w n
fa
2
for Insuring tho employers' children against the
possibility or being among the wage-earners o
tho next generation. No person or class, there
fore, can afford to legislate for a year or even for
a generation or to place Its immediate advantage
above the permanent good of society, and the eni-i
ployers do this when they object to arbitration
The laboring men are seeking relief from gov
ernment by Injunction. Why? Because it is em
ployed by corporations to deprive their employes
of the right of trial by jury. If a man is ac
cused of larccncy or assault he is entitled to trial
by jury, why should this right be denied a labor
ing man when he is accused of interfering with
his employer's business? It is not sufficient to
say that he should not Interfere, for the question
of fact whether he is interfering is the very
thing that the jury should determine.
Neither is it sufficient to say that laboring
men, organized or unorganized, make mistakes
and sometimes grievously wrong their employers
and even each other. To err is humau, and the
laboring man Is human, but let the law fix a limit
to his activities and forbid anything that is
inimical to tho public welfare. Then if a labor
ing man violates the law, lot him be tried like
any one else accused of crime, for certainly a
man who earns his bread in the sweat of his
brow Is. entitled to every presumption that is given
to the confirmed criminal.
Tho employers have started out on a crusade
against labor, ostensibly against organized labor,
but really against all labor, for the members of
tho association arc no more willing to safeguard
tho Interests of non-union labor than they are to
safeguard tho interests of union men, whereas
tho work done by tho members of labor unions
has benefited all laboring men, those outside as
well as thoso inside of tho labor organizations
Some employers, smarting under some partic
ular grievance or supposed grievance, have joined
the Employers' Association without fully consid
ering tho nature of the movement or tho conse
quences. Those who really sympathize with tho
masses, but have been mislead, will soon become
aware of tho perils of tho course upon which tho
association has entered and will withdraw. They
, cannot long remain ignorant of the uncharitable
spirit of thoso who are at tho head of the or
ganization. The laboring men need tho capitalist, but tho
capitalist needs tho laboring men also. "Cap
tains of industry," with a genius for organization,
aro noeded, but a captain cannot do anything with
out tho aid of sergeants, corporals and privates.
There ought to be confidence and sympathy be
tween employers and employes, ana this is im
possible without a feeling of brotnerly love ard
an ungrudging recognition by each of tho rights
of tho other. The employers are sowing dragon's
teeth when they combine to crush the aspirations
of employes who, in peace or war, contribute so
largely to tho nation's wealth and strength. An
association for the"bringing of labor and capital
together would ptove far more beneficent than
an association formed to resist tho just efforts of
laboring men to advance their physical, mental
and moral welfare.
JJJ
The Foraker Bill.
It will bo interesting to compare the opinion
delivered in the merger case, by Justice Harlan,
with the bill recently introduced In the senate by
Mr Foraker. Mr. Poraker's bill proposed to pro
hibit only unreasonable" restraint of trade and
anU-Sta? " crlmiual clauso o th Sherman
As has been pointed out on several occasions
by The Commoner, the Foraker bill was believed
to have been Introduced not for passage at the
present session, but as a pledge to the trust In
terests, showing what they might expect in tho
event of republican victory next November. Jus
tice Browor's opinion is in lino with tho Foraker
Walter Wellman, tho Washfngton correspon
teuLl?L 5?caso cord-Herald, says that
as
dis-
whilo there has been a great deal of 'mystery i
to the origin of tho Foraker Mil i ouL ,,
nlo ,. ,i. M4 " U1H-
r "A ttU Iueasuro was drawn by Francis
Lynde Stetson attorney for J. Plerpont Mo?gai
Mr. Wei man hastens to add: "But this does not
necessarily make it a bad bill or change tho prob
ability that soonor or later, especially later nr
after the presidential campaign te out of he way
spmo such bill will be enacted into law "
Mr. Wellman relates a conversation ho had
with Senator Blkiils, chairman of tho committee
on interstate commerce. Mr. Elkins said: Ulti
mately I believe congress will have to pass a law
making either pooling or combination to maintain
rates lawful and to enable properties to bo he d
in a way which might givo the power to restra n
The Commoner.
trade, provided there is actually no such re
straint" Then Mr. Wellman makes this statement:
"A significant feature of yesterday's opin
ions by the various justices is, that as the rec
ord stands the supreme court is not in favor
of declaring illegal all restraint of trade or
power to restrain it, whether such restraint
be reasonable or unreasonable. Only four
justices held to this extreme doctrine Harlan,
Brown, McKenna and Day. Justice Brewer dis
sented from that, and gave his concurrence to
the decree of the court only upon the ground,
which he distinctly stated, that the Northern
Securities was an unreasonable restraint of
trade. It appears, therefore, that if a case
were to come before the court involving this
one issue, 'Is restraint of trade illegal, even if
it be not unreasonable?' the bench would hold
in the negative.
