Montana labor news., 1937-06-24
SPEECH OF WILLIAM
F. dunno, JUNE 10TH

Continued from Page y
over what they call the threatened
control of youth by the government.
But l venture to say that if tens
of thousands of boys and girls were
not employed atrociously long hours
in the sugar beet fields owned and
controlled by the sugar trust; if thou
sands of boys were not working for
starvation wages for the Postal Tele-
graph Company, headed by that
great churchman and philanthropist,
Clarence Mackey; if thousands of
boys were not sources of income to
many Of the great monopolies of this
country; if thousands of boys and
girls of school age were not Shaving
in the lung-destroying air of textile
mills, the religious issue would
quickly disappear.
In other words, child labor is an
economic and therefore a class issue.
In the church itself there is a wide
cleavage on this, and other far more
important issues-such as fascism-
on almost purely class lines.
The rigidity of the Constitution
and the ~reactionary role of the Su-
preme Court is brought forth clearly
by the long and SO far unsuccessful
struggle for the Child Labor amend
ment.
Role of the Supreme Court in
Constitutional Conflicts
Every constitutional crisis in
American history has been, of course,
merely the judicial form taken by
great social struggles, conflicts of
classes contradiction between fund
amental class interests. In every
such struggle, the role of the Su-
preme Court has been a very active
and vital one, and in each case the
Supreme Court has been the main
fortress Of the forces of political and
social reaction, of entrenched privi-
lege and monopoly.
The first great constitutional crisis,
in which can be e the outline of
all succeeding ones, arose early in
the administration of Thomas Jeffer-
son, third president of the U. S., and
the first theoretician of American
democracy.
Jefferson came to the presidency
in 1901, at the head of the Demo
cratic Party. He had defeated the
Federalist Party, the party which
had written and championed the
Constitution, and which had held
power under it for the first IL years
after its adoption. The Federalist
Party represented the landed aris-
toeracy of the East, Anglican Church
influences and the moneyed inter
ests. In full control of all three
branches of the Federal government,
it had ridden rough-shod over the
interests and liberties of the masses,
enforcing its policies with exception
al rules (the so-called "Alien and
Sedition laws') of a cruel and sup
pressive character unexampled in
American history, until the passage
of the Federal Espionage Act OF
1917-18-19 (the war period)-which
was likewise upheld by the Supreme
Court as have been the anti-labor
Criminal Syndicalism and Sedition
laws now in force in SO states.
The Federalist Party, upon its de-
feat in the election of 1900, deter
) mined before surrendering office tc
maintain and strengthen its strong
hold in the judiciary, which holds
office for life and is irremovable. TIC
insure this stronghold, the Federal
lists, in their last days of power, Gre
ated additional courts to double the
previous number, appointing ano
, confirming the Federalist occupants
of the new posts on the last day Of
their administration before Jeffer-
: son assumed office. The Federalist
+. Secretary of State, John Marshall
sat at his desk until midnight of his
last day in office, issuing certificates
| of appointment to new Federalist
{ judges; at that moment Marshall waS
himself already appointed Chief Jus
tice of the Supreme Court, a pos
l he was to occupy for 30 years, anc
in which he was to prepare the Su-
preme Court for its reactionary role
in the constitutional crisis of today
t President Jefferson, supported By
a majority of Congress, when faced
by this outrageous abuse of power
proceeded to adopt an act of repea
5 of the legislation which had created
: the new courts; he refused to recog
nize the new judges, to set up theil
courts, OF to provide them with sal
aries. The first great struggle haC
begun between the elective branche
Of the government and the judiciary
The Federalist Party, in control o
= the judiciary, attempted to use thi
I position to extend their power. 4
certain Mr.. Marbury, a Federalis
appointee under the repealed act
was refused his judicial commission
by James Madison, Secretary 0
State under Jefferson. Marbury APP
pealed to the Supreme Court for al
order directing Madison to issue hi
commission. Chief .Iustice Marshal