? fypFT! 'tj n&n i cm The Commoner VOL. 14, NO. 12 20 m ft l: h iy Labor's New Magna Charta the Clayton Antitrust Law In a late issue of the Chicago Her ald, William L. Chonory tolls the etbry of labor's fight against "gov ermont by injunction" and tho mean ing of its final triumph through the passage of tho labor section of tho Clayton antitrust bill. The article follows: " 'The labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of com merce.' That sentence written into tho law of tho land through the Clay ton anti-trust bill marks a turn in tho industrial development of the nation. Tho paragraph which it in troduces Is more significant for mil lions of Americans than the Magna Charta or tho Declaration of Inde pendence. It is indeed a' declaration of freedom, and asseveration that never again can men be treated as inanimato objects of commerce,' that never again can men bo debased to tho level of things. If you are plodding along in a dull rut under paid gnashing your teeth with an unfulfilled ambition to "get ahead" to be somebody, I can vmctt itfAlir littlrv vaii In Ka ttiA etifACcfi1 mnn xmn 1vT;TT' want to be. I nave helped thousands of others who ftladly testify for me. I will help YOU. Read and earn for your own sake. J. E. MARKUS, Prea. American Correspondence School of Law, IS YOUR 0 L A NEW TRUST ACT A RE- nRMPTION OF DEMO- CRATIC LABOR PLEDGE i ,. 0 0 LAW The successful man is tho legally .trained man. Legal education is capital. It is the very founda tion of success. The legally trained man always wins. In business in politics in society he is the leader. Know the law and there is no limit to your chance for advancement. 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Ws Pailthraty 8urwlw ts Cswk FREE Any Brataalt FsUfeo Is Ps Bsr ExsnhailM. Send the Coupon gs Everyday the demand for legally trained rnon Increase. Law otters tho greatest opportunities. No matter whoyou sura.what your occupation oreducatlonxsay bo.youcan now learn Law quickly and easily, at hme durinir oparo time. ! aitiAllflMl Uwtf Ottflllf ..& M(.lA 1 ... ... ... Afo UIH Btwpmiuu uuura uvuujr wtwnuiMwuan wbi, .w- JiL, aolutely complete. Combines the Text Book. Case and ' V Lecture methods, samn as big aniverslties. Investigate ling ItN jj iJsiiariT dMPWfWdt "Tho labor section of the Clayton bill has been won, subject always to the approval of the supreme court at the end cf an enormous struggle. Once before it passed through both houses of congress only to be vetoed by President Taft. More than any act of the government within years It is a peace measure. It gives to labor the liberty to struggle peacefully for tho upbuilding of millions. It gives to men much the same rights in indus try which their fathers secured cen turies ago in politics. It is a mark of the new epoch. ' THE COURTS AND LABOR "Every one eyen faintly in sym pathy with the labor movement long has been aware of the aloofness be tween law courts and labor. Rightly or not, labor has felt that the courts have not seen its point of view nor appreciated its urgencies. This sep aration between working men and judges has been perhaps an inevit able development in the history of courts whose foundations were laid and whose limits were determined generations before the modern doc trine of collective bargaining was formulated. "Every one knows the way in which the injunction has been used against labor unions. The injunction was of course an emergency device invented to prevent the lops of property rights which could not be protected by ordi nary litigation. The injunction has grown in theory and in practice un til it shoots as broadly as a gatling gun. The Sherman anti-trust act had grown similarly into a weapon against labor. Its ineffectiveness against trusts had been proved abun dantly; its effectiveness against, la bor unions as. .generously had been demonstrated. "Through its terms the officers of the united Mine Workers were in dicted in West Virginia, in Michigan ODDOrtunitV ana ln Colorado during strikes. I ViJWI IMlll.Jf TL,,m.i Ml nan .mirf ,. At blows were struck at the very vitals of the labor movement and indeed at the heart of free institutions. The simplest civil rights in these states were attacked and miRnfinfi0.fi. Even the right to a trial in some cases by jury was taken from the striKers. "Tho constitutional guarantee of the habeas corpus' was denied them. Constantly military rule was sunor- seding civil government. The men's organization was their only bulwark of defense against these encroach ments and the organizations were being outlawed by the Sherman act. The situation was acute. A FAR-REACHING CHANGE "The Clayton bill remedies this situation. Here are the memorable words: 'That the labor of a humim being is not commodity or article of commerce. Nothing contained in the antitrust laws shall be construed to forbid the existence and operation of labor, agricultural or horticultural organizations instituted for the pur pose of mutual help.' The section uonuuues providing in detail and generally against the kind of action which was begun against the United Mine Workers in three states. "Tho right of federal courts to issue injunctions is specifically lim ited. The general injunctions through the operation of which men were driven to positive acts belong now to the limbo of dead powers. The property which is being protect ed by injunctions in the future must be described with 'particularity' and sworn to. No injunctions can be The 34th annual session of the American Federation of Labor convened in Phila delphia, November 