"Not long ago, it will be remembered,
Senator Foraker introduced a bill designed so
to amend the law as to remove reasonable re
straint of trade from the category of offenses
against the statute. That bill raised quite a
storm, and was repudiated by the administra
tion and the republican leaders in congress re
fused to have anything to do with it Yet it
is quite probable that it is simply one of the
many important things put off till 'after elec
tion.' t seems only natural that this inhi
bition against all restraint of trade, irrespec
tive of whether it is reasonable or unreason
able, will have to be removed at no distant
day, either by the court or by congress."
It is interesting to learn that, according to the
attitude of the several justices in the Northern
Securities case, we have the right to believe that
the court would render a judgment in favor of
the trust system on the theory that tho, violation
of law was not "unreasonable;" and it is no less
interesting to learn from republican sources that,
while a great storm has been raised over the
Foraker bill, "it is quite probable that it is simply
one of the many important things put off till 'af
ter election'."
Paraphrasing Mr. Wellman's language, it
seems natural that the inhibition against re
straint of trade and the prohibition against con
spiracies in the form of trusts will be removed at
no distant day if the republicans control congress.
JJJ
Reorganizer Doctrine.
The New York Times Is one of those newspa
pers that pretend to be vigorously opposed to the
democratic platform of 190C, because of the plank
relating to bimetallism, it will be found how
ever, in the case of the Times, as in the case of
other representatives of the reorganizing element
that t is the spirit of the Kansas City P?atS to
which it objects; that it objects iust as vigor
ously to any plank looking toward the curtail
men of the privileges of the representatives of
Wtfata does asainst ?
For instance, the New York Times was th
first newspaper in the Unifed States to ghe cor
dial approval to tho Foraker bill Tharwii
practically nullifies the Sherman anti t,i i
repeals the criminal clause 0T?hat law an i"'
other ways cripples anti-monopoly legislation
The Times says that the Foraker bin wf "? ?
marks the termination of a pS of JtiX?iably
may carry on their business f' " t0ey
Sherman anti-trust law, ?ho Timf s'ays? tte
It therefore behooves comrresa if u
a due regard for the public wE f ifc bas
out of this ill-consider ini,i?e, to arnei
of 1890, its SJfua act
Senator mlTSjS01 qUalItIes
nothing in the interS S declares that
the anti-trust ac KheSlCS? W
eign commerce or prohibit appIy to fo
in restraint of trade nmn, ?,y act or contract
iffichestraU
feiture of property nr wSble; and that for'
be amongPtno penalt SPi Snment shaI t
tlons. The cor " L Xl?0? t0-r Vlola"
restraints are unreTsonaVe dGCide wha
ties case & &XFis
VOLUME 4, NUMBER i0, i
the. country in a position to await ,
action-with less anxiety." th C0Urt'8
Wlien one sees how radilv tho
democrat and the republican politicL'n11121
together upon legislation which m on an eet
regard as iniquitous, is it any Woler h
Platform proposed for the democTati oJve ,he
by these reorganizes are so similar t m nll0tt
publican platform that if adopted bv th h re'
crats that party would differ from the renu?S'
party in name only. republican
JJJ
s Don't Get Scared.
While the administration is provided hv w
decision of the supreme co.irt, with an exceli X
opportunity for striking- an effective blow ag fi
the trust system, the people are told that no mo
ra road combinations, mergers or trusts are to 2
called to an accounting. e l0 De
The Washington correspondent for the Chi
cago Record-Herald says that although Attoroev
General Knox declines to discuss his future pro.
gram, it is well understood, In the cabinet that tho
president has no desire to 'make trouble" for
other corporations.
According to this correspondent, Mi. Roose
velt "is well content with his success in estab
lishing the principle laid down by the court and
has no desire to start out on a campaign of prose
cution, which to the financial world might look
like persecution."
The cheerfulness with which the administia.
tion is willing to "abide by the result" is pointed
out by the Record-Herald correspondent when he
says:
"There is no evidence tnat any other com
bination, not even the Standard Oil company,
nor the Pennsylvania railway, nor the New
York, New Haven and Hartford; is violating
the law. None of these is operating through
a holding company, so far as is known. Nor
is it known that any other company has over
stepped the bounds."
It cannot be denied that, according to the
opinion of Justice Harlan, the heef trust, the coal
trust and many other similar concerns are vio
lating the law. Administration officials cannot
possibly be in doubt as to the operations of these
trusts, but it may be takeu for granted that they
will not undertake to follow upthe advantage of
fered by the opinion rendered by the majority of
the supreme court
JJJ
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