of course, where
the mails or inter-State commerce are obstructed; but, by the mere
accident that plaintiff and defendant come from different States--and
this may nearly always be made the case by the plaintiff corporation,
if it be a citizen of another State than where it owns its mine or
operates its mill--it may always pick out strike leaders, walking
delegates, who are citizens of another State, so that the litigation
may be brought in a United States court. If, then, the orders or
processes of that Federal court be interfered with, under the law of
our Constitution the entire Federal government, first the Federal
marshals and then the Federal army, may be called into the fight.

CHAPTER XIV

OF POLITICAL RIGHTS

Most important of these are the right to assemble, and the right of
free election. The right of political assembly and petition is another
principle which has been much broadened by American constitutions. In
England the right of public meeting undoubtedly existed from early
times, but it was tied to the right of petitioning Parliament, which
obviously limited its scope; and always strongly contested by the
kings. Many riot acts were passed, both by the Tudors and by the
Stuarts, which sought to limit and restrict it, and even to make any
meeting of more than twelve men a riotous and criminal assembly.
Indeed, the history of the attempt of the authorities to prevent
riotous assemblies quasi-political runs all the way from Jack Cade's
Rebellion in 1452 to the Philadelphia street railway strike in 1910.
By an Act of 1549 unlawful assemblies of twelve "to alter laws or
abate prices" were made unlawful--one of the reasons that gave rise to
the English notion that a simple strike was criminal. This, however,
has nothing to do with the political right of assembly which, fully
recognized by the Massachusetts Body of Liberties in 1641, was not
definitely established in England until the Bill of Rights of 1689.
Now this principle is cardinal, and so far as I know none of the
States have legislated upon the subject, unless the limitation of
the injunction writ be such legislation. A statute of Henry VII gave
special authority to the Court of Star Chamber over riots; which is
precisely the power now objected to by labor leaders when exercised by
courts of chancery. But it must be noted that this right of assembly
only extends to matters political, and does not cover a meeting held
for an end ordinarily un