Newspapers / The Roanoke Beacon and … / Jan. 1, 1909, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
;"frv " "I n fTllT (ffTHf IFlFr hTtTT ' fil , spy iyi iLifel iAiy t a Year, la Advance. FOR OOD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH. Sega Copy g Ca. VOL. XIX. PLYMOUTH, N. C;. FRIDAY; JAN OAKY. 1..I909. NO. 30: ' XV ENTENCED TO JAIL Oompcrs Mitch e!l and ,Morri son Convicted of Contempt. THE JUDGE SCORES UNION MEN. Declares They Have Openly Defied . The Courts. Gompers Says He Has Only Been Fighting the Bat tles! cf the Working Man Union Hen in Several Cities Protest " 'Washington, Special. Twelve months in jail for. Samuel Gompers, President, nine months for John "Mitchell, one of the vice presidents, .and six months for Frank Morrison, secretary, all of the American ; Fed- .eration of Labor, was the sentence If5posed: by Justice Wright, of the 'Supreme Court of the District of Co lumbia, for contempt of Court in violating an order previously issued enjoining them from placing on the ' unfair' ' or ' ' we don 't patronize ' ' list the Bucks Stove and Range Co., of St. Louis,. Mo. All three of the defendants were in court. Notice of an appeal to the Court of Appeals, of the District of Columbia, at once was fiiled, Gom- - pers being released on $5,000 bond, Mitchell on $4,000, and Morrison on $3,000.' " With tears coursing down his own cheeks, President Gompers heard the order of the Court which condemned liim to prhson for a year. Both Mitch ell and Morrison seemed stunned by .appeared . to -be least concerned. Asked if. he had anything to say 'why sentenee should not .be pronoun ced, President Gompers declared that lio had not consciously violated any Jaw. There was much he would like to say, T he said, but h could not -do it at that tinse. - H5 added, however, that" this 4sa struggle of the working-people of our country, and it is a struggle of the working people for right. . It is a struggle of the-ages-V a, struggle of the men of labor ' to "throw on! some of ihe burdens which have beeh heaped upon them ; to abol ish ome of thewrongs and to secure soiie of the rights too long denied. ' ' tchell and Morrison confiend selves to an endorsement of at- Mk Gomprs had said. A Sn.Vin ' ArraiTum-mTiet. I mi. . .3- c t 4-: TT;U "which consumed two hours and twen ty niinutes. liureading was one of the most scathing arraignments thai ever came from the bench in this city. He recited the conditions an teceding the injunction and referred to the facf that for twenty-five years the Bucks plant had been oprated as a ten-hour shop and always had Maintained an "-open-shop." Tht Clout read extracts from numbers of resolutions of labor " organizations" bearing on the Bucks case as tending to show the methods of influencing members of unions, "and these methods ," the Court "remarked, 'seemed to be known' as persua sion.' " The customers of. he, Stove Company, the Court said, had been intimidated, brow-beaten and 'coerced out of. their business relations with their customers "by direct interfer ence with and boycott of their (the customers) trade relations with their own customers and the public gener ally." Following an exhaustive dis cussion in restraint of trade. Justice Wright said: ."From the foregoing it ought to "seem apparent to thoughtful, men that the defendants to the bill, each and all of them, have combined to gether for the purpose of . --Tlririjrin about the breaeh of niaintins existing contracts witu- 1 . . i . i. i. 1 t. others. . - ' ' tf2.1 Depriving plaintiff of prop erty (the value of the good will of the business) without due process of law. . ' J---- . ' "3. Restraining trade among the several .States. . ; . . , . ... . ' M4. Restraining commerce among c the several States. . . - The ultimate purpose-- of--the de' s fendants, the Court said,, in.this. con nection was unlawful, their eoncert nrm'ppl: An offence asrainst the . law and, it added, they were guilty of crime. , . Coming, to the question of." viola tion;'of the Court's .injunction Jus tice JVYright said: .... Violation of the Injunction. That Gompers and others had, in advance of the injunction, determin ed to violate it if "issued, and had in advance of the injunction counselled all members of labor unions and 01 the American F"l-ration of Laboy, and the public . -:ierally to violate it ' in case it f-ho . I bo issued, appears .from tSe foil -i' which references ? point: out al the general plan and " - Tnutual ulcrstanding