Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / Dec. 14, 1919, edition 1 / Page 1
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PAGES TODAY AND EVENING.CHRONICLE THREE SECTIONS GREATER C H A RL O T TE'S H 0 ME N E WS P APER" rnT! CflAniOTTK NEWS Established, Dally, JSSSj Sunday 1010 xnu EVEXINU CHRONICLE Established. 1903. una7. 1010. CHARLOTTE, N. C. J AY MORNING, DECEMBER 14, 1919. THE CHARLOTTE NEWS Consolidated I DDTPT? T?TirT? niPXTrpa THE EVEA ING CHRONICtE J ?Ia S. 1814. f AVAVjXJ .11TJP X A "NE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE" 1QT o nr MEWS JL JnL JUd SUNDAY EDITION LABOR ADOPTED PERSHING'S FINAL REPORT TO SECY. BAKER jS PUBLIC Commander of A. E. F. Highly Praises the. Single Effort of Each Individual. Yalimstn Dec. 13. America won Id,, world war, General Pershing allows in bis final report to Secretary HaUer on his work as commander of the American expeditionary forces rn;iile public tonight. '""The I'nitcd States army snatched victory from what seemed certain de foal of the allies by Germany, Per shins; shows. Oi hot- points brought out by Per shirk's report are: 1 American troops were trained in France in a way which would incul , ate i'i them the fixed thought that thev were to take the offensive in ! attle and not the defensive, that they were to be invincible. Despite insistence of the British ami French that the American forces, retarded as replacements, should be niersretl with the allied troops, Pershing- held out for .an independent army under the American flag. 3-lThe cables between France and ilv United States were kept hot dur ing America's participation in the war by appeals from Pershing to the war department to send the necessary troops and supplies and to stop load ing the transports with other supplies of which there were enough in France. Telling of the conduct of the American army in its victory in the Meuse-Argonne battle of October, 1918, which was followed swiftly by the armistice, Pershing said: -livery member of the American expeditionary forces from the front line to the base ports was' straining every nerve. Obstacles which seemed insurmountable were overcome daily. It was this spirit of determination ani mating every American soldier that made it impossible for the enemy to maintain the struggle until 1919. "The demands of incessant battle which had been maintained day by day for more than a month had com pelled our divisions to- fight to the limit of their capacity. Combat troops? were held in line and pushed to the attack until deemed incapable of fur ther efforts because of casualties or exhaustion. Artillery, once engaged, was seldom withdrawn and many bat teries fought until practically all the animals were casualties and the guns were towed out of line by mo tor trucks. "While the high pressure of these dogged attacks was a great strain on our troops, it was calamitous to the npmv. His divisions had been thrown into confusion by f-uweue-ssaUa.- and his morale had been" reauceu mi ni hw will to resist had well-nigh reached the breaking point. Once a Herman division was engaged in the light, it became practically impossible to effect its relief. The enemy was forced to meet the constantly recur ring crisis by breaking up tactical organizations and sending hurried detachments to widely separated por tions of the held." America Won the War. When America entered the war- in the spring of 1917, the German gen eral staff could foresee the complete elimination of Russia, the possibility or defeating Italy before the end of the year and finally, the campaign of 1'JIS against the French and British which might terminate the war, Per suing said: "It cannot be said that German hopes of final victory were extrava gant, either as viewed at that time or as viewed in the light of history, the report continued. In December, 1917, Pershing cabled the war department that the allies were "very weak and we must come to their relief tnis year, 1918." the re port stated. "It is very doubtful if tney can bold on until 1919 unless we. give them a lot of support this year." .. ' . Pershing said that tne great man drive ct March, 1918, made such inroads upon Krencn anu inusn iw-jin serves that ueieat siareu tuetu " face." Americans Made Invincible; The British and French had almost entirely dispensed with, training of their troops for open warfare, Pershing stated, due to the long period of trench warfare. To avoid this in our army and to encourage the offensive spirit, the following order was issued at the American training centers in France: "All instructions must contemplate 'he assumption of a vigorous offensive. This purpose will be emphasized in every phase of training until it be comes a settled habit of thought. "The rifle and the bayonet are the principal weapons of 'the infantry sol dier. He will be trained to a high de cree of skill as a marksman, both on the target range and in field firing. An aggressive spirit must be - develop ed until the soldier feels himself, as a bavonet fighter, invincible in bat tle." An Independent American Army. In December, 1917, when there were only 176,665 American troops in France and but one division had ap peared