The Washington times., 1930-04-29
DEFEAT SEEN
CERTAIN FOR
JUR|ST
Supreme Court Considering
Legality of InjunctiOns;
Ten. Vote Loss Predicted


While Administration leaders
sought vainly to stem the tide Of
opposition to Judge John j..
Parker, Senator William E. Borah
N) of Idaho today resumed the
Senate battle to prevent Parker'S
confirmation as an associate Su-
preme Court Justice.
Borah concentrated his attack
on Parker's judicial record, lash
ing the jurist's ruling in the fam
Gus Red Jacket coal case of West
Virginia. It was this case, in
which Parker upheld the notorious
yellow dog" contracts against
union labor, tina provoked the
American Federation of Labor to
oppose the nominees appointment
to the nations highest court.
3orRh charged Parker had gone
further to enforce these infamous
contracts than any other judge on
the Federal bench.
Friends Of Parker, led by Sen.
@SO4 ~VC4A1eA14 NA%sI' Va GNO4 OA4 N0AO'
lima, supported the nominee on the
Ground he had merely carried out
d previous ruling of the United
States Supreme Court. This state
ment was challenged by Borah,
who declared Parker had the
choice of following other court
rulings but selected the very old
ruling Of the Supreme Court.
Court Hears Case
It was a strange coincidence |
that at the very moment the |
Senate was debating Parker's |
ruling on these contracts, the
Supreme Court itself was sched-
uled to hear appeals on the very
same issue. The case before the
Supreme Court was an appeal
from a ruling of Judge Hutchin.
son at Houston, Tex, granting |
an Injunction to organized labor |
that prohibited the Southern
Pacific railroad from imposing |
yellow dog" contracts on itssem.
ployes. This ruling was upheld |
by the Circuit Court of Appeals
at New Orleans and appealed to
the highest court by the railroad.
The railroad case took on ad-
ditional significance because
Parker's friends asserted that he
was compelled to follow the high
courts old ruling, upholding "yel /
low dog" contracts. In the HouS.
ton case, both the district and
the circuit court ignored the old
ruling of the Supreme Court.
The yellow dog" contracts,
which provoked nearly all of
Parker'S troubles, were negotiated
between mine operators and non
union workers in West Virginia.
Under their contracts, the miners
agreed never to join a union,
never to talk to union leaders,
never to quit work without reason
able notice, never to go on strike
and never to do anything to aid
the union movement. The op-
orators, on the other hand. held
the right to dismiss the miners
at any time. When union leaders
attempted to unionize the dis
trict, injunctions were issued vir-
UN0A1J 'N0A AA6 44OIA1 tC1" l
ritory and preventing every move
on their part which might have
influenced the miners to join the
union.
Fight Is Hopeless
Prospects of Parker gaining
confirmation appeared hopeless.
Reports kept circulating in Ad.
ministration quarters that there
would be a swing of Democratic
support to Parker, but Admins
tration leaders admitted they had
secured pledges from only IL
Democrats. This was not enough
to insure confirmation and there
appeared every likelihood the
Parker adherents- might lose some
Of the Democrats pledged.
A partial poll by International
News Service showed 43 Senators
definitely aainst Parker and only
80 favoring him. The remainder
said they were undecided but
there were indications they would
divide about evenly for and
against Parker, thus bringing
about rejection of his nomination
by about 10-vote margin,