9. A press dispatch contains the following reference to the passage of the Clayton anti trust bill, a provision of which is regarded by labor leaders as a complete redemp tion of the labor pledges contained in democratic na tional platforms: "Pronouncing the passage of the Clayton trust bill as organized . labor's greatest single accomplishment for the last year, the executive coun cil made its report to the fed eration. The voluminous document covers every ques tion which has affected labor during the year, including the European war. "Of the Clayton bill the council's statement says- that 'it contains the most compre hensive, enunciation of indus trial freedom found' in any legislative act in the history of the world,' and that it was TO obtained through' 'the organ- ized economic power' repre sented by the workers; of the united stales. eral courts.' Its enforcement will mean that labor struggles can be less volcanic that by discussion rather than by violence, working agree ments can be reached. The Clayton bill is another step away from war a step away from the most cruel of all wars, that between blood brothers." k 4 y were once the frequent occasions of the court orders. Some of. these ex emptions are.. as follows: " '.No injunction can be Issued to prohibit people from ceasing work, singly or incqneert, or from urging others' to cease;' "'No injunction can'bV issued to prevent the holding of union meet ings. " 'No injunction in effect can be issued to prevent boycotts or, to state it more circumspectly, "to pro hibit anyone from withholding their patronage from any party to a labor dispute, or from recommending, ad vising or persuading others by peace ful and lawful means to do so." " 'No injunction may be issued to prevent any act which would be law ful if no strike existed.' PROHIBITION AND BIG BUSINESS Apropos of Mr. Bryan's recent dec laration that the democratic party can not afford to remain, in partner ship with the brewers, the Omaha World-Herald calls attention to an editorial of regret in the Johnstown, Pa., Democrat, whose editor is a radical democratic member of con gress. The Democrat fears that an excursion against the brewers would leave a free field to the monopolistic interests which radical democrats have been opposing in the past. It says: "That big business would be glad to have this issue the paramount one is not to be doubted. With liquor at the center of the stage, there would be no room in the popular mind for consid eration of monopolistic combinations and the other vital matters which for a score of years have engrossed the thought of the country and shaped the course of political parties. It is not fr a moment to be conceived that Mr. Bryan is animated by big busi ness considerations in espousing the cause of prohibition. Nothing could be further from the fact. Yet the effect is precisely the same. No mat ter what the purpose or the inspira tion, the inevitable and necessary consequence of forcing this issue to the front in national politics is to divert attention from all the other great issues and so to complicate the MESMERIZED A PolNonoiiK Drug Still Freely "Used now, Man tna coupon ana i wm giaaty sena you iuu particulars free. Also our bis 164 pace book on "How to Learn Law." Everything FKKE. No obligations. Tear ut eeupan and mall It NOW. SPECIAL. OFFER COUPON AE.HHKW.rrwUft, KMCntCsM CMWCSrWtKNCE ICHMl.. f UW.WMtttMtMie. CMCAW. RL Sept. 5039 I wtmld HWo to kaow all aixrat th New fooctat OfTar you ara par. WHdt HUMf for th study Qf Law at noma, durin apara tteia, m nd at, FREK, without obHoUon. full detail, Uo your bl 14 - beek ea ''How to Lawn Law." issued for many of the reasons whioh LABOR'S RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL "Trial by jury is so fundamental a part of our civilization, that at first utterance it appears absurd to say that labor unions have had to strug gle to regain this basic right. Yet such has been experience. This con dition has arisen through contempt proceedings. In industrial struggles contempt of court has come to mean a variety of things. "In practice to disobey a court order has been a more serious of fense than the breaking of actual laws. The law-breaker is entitled to a jury of his peers. The violator of a court order has been "in contempt." He had no recourse to a jury. The judge who issued the order alone had the power of hearing the case and passing sentence on the prisoner. "In this way courts gained a power greater than that of any other branch of government. The acts of a legislature can be vetoed by a gov ernor. Except in the most unusual cases the legislature can not mete out punishment for the violation of its iuws. a juage, however, up to the passage of the Clayton bill, could make a law technically issue an in- K0vWat?!he,l eXMt " "Jury trials are now nrm.unj l?Se,S nLtlis Mi, 'indirect con- t.v. Am3 1UW applies to all fed- Many people are brought up to be lieve that coffee is a necessity of life, and the strong hold that the drug, caffeine, in coffee has on the system makes it hari to loosen its grip even after one realizes its injurious effects. A lady writes: "I had used coffee for years; it seemed one of the neces sities of life. A few months ago my health, which had been slowly fail ing, became more impaired, and I knew that unless relief came from some source would soon be a phys ical wreck. "I was, weak and nervous, had sick headaches, no ambition, and felt tired of life. My husband was also losing his health. 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