of the va " . ; , 1 re read a pfass of ex ' h-hw of pro 'J' tht Federa ;nt Gompers, 1 I editorials from the columns of the American Federationist and the la bor'press generally in support of his statement ' that there was a pre-de termination to violate. The Court after, quoting at grtat length he a titude taken by Mr. Gompers since the injunction , was issued, his writ ings, interviews' and the public ad dresses, remarked: "All, of which was ,doner all of which was published, all of which was circulated in wil ful disobedience and deliberate vio lation of the injunction, and for the purpose of inciting and accomplish ing the violation generally and in pursuance of the original common design . of himself and confederates, to bring about the breach- of plaih tiff's existing contracts with others; deprive plaintiff of property (the good will of its,, business) without due process of law; restrain trade among the several States; restrain comiaercea mong the several Statesl" As to Secretary Frank Morrison Court declared that he had full knowledge of all that. ; was -. being dont, 00k- part ' in the- preparation jnd -publication of .the -American Fderationit of April, 1008, with complete knowledge af its contents.. Concerning Mitchell the Cort pointedto various acts whieh, he said, placed him within the pale of the law. Vital Questions Involved. Contintung as to all three of the defendants the Court said:"" . "In defence of the charges now at Bar neither apology nor extenuation is deemed fit to be embraced ; no claim of unmeant contumacy is heard; persisting in contemptuous violation of the order, no defence" is offered save, these: "That the injunction (I) infring ed the constituional guaranty o freedom of the press and (2) in fringed the constitutional guaranty of freedom of speech." . In connection with the considera tion of the contention that the in junction invaded the right of free speec and of the press the Court held in part : "The position of the respondents involves -questions vital to the preser vation of scoial order, questions whicu smite the foundations of civil government, and. upon which .the su pemacy of the law over anarchy and riot verily depend." In the. opinion of the Court even' where a tribunal had fallen into er ror in the determination of a . cause which was invested with jurisdic tion to "hear" and4 determine," the duty and neessity of obedience , re mained nevertheless tho" same. . ' - .The Law Eeixdered Null. "Before the injunction was grant-, ed these men announced that neither they nor the American Federation of Labor would obey , it .J. since issued they have refused to Obey it; and through the American Federation of Labor disobedience has been success fully achieved, and the Jaw has:been made to fjail ;r not only has the law failed in its efforts to arrest a wide spread" wrong; birK the injury has grown more "destructive since the in junction than it was before. There s a studied, determined aeiiant con flict precipitated in the light of open day between the decrees of a tribu nal ordained by the Government of the Federal Union and the tribunals of another Federation grown up in the law, one or the other must suc cumb, for those who would unlaw the law are public enemies.?' In passing sentence on the defend ants' the Court said: "It would seem not inappropriate 'for such a penalty as will serve to de ter others from following after such outlawed examples, will serve to vin dicate the orderly power of judicial tribunals, and establish over this Jiti gation the supremacv of law." '" History of the Case. The Bucks Company prosecution of the officials of the Federation be gan in August, 1907. The original action was a test ease wherein it was sought to enjoin the labor unions from using the "unfair" and "we don't patronie" lists in their fight against firms and individuals. Jus tice Gould of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, issued an injunction which was later made per manent . forbidding the publication of the company's name in these lists. President Gompers in an editorial in "The Federationist" of last Janu ary, made known his intention not to obey the Court's order, contending that the injunction issued was in Wmrntinn nf thfi "rights of labor and an abuse of the injunctive power of 4ho Courts. ." 