The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-04-22

HuSt IuTo shocked the other
LeUis day when several
hundred farmers
took matters into their own hands
and drove a bunch of sit down
strikers out of the great Hershey
chocolate plants in Pennsylvania.
They thought it was terrible that
men who were striking for higher
wages should be beaten and slugged
as the farmers at Hershey, Pennsyl-
vania, treated the sit down strikers.
The strikers had closed the choco-
late plants, thus cutting off the
daily market for thousands OF gal
Ions of milk.
Fortunately for the country the
number of these spineless creatures,
charged with official responsibility,
is very few. But I mention the fact
because therein is a key to some OF
the things that have been happen
ing in the Roosevelt administra-
tons treatment of the labor dis
turbances.
1 believe no one can support vi
olence but there can be no doubt
that the federal government is
charged with responsibility for pro-
tecting rights. Rights are possessed
by everyone under the Constitution
and under oVr form of government
and when a handful of individuals
assume to disregard the rights of
others it becomes something more
than a situation about which soft
words and tears for the down-trod-
| den worker are required.
The importance of the action of
the farmers at Hershey, Pennsyl-
vania, cannot be minimized. 1t is
straw that points which way the
wind blows. 1t means that unless
the headlong and unrestrained &C
tons of John L. Lewis and his labor
agitators are curbed, sooner or later
we will pay with blood; we will
pay with lives of citizens because
the American people always have
insisted and always will insist upon
square deal.
In treating of conditions within
the country, it is well always to
avoid inflammatory declarations. I
hope I am never guilty of unfair
ness in anything write. But the
cold fact is that, in this country,
the time has arrived when govern
ment must make a choice between
its functions as government and al
lowing autocracy of labor leaders
to destroy the rights and property
of the other millions of our popula-
ton. Labor has its rights and they
must be protected, but it is equally
important that the rights of those
who are not members of any union,
who want to work, who own prop
erty, be protected. Thus far in the
present labor controversy, it must
be said that the Roosevelt admin
istration and the governors of most
of the states have fallen short in
their sworn duty.
There has been much praise &C.
corded Governor Murphy of Mich
igan for Settling" the strikes in
the automobile plants. Yet, cannot
help wondering whether the term
Settlement" is correct when strik-
ers thumbed their noses at the
courts and when law enforcement
officers were told by their superiors
to hold off the execution of court
DEGREES. It seems to me that we, as
a nation, will have cause to regret
settlements" of that kind for a
good many years to come.
I am inclining to the belief that
there is only one word capable of
describing the at
POLITICAL titude of the Roos-
CoUordice evelt administra-
ton in dealing
with strikers of the sit down charac-
ter. Labor has a weapon in the
strike and it is entitled to use that
weapon because too many business
interests have refused to be fair.
But when labor abuses, instead of
uses, the weapon available to it,
then the time has come to call them
to act just as business interests are
called to act when they violate laws.
The difference is that the ranks of
labor involve millions of votes
whereas the ranks of business in
volve only comparatively small
number of votes Therefore, by any
line of reasoning I have been able
to follow through, it seems to me
that the federal governments posi-
ton thus far can properly be de-
scribed as political cowardice.
| There are a number of reasons
why I think this term is appro-
pirate. First, there was the famous
night conference when Mr.. Roose-
welt returned from his Georgia va
cation and talked things over with
the house and senate New Deal
leaders. They emerged from that
meeting with the President saying
that the federal government could
do nothing; that no federal laws
had been violated and that no re-
quest had come from any proper
authority for federal government in
PREVENTION.
It makes one laugh, such state
ments as these. If President Roose-
Welt and his administration had de-
sired to curb sit down strikes, does
anyone believe that he could not
have conveyed word to Governor
Murphy of Michigan that he was
willing to help? l think there are
plenty of grapevines by which word
could have been sent to the Mich
igan governor and, I truly believe,
that if there had been a request
for federal troops, there would have
been a distinct change in the at
titude of Labor Leader Lewis al
most overnight.
Further, l have heard from plenty
of lawyers in the house and senate
that the decision that no federal law
| WAS being violated was wholly