r imprison those who disobey his injunction, the penalty being
inflicted for "contempt of court." This ancient legal device came into
prominence in connection with nation-wide railway strikes in 1877. It
was applied with increasing frequency after its effective use against
Eugene V. Debs in the Pullman strike of 1894.

Aroused by the extensive use of the writ, organized labor demanded that
the power of judges to issue injunctions in labor disputes be limited by
law. Representatives of the unions sought support from the Democrats and
the Republicans; they received from the former very specific and cordial
endorsement. In 1896 the Democratic platform denounced "government by
injunction as a new and highly dangerous form of oppression." Mr.
Gompers, while refusing to commit the Federation to Democratic politics,
privately supported Mr. Bryan. In 1908, he came out openly and boasted
that eighty per cent of the votes of the Federation had been cast for
the Democratic candidate. Again in 1912 the same policy was pursued. The
reward was the enactment in 1914 of a federal law exempting trade unions
from prosecution as combinations in restraint of trade, limiting the use
of the injunction in labor disputes, and prescribing trial by jury in
case of contempt of court. This measure was hailed by Mr. Gompers as the
"Magna Carta of Labor" and a vindication of his policy. As a matter of
fact, however, it did not prevent the continued use of injunctions
against trade unions. Nevertheless Mr. Gompers was unshaken in his
conviction that organized labor should not attempt to form an
independent political party or endorse socialist or other radical
economic theories.

=Organized Labor and the Public.=--Besides its relations to employers,
radicals within its own ranks, and political questions, the Federation
had to face responsibilities to the general public. With the passing of
time these became heavy and grave. While industries were small and
conflicts were local in character, a strike seldom affected anybody but
the employer and the employees immediately involved in it. When,
however, industries and trade unions became organized on a national
scale and a strike could paralyze a basic enterprise like coal mining or
railways, the vital interests of all citizens were put in jeopardy.
Moreover, as increases in wages and reductions in hours often added
directly to the cost of living, the action of the unions affected the
well-being of all--t