1 Gompers, Mitchell and Morrison subsequently were cited for con tempt, and this phase of the case has He for the Court for many months, the proceedings taking the form of a hearing of testimony, be fore an examiner and many argu ments. Roosevlet Asked to Interfere. Whether President Roosevelt will take any action, as he has been uregd to do in telegrams received from different 'labor or-janiations throughout the country, in connec tion with Judge Wrigbt's decision, has not been decided. CANNOT AID GOMPERS u.- ... -.X . " ; J, .-v .... ... : . ;? Appeals of the Labor .Leaders Con tinues Their Case Before the Conrti and the President Has No Power to Assist Them. . Washington, Special. In , an -official statement' issued at the White House Saturday in regard to' presi dential Suterference in the eases of President Gombers, Vice President Mitchell and Secretary Morrison, of te American Federation of Labor, now under, sentence for eontempt of court, attention is called to the fact that the eases are still before--the eouirts and that no' matterWhat the President's opinion. may be as to the the justness of the sentence imposed he cannot take' any action looking to pardon or express any opinion as to the merits of the cases. , The text of the statement follows i Various appeals have been made; to' the President to interfere by par-: dons in the ease of -Mr. Gompers and his associates. Those making the appeals are unaware of the fact that the matter is still before the eourts. It is a civil suit between private par ties and there has been no way by which the government could have in terefred even if it had desired to do so.. Whether the President does orTWmmunicatiGns were almost com does not think the sentence of Mr. Gompers and his associates excessive is not at present of sonsequence be cause he cannot take any action or exercise any opinions while the ease is pending before the courts. When the decision is made then the Presi dent can promptly consider .whether the terms of imprisonment are ex cessive or improper. "The President has already in structed the Department of Justice to keep him fully informed as to the progress of the case so that in the event of its becoming proper for "him to act ho may have at his: disposal all of the facts which will, enable him to decide whether there was justification for some punishment, whether- the. sentence is or "is not altogether too severe. But at the present the Pres. ident has no more to do with, the case than with the case of the $29, 000,000 fine imposed by Judo, Landis on the Standard Oil Company, which is also on appeal and concerning which the President has also been repeatedly asked to interfere by well meaning persons who did not know that he could not interfere while the matter was still, before the-courts on appeal." l : The Evacuation of Cuba. - Havanar By Cable.--New - Year's deay will witness the '-'beginning of the evacuation of Cuba by the army of. pacification, which has been in possession of the. island since the be ginning of the- provisional govern ment. October, 1906. The first pro visional regiment of marines, num bering about "900, win be. among the first troops to leave. -' About half this regiment will sail from Havana on January 1st on the cruiser Prairie, which -will return about the middle of the month and embark the re mainder. . Headquarters and Companies A, B, C and D, twenty-eighth Infantry will embark on the United States, transport Sumner at Matanas, on December 31st. From there the transport will proceed to Havana and embark Companies F, G and II, stationed at Guanajay, and Company E, stationed at Guines. From that time on, the transports Sumnep- and McClellan will be em ployed in the embarkation at inter vals of the remainder of the year Battery B, Third Artillery, and the Fifteenth Calvary; will sail on Feb ruary 2d. The headquarters and Eleventh Cavalry, the mountain ar tillery and Fifth Infantry; the Elev-- enth . Infantry, and the beventeentn Infantry, will leave Havana about February 27th for Newport News. It is the intention to have all. of these appear in the inaugural parade at Washington. This leaves only two companies of engineers and two battallions of the Seventeenth Infantry. These troops will embark April 1st, which will i"mpletethe evacuation. . The embarkation of the troops, will be effected with as little ceremony as possible. The purpose in deferring the departure of a portion of the Sev pnteflnth Infantry until April 1st has been the subject of considerable spec ulation, but it is believed 'that tins will be agreed upon at a conference between Governor Magoon and presi dent-elect