| Show THE DEBS DECISION the decision of the united states supreme court in the debs case must be recognized as one of the mst meat important that has been banded down by wat that august tribunal it Is in bu but t to rail at it as being in the interest of corporations syndicates and trust sand adverse to the welfare of the work logi on en the decision goes to the root of national power in preserve it ii g the apesos pesos and maintaining hr bar mullous relations relation io in the lawful inter ests eats if f the state it to is a declaration on behalf of the individual rights of freemen such as aa every man in this country needs and nd ant uld have a b understanding of there is in it no suggestion of upholding the power ol of any corporation or combination to coerce the working ruan in the lean least degree as aa to how be ahall dispose of his bis labor but there to IB the plain enunciation ot of the he principle wat that it to is the duty of government to see that on one man or a combination of men whether as a corporations or as labor not obstruct other men in the exercise of lawful lowerr in other words dealing with the question at issue the rule to is laid down mat lost strikers can quit work it if they want to but that they have no right to 0 prevent others from doing that work and when the be attempt to perform the latter act interferes with interstate commerce that it is within the scope of the national ional government efro ment to use une all its power in tur LU pressing such attempt the ground on which the baudat babe corpus sought bought to set aside judge ruling ebl fly rested was wab that the court had bad no to interfere by injunction with the alleged obstruction of the malla mail and commerce at chicago this to IR the second of the two wo divisions la in which the decision deals with the ease and it holds that such jurisdiction is in undoubted and Is IB not ousted by the fact that the obstruct obstructions iona consist of aoto acts in themselves violations of the criminal law laws it alclo holds that the he court had baa power to punish a contempt tor for its order and that punishment can call be also inflicted in indue due course for the criminal act accompanying and exhibiting the contempt As to the governments right to follow the civil process of courts at the same ame time that it was using the military power in en forcemeat foro ement of its it commande comman df dp the court says aye in the cose case before us ua the right to use force does not exclude the right of appeal to the courts for a judicial determination mi nation and for the exercise ot of all their powers of prevention indeed it is more to the praise than to the blame of the government that instead of determining for itself questions of right and wrong on the part pare of these petitioners petition ers and their associates and enforcing that determination by the club of the policeman and the bayonet of the soldier it submitted all ali those questions to the determination of judicial tribunals tribunal and invoked their and judgment as to the measure of its rights aud bowerm and the correlative obligations of those against whom it made complaint the court has bae words of commendation for those of the strikers chool who ol 01 served edthe the mandate of the lower court reverting to the claim on behalf of dubs and tija bis a socrates that the law in the pro cedore have neen fol lowed by government if it was being broken by the strikers Atri kere kers the court holds MIA the government is not dot tied up to euca process but may act with 8 such promptitude and force as the discretion of 06 obied executive may determine the national powers iu in this ibis respect reaped are set furth forth in the following emphatic language on 00 the suggestion that the general government had no authority to use lure there is no such impotency in the national government the entire strength of the nadon may be used faed to enforce in any part of the land the full and free exercise of all national powers aud and the security of all rights entrusted by the constitution to its care the st strong administration ol of the national government may be put forth to brush away all obstructions to the freedom of interstate commerce or the he transportation of the mails mailo if the emergency arises the army of the nation and all its militia milina are sit at the service of the nation to compel obedience to the laws the supreme court decision cannot be property opery pr regarded dej as adverse to the workingmen either in labor unions or otherwise when a man exercises powers wrongfully wr mg fully it to is to his bis interest to define the limits within which he be may r pric the decision decision does th this in with respect to the actions or of those who engage in str striker st riken ikee they may quit work when the terms of employment are not agreeable but bilt when they prevent others taking up that employment they that are lawless law lese and aad the strong arms arme of the gavern government meal executive rind and judicial may on summarily end the lawlessness lawle if th the interference JB is with national business then the national authority intervenes and perforce if it la is of a more local char acter then the state may exercise the sovereign power in compelling the cessation of unlawful acts within its jurisdiction in this respect the ruling should be welcomed by all as a clear exposition of governmental under this opinion mr deb and several alveral others other must serve their term in prison for contempt referring to the criminal charge yet standing against them considering that mistaken ideas as to what they might lawfully do were prevalent to a wire lame extent it would be magnanimous for the government to pass these by that there be no DO martyr makeig in the business now that the rule ladett la deft bitely settled however it should be given a rigid application in every part of the country where mobs either of strikers or other seek the enforcement of their will as against the lawful conduct of industrial or any other business by individuals individual or companies the welfare of the working classes in the whole nation requires that this be done |