on the front, the French and British began to urge amalgamation of our troops with their own, even in sisting on the curtailment of training 'o conform to the strict minimum of irenoh requirements they considered necessary. The allies were also disap, pointed at the delay of the American effect. ' ' "l.ly conclusion Was that nothing in the situation justified the relinquish ment of our firm purpose to form our n arrr.y under our own flag," Gen eral Pershing stated. "While the Germans were practicing for open warfare and concentrating their most aggressive personnel in hock1 divisions, the training, of the allies was still limited to trench war fare. As our troops were being train ed for open warfare, there was. every reason why we' could not allow them to be scattered among our allies. Any sort of permanent amalgamation would irrevocably commit America's fortunes in the hands of the allies. Moreover, it was obvious that the lack of homo genity would render these mixed di visions difficult to maneuver and al most certain to break up under tress of defeat, with the consequent mutual recrimination. Again there was ' no loubt that the realization by the Ger- (Continued on Page Two.). ASSERTS HE WILL BALK SIGNING OF ALLIES' PROTOCOL A new picture of Gustave Noske. Gustave Noske, German war min ister and called "the strongest man in Germany," says he will not sign the allied protocol to the peace treaty and will prevent the other cabinet members from affixing their signa tures to it. He believes that, should they s?gn it, they will be avenged by the German people, who. already be Hve that the allies, particularly (France and England, want to strangle Germany to death. , SENATE REFUSAL NOT CONSIDERED Foreign Minister Mueller Sets Forth German View point in an Interview. BY CARL. D. GROAT. United Press Staff Correspondent. (Copyright, 1919, by the United Press) Berlin, Dec. 12. Germany's attitude toward signing the protocol to the peace treaty was formulated without regard to the American senate's refu sal to ratify the past, Foreign Min ister MueHer declared in an interview today. Substantial concession in . the inter est of the speedy return to peace con ditions sums un the stand Germany HiatsAmxItt -the i rprCsent-rtitra! situ ation, according to the views expressed by Mueller. As a result, Germany has decided to withdraw practically all her objections against signing 'the proto col, he said. His statements followed largely the line of Germany's reply to the entente note requiring immediate signature of the protocol. "The long delay which unfortunate ly has occurred in the process of putting the peace treaty into opera tion certainly was not due to any measures or schemes on Germany's part," Mueller declared. "We realize that in. common with the whole world, Germany needs noth ing more urgently than establishment of peace. We are prepared to make any reasonable sacrifice to that most important end. "Consequently we have decided to withdraw practically all our objections against the signature of the protocolj which the allies and associated pow ers wish us to sign prior to exchange of ratifications of peace treaty. "In particular our misgivings con cerning the final clause of the pro tocol, entitling our opponents to in vade Germany almost at any time have been waived aside in view of Premier Clemenceau's assurance that this right only holds gefod for the short period Df transition until the peace treaty is force. "As for the allied and associated de mands for reparation for Scapa Flow we maintain that legally Germany can not be held responsible therefor. How ever, to prove our earnest desire of removing everything that stands in the way of re-establishment of peace we have now decided xto make good the Carnage caused to our opponents through the sinking of the battleships in question. The only reservation we must' make is regarding the manner in which reparation will have to be made. We are manifestly unable to lleliver in the immediate future or rr,ra tVio onnrmniis amnimt of 400.- 000 tons of drederes. docks and cranes7 without the most detrimental conse quences to , Germany- consequences which would seriously impair her abil ity to discharge the heavy Versailles obligations. Delivery of the present dredge fleet, for instance, would make the mouths of the Elbe and the Weser unnavagable - for even middle-sized ocean steamers. "Now the allied and associated gov ernments declare in their last . note that if events should prove the fatal effect of such a delivery on German shipping they subsequently would modify their demands. However, since it distinctly . would be a highly preca rious and even dishonest thing for us to take over further obligations which we positively know we would be unable to fulfill, we have resolved' to- send a commission of experts to Paris which will put all data on dredges and other materials demanded before the allied and associated governments. These experts will be authorized to make definite proposals for others ways of reparation, which, although they will certainly mean additionally heavy burdens ' for Germany's shoulders, will nevertheless not condemn her to eco nomic death. "I