Gomez. It probably as for the purpose of keeping the barracks nd nuartcrs in eood order unii is possible to turn over to the Cuban authorities a model camp. Cubans, wih the exception of a, few who profess to fear that disorder will follow the evacuation"bf the is land, are greatly pleased at the de parture of the American forces as marking the complete establishment of independenee. ' All show the kind est feelings toward the troops. DEATH TOlipS Results -Fro m a Severe Earth- quake in Southwest Italy FOLLOWED BY BIG TIDAL WAVE Extreia Southwest Portion, of Italy Experiences the Worst Castaatror phe That Country Has Knows in Many Tears. . Rome, By Cable. The three prov inces of Cosenza, Catanzaro and Reg gio r di Calabria, comprising the De partment of Calabria which forms the southwestern extremity of Italy, or "the '.toe of the; boot,", were de vastated Monday ' by an earthquake, the far-reaching effects of which were felt almost" throughout: the' entire country, . 1 r The Town, of Messina, in Cicily, was partially destroyed and Catania was inundated. In Messina hundreds of houses have fallen and many persons have been killed. . Owing, however, to the fact that telepraphic and telephonic pletely destibyed, it is impossible to obtain even an approximate estimate of the vast damage done. The, fate of entire regions within the zone of the earthquake is un known but reports received here up to a late hour . Monday indicate that the havoc has beeu great and the de struction to life and f property, more terrible than 'Italy has experienced many years. - The uncertainty of the situation for, many thousands has fill ed all Italians with the deepest dis tress, for they still have fear that the day may come when that part of the ittViCAV. AAmn I n I. V most blessed, by nature' will be di stroyed by the blind forces of that same nature' which nearly nineteen centuries ago overwhelmed Pompii and Hereulanpum.. v .,. All reports show that the present catastrophe embraces a larger area, than the earthquake of 1905. ':. The tidal wave which followed the earth shocks e the eastern coast of Sicily sunk vesstfs and inundated the lower part of ' Catania. It is known that a" number of people were killed at that place,. but the rushing waters carried . everything before them and caused such an indescriba ble confusion, that, if will be impos sible for some time , to estimate the damage and the lives' lost. -. . ' For :a period 1 the Town of Messi na and the. whole province of Reggio were completely isolated through :in terruptions to' the telepraph and tele phono and landslides that obstructed the railways. Absolutely nothing was heard from Reggio -throughout the day .while . the first ne.ws,;froni Messina came- in the- form of a dis patch which a torpedo boat, flying at full speed along the coast of the pen insula, carried from point to point; always finding the wires down, until it reached Nicotera, where the tele graph lines were found to be intact. From this point the dispatch was sent. It briefly stated that the sit uation was desperate and after sum marizing the immensity of the catas trophe ended with the announcement that Captain Passino, commander of the local station of torpedo boats, was buried under the debris after having with other officials performed heroie.work in trying to save others. The Itlaian government proceeded energetically to relieve the far spreading general distress, concen trating at the points of greatest need troops and engineers. v Members of the Red Cross were despatched to various places, and camps with pro- yisions were immediately, prepared, all available railway lines and war ships being nsed for their transport. -The City of 'Mcssinjgphas ' suffered probably more than any other place, the latest information coming indi rectly from that quarter stating that two-thirds of the town was destroyed and several thousand persons killed. The steamers Washington and Mon tebcllo, which were in that harbor, later proceeded, to Cantanina, loaded with injured who were so - stupefied by terror that they seemed unable to. realize what had happened, simply saying that it looked as though the end of the world had come. Five steamers left Catania for Messina, to assist in removing the injured from that place who are reprted to num ber thousands. 