upon the neg
alive reply, the court stated it did
not see how he could continue repre-
senting the strikers. Hesitatingly the
court inquired whether he had power
of attorney, and during the pause
which followed Brother Gatelee had
the representatives of the Bakers
Union make out power of attorney
for him, and the court accepted this
as satisfactory.
From his experience Brother Cate
lee reached certain conclusions; one,
that it was difficult if not impossible
to secure attorneys of high standing
to defend injunction cases, the rea-
son being that competent attorneys,
adequately able to defend labor ir in
junction cases, were fearful that q
victorious result In court would ma