think our opponents will be un able to decline recognition of the rea sonableness of such reparation for Scapa Flow. We sincerely hope that soon a full agreement will be reached which will be succeeded at once by (Continued on, Page 9. HIRAM'S HAT HITS RING WITH A THUD Washington, Dec. 13. Senator Hi ram Johnson, of California, tonight for- mally announced his candidacy for the KEEP HANDS-brt, RUSSIAN POLICY OF THEENTENTE London Conference Decides to Let Them Fight it Out Among Themselves. BY ED. L. KEEN. United Press Staff Correspondent. ; London, Dec. 13. The unofficial "peace conference" now in session here was reported, tonight to have made rapid progress toward settlement of world problems outstanding after con clusion of the official peace conference in Paris. The status of the various internation al questions -discussed by the confer ence at the conclusion of: this after noon's session, according to authorita tive information tonight was: Peace treaty The. European allies have agreed-to accept "reasonable" res ervations by ; the American senate. Russia The allies, including Amer ica, have decided on a "hands off" pol icy, allowing the Russians to fight it out among themselves. Adriatic dispute After exchansrins: views, the conferees decided upon a definite settlement at a conference of-' British, French and Italian represen tatives after Christmas. Turkey Matter still under discus sion. Finance and economics The Euro pean conferees discussed the industrial and financial situation with American Ambassador Davis, particularly the question of stabilization of exchange. Further conferences will be held. The decision regarding reservations to the treaty was reached in yester day's session, it was understood. Regarding the" new policy toward Russia, it was learned on the highest authority tonight that Premier Lloyd George and Premier Clemenceau quick ly agreed on the "hands off", attitude. Foreign Minister Scialoia, it was report ed, was hesitant, owing to Italian . in terests in . southern Russia. Davis, it was intimated, approved neutrality to ward both the bolsheviki and their op ponents. Scialoia, who was to have left for Rome this noon, cancelled his arrange ments at the last moment and decided to remain here a few days. When he returns to Italy he will report trf the chamber of deputies the results of the London conference. It has been ar ranged for Lloyd-George, Clemenceau, Scialoia and Premier Nitti to meet soon after Christmas when a definite de cision, will be made regarding the Adri atic problem which so far has been discussed only "informally." The "bi three" (Lloyd-George, - CJemenceau . and Sciakia)lstr-T3eet5d' to "TSJntinue'rthe present "peace conference" indfinitely. An official communique . issued at Downing street tonight stated .that Lloyd-George and other British minis ters discussed with Clemenceau various questions affecting France and Great Britain, including finance and econom ics The conferees, including the Am erican ambassador, exchanged viewa with Scialoia regarding the Adriatic question. The Japanese ambassador also participated in a general discus sion regarding the Russian problem. In addition, the conference discussed the procedure to be followed regarding various international question still to be settled, including peace with Tur key. "The conferences were marked by the utmost cordiality," the communique said. "Satisfactory agreements were arrived at on all outstanding points. and the three-days meeting served to confirm the complete solidarity of the allies." , The report, as circulated in govern ment circles tonight, was that the al lied representatives, while deciding defi nitely to have no dealings with the bolsheviki, also had determined to re fuse further aid either to General Den ikine or Admiral Kolchak, the principal anti-soviet leaders. No information Was forthcoming as to whether the allies , had decided to abandon the Russian economic block ade. While, on the face of it, the con ference's decision was strongly favor able to the bolsheviki, it was pointed out that, should the allies continue to isolate soviet Russia and, at the same time, keep ouen to private and neutral interests the ports controlled by Deni kme and Kolchak, the bolsheviki would still be at a great disadvantage. Shortly before the decision of the council was learned, a Copenhagen dis patch reached London that the Ameri can, British, French and Italian minis ters there had definitely refused to consider the peace overtures made by Boris Litvinoff, bolsheviki envoy. They told him, according to the dispatch, that their dealings with him would be limited to negotiations for exchange of prisoners. It was accepted that the ministers had some advance informa tion as to the decision to be reached by allied representatives in London The military situation in Russia has become almost completely stabilized since .the abortive attempt to take Pet- rograd. Kolchak, according to the lat est advices, will be unable to attempt another offensive on a large scale be fore sprinr, if then. Denikine.