1 . At Cantania the panic-stricken peo ple, fearing new shocks, absolutely refused to re-enter their houses and. are camping on: the squares which are free from 'water and . the sur rounding country. The tidal wave sank five hundred boats there' and' did great damage to a large number of vessels and steam ers, including the Austrian steamer 1 Buda. I In Calabria, the resrion around I Monteleone was most affected. The Village' of Stefaheoni,' inhabitants of which number 2.300 was practi cally destroyed. Only five" persons were killed, but many were injured. Midnight reports state that Riggio, the capital of 4he, province of Reggio di Calabria, eight miles from Mes sina on the opposite side of the strait, has met the same fate' as Mes sina, but tbese reports have not been confirmed owing to 'the laek of tele graphic facilities. 7- A very severe shock was felt at Caltanisetta, a city of Sicily, and al though much damage was done, no one, was killed. The shock created grelf alarm and notwithstanding the downpour of rain the whole popula tion rernained in the streets through out the dayand marched in religious procession. . The Pope was greatly distressed at hearing of the scourge that had af flicted the loyal population , in the south. He could hardly credit the truth of the dispatches describing the devastation and fatalities as ten times greater than in 1905. At midnight a regiment of soldiers left here for Calabria. Troops Protect Mine Property. Stearns, Ky., Special. State troops are patrolling this place and Worley to prevent an attack of miners and their sympathizers who threaten to burn the property of the Stearns Lumber and Coal Company. . . Berry Simpson and others for whom warrants have been issued, are hiding out in the hills and a deputy marshal will lead a posse of 50 against them. ' Wyoming Mayor Frozen to' " Death. Sheridan, Wyo., Special. The body of John S. Taj'lor,' ..who was serying his fifth term as mayor of this city, was $ Ound " in a clump of bushes a mileiorth, of town, where he had evidently frozen to death. He was I thirty-eight years of age and leaves ;a widow and two children. Although, the inaugural ball may be held in the pension building, let thfi survivors have no false' hopes. Corpse Too Large For Doors. . Kittaning, Pa., Special. Miss Dora Yockey, thirty years old., who died here Friday, is so large that a specially constructed casket had to e ordered for ber, and this casket an only be taken into and out of the use by removing one of , the win- ws, its frame and about eighteen inches of the wall of. -the house. She weighed over s 600 pounds. She was afwavs large, but was afflicted during the last years with a disease similar to elephantiasis, and her weight in creased enormously. , : 7! -. ' Montana Experiences an Earthquake. Butte, .Mont., Special. A despatch f rbm Virginia; City, - Mont., says that at,4i3Q . o'clock Sunday afternoon that region was shaken by the. sever est of a series of many seismic distur bances that have been .going:- on for more than a week. The electric plant was put out of commission. This plant is- ten miles from Virginia City, and as telephone communication is interrupted the extent of the damage is not known. Returning Exiles Cheered. New Vork, Special. Cheers and Venezuelan flags greeted the steamer Maracaibo when she swung from her pier Saturday bearing General Nich olas Dolando, General Ramon Ayala, General Felix Ampard and other ex iles of the Castro regime on "their way back to Venezuela at the special invitation of the head of the republic, Juan Vincente Gomez, to assist in the new order of things governmen tal, following the overthrow of Castro. ' Meeting of Public School Teachers. Nashville, Tenn., Special. Prof; R. L. Jones, Superintendent of Pub-;, lie Instruction, has prepared the programme of the twenty-second an nual meeting of the Public School Officers' Association, to be held at Pnmofrio T.ihrkrv. Jan. 12-14. .The vm.'i.fc'x - - 1 annual meeting of the State Library Association" will be neur coinciaeni v, Klinnl ' Officers-'-" meeting: Ali indications are- that the meetings will be largely attended.. .. ( ; Blacksburg Votes Bonds Tlackfibnre. Special. The ;elfction Bnf,nt7liir the issuance of ,$15,00 in G-per- cent 20-year bonds for the par- pose of paying off some lnrteDiecuus A m-obably furnish- Ui ' l"v ing electric lights, was held Monday and resulted in 80. votes being cast for and 14 against bonds. Messrs. i tT Tnem. M. II. Morrow and O. A Osborne were elected commissioners of public works. There wrre.3.8fi9 foreigners at the rtirmsn wniversitle?? dnrirc the win ter seirestrrs, coT"t.Urt1Tu;' 8.3 