352 p o l l i e s lifeworkofitsorganizationalgenius,CarlLegien,wefinda suggestivelesson.AsayoungmanLegienfoughtBismarck withindomitablecourage,andwithpatienceandskill mergedtheinnumerablelocalguildsintothe Algenteiner DeutscherGaverksschaftsbund,theADGB,theGermancoun- terpartoftheAFL.Asitspowerfulleader,hedevelopedthe theoryofthestrikeasafineart,asaninstrumenttobeused onlybythepractisedhandofatrainedsurgeon.Hewrotea manual, DerSheik, whichsetforthininflexibledetailunder whatconditionsandhowastrikeshouldbecaledandconducted.Marchingattheheadofdisciplinedmillions,hefought theundisciplinedleftandridiculedtheirtheoriesaboutageneralstrikewiththeslogan"Generalstreikis!Generalunsinn." Duringthefirstworldwarhehobnobbedwithgenerals,and hedidhisbesttoridthelabormovementofLiebknechtand hiscohorts,whosettheiranti-warprinciplesaboveparty discipline. InMarch1920asectorofthearmyledbyKappand Lütwitzexecutedacoupd'etat.Therestofthegenerals waitedforitssuccesstojointherebels,andtheSocialDemo- craticParty,dependingonthearmytokeeporder,floundered inhelplessconfusion.TheinfantGermanrepublicwassaved by60-year-oldLegien.Incontradictiontohiseveryprinciple, reversingalife'steaching,hewentunderground,andfromhis Berlinundergroundheadquartersorganizedanationwidegeneralstrike.Fromonehourtothenext,trainsstopped,there wasnogas,noelectricity.InthreedaystheKappputschwas over. InasensetheIllinoisjudgeisright:thereisnosuchthing aspeacefulpicketing.Astrikeisanindustrialbattle,anda picketisapatrol. Inwartheonlyinflexibleruleisthattherearenoabsolutes, nostrategythatmaynothavetobeadaptedtochangingcircumstances.Atthemoment,inspiteofavastnumberof strikes,thereisrelativelylittleindustrialviolence.The¡JE strikerslaughedattheincongruityoftheeighteenth-century language,andneithertheirleadersnoranyoneelseconsidered thelawsuficientlydangeroustobeworthfightingassuch. Arecentcartoonshowedacompanydirectorspeakingtohis board:"Nowwhatwehavetodoisbeattheuniontoafull- pagead."Thattherearemorefull-pageadsandfewerbroken headsfolowsfromtwothings,neitherofwhichisnecessarily permanent.AftertheCIOdriveofthethirties(atrulybloody struggle,culminatingintheChicagoMemorialDaymassacre of1937,whenpolicekiledtenmen—allshotinthebackor side—andwoundedseventy),laborisrelativelypowerful. Moreimportant,theprofitsimmediatelybeforeandduringthe warweresuficientlyhightomakebusinessamenabletopres- sure.Butifthepost-WorldWarIIdepressionisnotabsorbed bythepre-WorldWarIIIboom,thenthepoweroflaborand theprofitsofbusinesswillwanetogether,andthelineswill onceagainbedrawn. 4. .. .Violenceandmasspicketing. . .arebyno meansidentical.Muchviolencetakesplaceinthe absenceofmasspicketing,andinmanyinstancesthis formofpicketingactualyreducesthelikelihoodof violence. . . /One/method,initiatedbythe1VW duringtheirfreespeechcampaignsintheFarWest BibliotecaGinoBianco andperfectedduringthe1934Toledoautomobile strikes,istogoonwithmaspicketingasthoughno courtorderhadbeenissued.Whenthepolicepatrol wagonsarriveandjustbeforethearrestsbegin,the picketlinebreaksupintodetailsoften.Eachdetail marchestotherearofthepatrolwagon,enters,and quietlyseatsitself.Asfastasnewpatrolwagons arrive,theyarefiledanddispatchedinperfectorder. Beforelong,thejailsarefull,nodisturbancehasbeen createdandtheonlyissuewhichhasbeenraisedis thatoffeedingthestrikersinjail.Thishelpssome- whatwiththeunion'sreliefproblem,andleavesa largeforcetopicketthemill.Insidethejail,classes inparliamentaryprocedure,trade-uniontacticsor bebegun. .21 laboreconomicsmay Violenceandmasspicketingarenotidentical.Butunder thepresentlawsandwiththepresenttraditions,masspicketingisregardedbymanyasaninvitation,ifnotaprovocation, toviolence.So,atonetime,waspicketingofanykind.So,at onetime,werestrikes.So,atonetime,wereunions.Hadlabor acceptedtheanimadversionsofChiefJusticeTaft,wewould nothavemissionarylinesofoneman;wewouldhaveno pickets,norstrikes."Laborlaw"wouldhaveremainedwhat itoncewas,thelawofmasterandservant. Labormustavoidviolencewhereitcan,simplybecausein anythingshortofarevolutionitcannotmatchthestatepolice power.But itcannotmaketheavoidanceofviolencethe criterionofitsaction;inthelonguphil fightforlabor's "rights,"notonestepwaswonwithoutviolence.22 Maspicketsdisturbthepeace.Whatpeace?IfKarlvon Clausewitzhadlivedahundredyearslater,hewouldwrite: Peaceisthecontinuationofwarbyothermeans.Theleaders ofaworldthathasperpetratedAusschwitz,theWhiteSea Canalproject,andHiroshimapointanindignantfingerat laborviolence. Picketsaretheunion'srepresentativesbeforetheplantgate. Amasspicketlineisnotmadeupofrepresentatives;itiscomparabletothatpinnacleofAmericandemocracy,theNew Englandtownmeeting.Thesearethemenwhoworkhere. Theyhave,inthecuriousparlanceofthetimes,"aproperty rightintheirjobs,"andbytheirphysicalpresencetheyvote tostrike.Fromthepointofviewoflabor,thereisnobeter wayofbuildingupandmaintainingstrikemoralethanthis jointaction;andfromthepointofviewofsociety,thereisno beterwayofgettingandkeepingdecent,democraticunions. Aunionbosscanmanipulateafewpickets,butifhe once in- volvesthewholeunionmembershipinunitedactionhisdays arenumbered. WILLIAMPETERSEN REFERENCES ILordMansfield,R. V. Kennett (1781), 5 C. & P. 295;quoted inEdward Wise,The LawsRelating to Riots andUnlawfulAssemblies,London, 1907,p. 107. •NewJerseyRevisedStatutes,2:152-4,5. 3Ibid.,2:103-6. 4Ibid.,2:176-5. •Ibid.,2:103-7,8. • Ibid.,2:152-6. •JosephBaker, The Law of PoliticalUniforms,PublicMeetings, and PrivateArmies,London,1937,p. 135. eIbid., p.128. ▪ In thecase of theState ofTennessee v. Saul Blair et al., the trial of25Negroesallegedlyimplicated in theshootingof aColumbiapolice- man, the defenseattorneysconsideredraising the issue of whether personshavethe legal right to defend themselvesagainst a lynchmob, anddecidednot to. (N.Y. Post,September30,1946)
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