- delay ed dispatches from Odessa said, drove the bolsheviki from Kieff again De cember 2 and was' advancing eastward. jvtany wen-iniormed persons were in clined to believe tonight that the allied decision regarding Russjia will -remove immediately a cause tor considerable political . unrest in European allied countries. The uncertainty of the al lies' policy toward Russia engendered an endless chain of factional bickering. An illustration of the serious plane these disputes were approaching was furnished in the Italian chamber of deputies yesterday. Deputy Ciccoti, in a speech believ ed to represent ' the attitude of his fel low socialist members toward the al lies, urged the government to . resume relations with, soviet Russia at once. He declared Lloyd-George was setting France against Germany so that Great Britain might profit from the ruin of both. Ciccqti's tirade, however, had its" principal result in definitely turningthe Catholics against the proposed coalition with the socialists as it was announc ed, soon after his speech, that no such coalition would be formed. republican nomination for President. Johnson said he will leave tomorrow for California to rest and will then be gin a speech-making tour in which he will carry- his candidacy - direct to the people of many states. SHE'LL HELP HER HUBBY DISPOSE OF INHERITED HAREM Mrs. Robert McLean. When the news was flashed around the country that Robert McLean, a Californian, had been willed a harem Df forty wives by the sultan of Llang Llang and that McLean was going there to look it over, the masculine world exclaimed: "Oh, boy." But now comes word that Mrs. Robert McLean is going with him. , That's different. AMERICAN HELD BY BANDIT VILLA Was Taken in Raid on Muz quiz and is Held for $10,000 Ransom. Eagle Pass, Texas, Dec. 13. Pancho Villa, whose activities have been re stricted since General Pershing chased him into hiding, tonight held an Amer ican ' citizen for ransom. - Fred Gt- Hugo, a ranch manager, was captured-by--andits-led bj' "Villa hef they looted the town of Muzquiz, ac cording to reports 4 reaching here. A ransom of .$10,000 was demanded for his release. "'. R. B. Dawson, a British subject, who was also captured by the bandits in the same raid, was reported released. The outlaws, after looting the city of Muzquiz, were driven out by gov ernment troops. The bandits retreated south toward Chihuahua. One thou sand Carranza soldiers were rushed northward in an attempt to intercept the outlaws' retreat. . SHIPPING FIGHTS A 75-MILE GALE Fourteen Vessels Have Been Forced to Send Out the S. 0. S. Call. TTntifa-s-. "Nr. R.. Dec. 13. North Atlan tic ch innin e is in the throes Of a 75- mile-an-hour gale, which caused 14 vas sels to send out the S: O. S. call.. Ww nf thft vessels have managed to reach ports' and tugs and rescue steamers were searenms ror tne dis abled craft. . In addition trains north and west of hftrei are stalled, dwellings in exposed parts of the city have been blown down, and in the height or tne storm here Thursday night and Friday sail ing vessels dragged- their ancnors in the harbor and collided with each other and the wharves. The tide on Thursday 'rose two feet higher than ordinarily and established a new record for the port, covering the docks and streets. , . j Among the veessels damaged by.-the storm ami still in danger is ythe Pro Pa tria, which reports she is making one knot an hour toward Sydney, N. S .b,ut has' 150 miles to go and only 12 hours coal supply. The- Chetopa, with two propeller blades missing, is in distress 250 miles south of here. Four United States shipping board tugs bound from Quebec to Boston are missing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is hoped they have made some small port. The Lake Dalewood, driven aground on Port Hood Island, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence will probably be a total loss. The crew were rescued with breeches buoy. The United States shipping board ves sel Davidson County is adrift in the gale, having been v deserted by the eteamer Nestalogue, after the latter had come to her assistance and herself sprung a leak. The Westalogue is rac ing for port. Sheba has sent distress calls from 330 miles south of here but no details were given. The steamer E. D. Kingsley, Montreal to Halifax, is aground at Whitehead. The Cunard liner Carmania which was in collision with the steamer Mary land, arrived in port today, her dam age consisting of dented plates above the water line. v The Leyland liner Mercian, en route to Boston from Manchester, England, reached -here Thursday with fire rag ing in , her number two hold. Mem bers of the crew fought the . blaze through the height of the storm. A tug has been sent to aid the steamer Angelo Tcrso which has report ed a crippled ruduer. j MIDNIGHT MASS PLANNED. ' Midnight mass will be celebrated at St. Peter's Catholic church: on Christ mas Eve night. The exercises are to start immediately on the, strok of the clock at the midnight hour. The cele bration will be featured by a large or chestra under the direction of Prof. Lucius Lescale, organist of the church. TREATY DEBATED SEVERAL HOURS BY THESENATE Senator Hitchcock Rejected Two Definite Proposals for Breaking Deadlock. BY L. C. MARTIN, United Press Staff