pet rrnt. of the tote! attendance GOVERNMENr'CQNTROL This, Under the Department ef Jus- ; tice, to Prepare land Present AH i Cases of Complaints After. In qui- ) ties. . , ' 1 Augusta, Special. In reply to no- j naerous inquiries received here re-f garding President-elect Taft's new plan for government control of all ; corporations doing an interstate busi- ! ness, it may safely be said that Mr. ' Taf t will do all in his power to estafe- lish the reform- as outlined in , his speseh o'f acceptance and his ' earn- paign speeches. In carrying oust this plan the Presi dent-elect will need certain additional necessary legislation Dy ingress in volving a decrease of the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission, an increase of the powers of the Bu reau of Corporations in the Depart ment of Commerce and Labor, and the creation of a practically new bti reau on the Department of Justiee. The Interstate Commerce Commis sion will exercise a purely and only A quasi-judicial function.' This Bureau of Corporations will be given jurisdic tion over all corporations doing an in terstate . business, including the rail roads, and Will have as its duty the work of preparing and presenting to the Interstate Commerce Commission alTeases brought up by complaints from individuals and all 'eases made necessary by the bureau's own 'inves tigation. -' ' . . The Department of -Jnitice will assist the Bureau of Corporations in i preparing and prosecuting' cases j I whenever the Bureau of -Corporations feel the need of calling on the De- partment of Justice for certain legal andvtechnical co-operation. It.,js not 4 likely that the riew- executive" wilV'-f recommend the Federal licensing of the corporations that will come under the jurisdiction of the Bureau otJ Corporations, but he will probably! favor some-provision which will eom- pel these concerns to, submit them-1 selves to the most thorough scrutiny! of the agents of the bureau. Thia will apply- to the "matter ' of rates, L methods of operation, accounts, books ' and air features affecting the publio interest. It is an ambitious plan and by it it is doubtless hoped that much of the wasted energy which is now J,p6 rule in the regulation of corporations will be done away with." At present the operations of the . Interstate Com merce Cornniission, the Bureau of Corporations, and the Department of Justice frequently overlap, and ona of. the three sometimes - finds that it is 'only repeating the work of the other! 1 iBut by the: new scheme, the powers r and' duties of the Bureau of Corporations will be,.sdinerease,d that this. bureau will Be the originator of all cases dealing with corporations, and this will make it impossible to T have any repetition or overlapping in the work. The plan: is "Also in .direct line with the frequently expressed wish of Mr. Taft to do'e very thing- in his power to expedite the .administration of justice in this country. '"-Ever . sine he was nominated he ''"has : Vipejitedry emphasized the neessity for'-making more prompt the deciding of 'all; cases at law, both by the government ana in individual legal procedure before the courts. . He has taken this view because he is convinced that the . lavs in the law which are new the rule serve only , the purpose of the rich man, who is able to endure long waiting for decisions, .and itigt against'- the por man to .whose in terest it, is that every suit he brings should be decided at the earliest mo ment possible. " Capt. Minns Retired. Washington, Special. Capt. J. C Minns, commandant of.- cadets al Clemson College, has been retired from active service in the army be cause of poor health. It will be nec essary, therefore, for the war depart ment 4 to name his successor at an early date. It is not; yet known who the new man. will be." Stricken Blind -While in Pulpit; Can't Eecover. Springfiefd, O., Special. Physic ians say there is' little hope that ReT. Wilbur S. V. Davis, who was strick en blind during a sermon Sunday, will recover his sight. - The bravery of the minister, who, rather than alarm the congregation, finished his sermon in .total blindness, and in spite of excruciating pain, at- V" tracted the attention of he dcr?; throughout the -country, and ho i the recipient of hundreds of rnri sagey of ccnolencs and admiration ,
The Roanoke Beacon and Washington County News (Plymouth, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 1, 1909, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75