Correspondent. Washington, Dec. 13 Senator Hitch cock, administration leader, today re jected definite republican proposals for breaking the treaty deadlock. In the face of an appeal by Senator Under wood, another leadine- rl the republicans initiate a compro mise, Hitchcock refused to permit the senate to consider either of two reso lutions offered bv Knnx nf Ppnnavl. vainia, in response to Underwood's piea. .Hitchcock and Underwood are rivals for the democratic leadership of the senate. Hitchcock's refusal "to consider the Knox proposal abruptly ended hours of heated debate on the treaty during wmcn tne responsibility for delay in ratification was passed back and forth, appeals, were made for the appoint ment of a committee on conciliation and republican senators were warned that if the treaty is not soon rati fied the United States will lose its for eign markets, face a sharp break iii prices at home and invite a panic Knox first proposed a resolution for unreserved ratification of the treaty, as far as it relates to establishment of peace between the United States and Germany, leaving the league of nations out of consideration altogeth er. Knox interrupted Underwood's ap peal for action by the republicans to ask if Underwood would support such a resolution. "So far as I am concerned, I will support it," replied Underwood. "I am willing to pay that price for peace. I think that when senators on this side are willing to go that far in surren der of their views there is no justi- ncation tor the majority party refus ing to permit peace to be made at any price." Underwood declared that, while he still favors ratification of the treaty withthe league of nations included, he is willing for the .public good to de fer the league question if necessary and "leave it to the people to deter mine whether they will elect a con gressman the same time they elect the. next, president to ask admission to the league." : ' - . -- - - - :.v Y . Senator Leriroot then inquired why Underwood would not vote for ' the treaty . with the ' Lodsre - reservations. conte.ndingthat:. posal. -. ; . ."Because, the Lodge reservations would destroy the league, not only for the United States but for the whole world," replied Underwood. "I am -not willing to destroy the league to pre serve the peace of the world. Let a committee on conciliation be appoint ed and see if it can't agree on a com promise and then submit " it to the president. If J he turns it down, that ends the matter and the responsibil ity then is his. Until then, it is ours.". After Hitchcock had refused to per mit consideration of Knox's first pro posal, Knox offered a second resolu tion declaring the war at an end, the same measure presented some time .ago to Senator Lodge. To this Hitchcock also objected. Discussion of the treaty began when Underwood had read into the record a newspaper article telling how failure of the senate to ratify the treaty had caused the present situation in foreign exchange which had resulted, the . ar ticle said, in cancellation by European buyers of large orders placed witty American manufacturers. In view of this situation, Underwood said, a com promise is imperative and he urged that the senate adopt the suggestion maxie by Senator Pomerene of Ohio, in the closing days of the last session, for appointment of. a conciliation cpm mittee He declared that this is the common sense resolution, adding that Senator Lodge, the republican leader, is not doing his full duty in "waiting for something to turn up" or for the democrats to make a proposal. Lodge replied that there is no doubt of the condition of the world's mar kets but denied that failure of the treaty had anything to do with it. Lodge repeated his declaration that the next move is up to the president and that . unless, he revives it the treaty is dead. "It is for those who are the friends of the treaty as it stpod without any modification to make proposals if they have any to make," said Lodge. "We are ready to listen to and to consider them. If modifications .of the reser vations are desired, let them be offer ed by those who are discontented with the reservations as they stand. Give us an opportunity to. see what you propose. ','As to a -committee of conciliation, democratic senators have nothing to do but come forward if they are duly Authorized by the president and tell us., what modifications they would like us to consider. The senate is not going to deal, with my assent at least, with some unofficial collection of per sons whom the president may select to discourse about the treaty with a ma jority of the senate. If the president desires to present any modifications or concessions from his position, it is open to him to do it Senator Brandegee, republican, lik ened Senator Underwood's speech to "wails of a wake." He declared against appointment of a conciliation committee on the ground that Presi dent Wilson's position is that tie won't have peace unless he has the league of nations covenant with it and that because such a position is unrea-. sonable there is no use in trying con ciliation. Brandegee asserted that, in his opinion, France - and Great Brit ain "don't care a fig about the league of nations." Their people are as sharply divided on it, he , said, as the American people are and their govern ments, he said, "were over-persuaded into it." , Hitchcock assailed the republicans or the ground thatthey are thwarting the overwhelming "sentiment of the American people for peace. He assert ed that entire responsibility lies with the republicans whose proposals, h declared, could not even get a ma jority vote in the senate NEW FIRST LADY OF KENTUCKY AND SON AND DAUGHTER ' ; -ff" Mrs. Edwin P. Morrow, son and -daughter. " T.1 Mrs. Edwin P. Morrow is the first lr.dy of Kentucky since her husband as inaugurated as governor of that state recently. The erovernor and his wife have two children, a daughter and a son. Mrs. Morrow has been a leader in Kentucky society for a long time. PROMOTER HELD FOR TAKING FUND Sheriff Wallace is in Birm ingham Expecting : to Bring Shaw Back, v ' George A. Shaw,' D.t up by several Charlotte mei chants in their pleas as a . modern Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford, is in Birmingham, ' Ala., awaiting - nec essary legal procedure to 'enable Sher iff Wallace ' to bring1 rhim back, here to . answer to charges' of . leaving ..town but it is believed here that this will be refused at a hearing "due to come up Tuesday Last- spring Shaw came here and proceeded to .interest Charlotte mer chants, and others in the . organization of. a wholesale grocery concern.. He succeeded in collecting in the neigh borhood, of ?25;000 in .stock subscrip tions and deposited this in a local bank. Some of the subscribers, becom ing impatient at the delay in getting the project under way; inquired at the bank and found that the promoter had checked out more than $15,000 of the $25,000, leaving a little more 'than $9, 000 in the bank. Subscribers to the stock at once compared notes, and there has been a hot chase after the illusive promoter ever since. On the discovery that everything might not be as it should be with the plan, John M. Robinson s of the Char lotte bar was appointed as receiver for the enterprise. At once he got at torneys and detectives in Birmingham and Atlanta on the trail. About a month ago Shaw was arrested in At lanta, where local warrants were is sued against him. He brought habeas corpus proceedings there and a . legal fight ensued with Sheriff Wallace waiting about the Atlanta capital to bring Shaw back to Charlotte. Mr. Robinson here had- secured -extradition papers on both the governors of Ala bama andGeorgia to t insure his being brought back here. , , The, result of the hearing in Atlan ta was that Shaw .was released on $5,000 bond. A few days ago he was arrested in Birmingham again, and Sheriff Wallace left Friday night for Birmingham to ' get him. A telegram from the sheriff -Saturday afternoon to Mr. Robinson here toM of the proceed ings there. Those interested ' here be lieve that the result of . the prolonged chase after the promoter and the 'legal fight he is putting up will not prevent his being brought back .here, for; trial at the criminal court, beginning Jan uary 5. ' " Several agents were engaged by Shaw to help him promote , his organ ization here. It is believed .these were innocent of any possible wrong-doing. STATE AGENT URGES HIGH CERTIFICATES Mrs. T. E. Johnston, of Raleigh, member of the state ' board of examin ers, met with the teachers of Meck lenburg county at their ' session Satur-. day at the Y. M. C. A. building, and delivered a brief address, relative' to the certification of teachers and the need of teachers' constantly seeking to raise the grade of their certificates. Mrs. Johnston pointed out that the salary of teachers is Jbased entirely on. the grade of certificates held and that it was to their own interest, as well as to the best interest of the educa tional system, to hold as high-grade certificates as possible. She said 'it was the aim of the board of examin ers to haye every teacher in the pri mary, grammar and high school grades hold a certificate by next year that would call for a minimum salary of $100 a month. . " i" i'i THE WEATHER. X . . Washington, Dec. 13. Forecast: w w North Carolina: Rain Sunday, -? w much colder; Monday fair and col- w w der; cold wave in west and cen- w w tral portions." w ; South Carolina: Rain Sunday,' much colder by Sunday night; i'f cold wave in north portion Sunday night; Monday fair and colder. fe w ''- - w , . w I with- about $l5voo no .jtUfrwftrsp.'aw-1 ,' ' ' '-' , .;, Z f " i A -has instituteajbabeas1 ccwpujupEoceed-I -JJ0!13 U INDORSEMENT A VICTORY FOR THE CONSERVATIVES Urges Resistance to Govern ment by Injunction Claims Right to Strike. BY RALPH H. CROUCH, . United Press Staff Correspondent, Washington, Dec. 13.0rganized la-i bor today read the bolshevists and I. W. W.'s out of its ranks and adopted a "declaration of independence" urging' resistance to government by injunc tion and the "autocratic management1 of industry. ' The double action was taken at an all-day meeting of two hundred presi dents - and secretaries of international ' unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, officials of the four big brotherhoods and farmer rep resentatives. The "declaration of Independence" -sets forth labor's defiance to its foes from without. It condemns the use of ' 7 injunctions in strikes, protests the at- titude of the capital group in the first , industrial conference, accuses federal courts of usurping authority, . pro poses plans for reducing living 'wages . and urges ratification of the peace . treaty. This document was approxi mately 4,000 words long. . The second document issued was a short resolution "condemning and re pudiating" the radicals who are try ing "to inject the spirit of bolshevism and I. W. W.-ism into the affairs o '" the American Federation , of Labor." 1 The adoption of both .documents was considered a victory for Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, and the forces which have been backing him in his fight against, the radicals in . labor ranks. Radicals, in an all-day fight, . sought to amend the "declaration of indepen- " dence" which was prepared by Mat thew Woll," vice-president of .the fed eration under direction of the execu tive council. They failed in their -fight, the declaration being changed only in verbiage and on the final roll -call there were three votes aerainst it. They Were cast by Andrew Fur useth, president of the seamen; J; W. Fitzpa- -trick of the White Rats of America, and Delegate Baroff of the fur work ers. Fitzpatrick ; is not the man who headed the steel strike. An attemptx to refer the declaration against bolshevism to the ; federation executive councilv failed by a vote of- DCka urcis '.auu .uc wi. cviiau.vj. - . mittee of the federation. .. v ''Government by injunction,' reads . the draft, '"has -grown out of the per version of Injunction 'process. By mis use of that process, workers have I been forbidden to do things which they have a natural - ' and constitutional rijrht to do." - The next paragraph characterizes the present use of the injunction as, a "revolutionary measure ; which -substitutes government by judicial discre tion or" bias for government by law. It substitutes a trial by one man, a judge, in " his discretion for a trial by jury. It is a subversive of the spirit of free people, working out their' destiny in an orderly and rational manner." Avowing a "reverence for law," -the declaration then urges that "by every -lawful means we must resist the es- -tablishment of a practice that would destroy the very spirit of freedom and . democracy." ' " The most recent use of the Injunc tion in labor matters was by the gov ernment which enjoined President John L. Lewis- and 83 other leaders- of the United Mine .Workers from furth- , ering the nation-wide strike of miners and resulted in the issuance ' of . an order by .Federal Judge Anderson by which Lewis was forced to counter mand his original strike call. One group sought to amend th rough draft to include & charge that , government officials have 'shown . them- . selves "autocratic" in their handling t of the wage demands of employes in the postal and railroad service.- The . amendment was offered to the sec- i ond section of the document which scores the "autocratic attitude and, destructive action of the United States Steel Corporation and its subsidiary ' branches to oppress the workers by denying them the exercise of their freedom of action." The document declares for a change. , in thfi system of selecting federal judges who are now appointed by the ' president. It urges .that judges be elected for terms not 'exceeding six years . - Dealing with the high cost of living in section No. 10, the declaration urges, as remedial: "The deflation of currency; prevention of hoarding and -unfair; price fixing; establishment of co-operative movements operated un- ( der the Roachdale system; making ac cessible' all income tax returns and ,. dividend declarations as a direct and , truthful means of revealing excessive costs and profits." . . " The document contains a demand - r from labor that the peace treaty he .. ratified.- ' J. . Declaring that organised . labor "speaks in the name of 'millions of v workers." the preamble of the declara- -tion urges that "our welfare and in terest are inseparably bound up' with . th well-beine of the nation" and "we - are organized to twork out the wel- r fare of all." . i . ; ; ' 1 Right To Strike. : Section No. 2 "Powerful forces are seeking more and more aggressively to deny to wage earners their right to r cease work. We denounce, these as vir clous' and destructive of the most pre- cious liberties of our . people. So long as it is necessary to exercise the right to cease work strike as "a Ana' means of enforcing justice from au tocratic control of industry, so long must the. workers maintain the right . to strike." This was amended to read: 'The right to cease - work strike as a final means of enforcing justice from autocratic control of in- : dustry must be maintained." . Industrial Conference. . Section No. 3--Protests are made against "the attitude and action of a majority of the representatives of the employers in the employers' gfoup" (Continued on Paga TwcJ I M - - if V v
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 14, 1919, edition 1
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