lic peace or health, or which openly outrages public decency, for which no other punishment is expressly prescribed by this code, is guilty of a misdemeanor; but nothing in this code contained shall be so construed as to prevent any person from demanding an increase of wages, or from assembling and using all lawful means to induce employers to pay such wages to all persons employed by them, as shall be a just and fair compensation for services rendered.

In Maryland, following the English statute, the entire common law of conspiracy is repealed as follows: "An agreement or combination by two or more persons, to do, or procure to be done, any act in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute between employers and workmen, shall not be indictable as a conspiracy, if such act, committed by one person, would not be punishable as an offense; nothing in this section shall affect the law relating to riot, unlawful assembly, breach of the peace, or any offence against any person or against property" (Md. 27, 31), and Kansas has a novel statute aimed at corporations.2

SEC. 2. STRIKES ON RAILWAYS.-A few States have statutes specially regulating strikes upon railways (see also, for the regulation of acts of individuals, Chap 1, Art. F, Sec. 2; and for Illinois, etc., see 3 below). These States are Maine, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Kansas, Delaware, and Mississippi.1

2 Kansas, 1899, spec. 10, 42.

1 Thus, in Maine (123, 6):

Any employee of a railroad corporation who, in pursuance of an agreement or combination by two or more persons to do, or procure to be done, any act in contemplation or furtherance of a dispute between such corporation and its employees, unlawfully or in violation of his duty or contract, stops or unnecessarily delays or abandons, or in any way injures a locomotive or any car or train of cars on the railway track of such corporation, or in any way hinders or obstructs the use of any locomotive, car or train of cars on the railroad of such corporation, shall be punished by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisonment in the State prison or in jail not exceeding one year.

In New Jersey (p. 946, 173-176), Pennsylvania (Dig. p. 533, 128-131), and Delaware (127, 1-5):

If any locomotive engineer, or other railroad employee (conductor, baggage master, brakeman or trainman, in Delaware) upon any railroad within this state, engaged in any strike, or with a view to incite others to such strike, or in furtherance of any combination or preconcerted arrangement with any other person to bring about a strike, shall abandon the locomotive engine in his charge, when attached either to a passenger or freight train, at any place other than the schedule or otherwise appointed destination of such train, or shall refuse or neglect to continue to discharge his duty, or to proceed with said train to the place of destination as aforesaid, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and may be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the court.

If any locomotive engineer, or other railroad employee, within this state, for the purpose of furthering the object of, or lending aid to any strike or strikes, organized or attempted to be maintained on any other railroad, either within or without this state, shall refuse or neglect, in the course of his employment, to aid in the movement over and upon the tracks of the company employing him, [or] the cars of such other railroad company, received therefrom in the course of transit, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and may be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the court.

If any person, in aid or furtherance of the objects of any strike upon any railroad, shal interfere with, molest or obstruct any locomotive engineer, or other railroad employee, engaged in the discharge and performance of his duty as such, every person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than two hundred dollars, and may be imprisoned for a term not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the

court.

If any person or persons, in aid or furtherance of the objects of any strike, shall

Strikes in mines.-North Dakota has adopted a special statute relating to conspiracies and mobs against mines (7662): "In all cases when two or more persons shall associate themselves together for the purpose of obtaining possession of a lode, gulch, or placer claim then in the actual possession of another by force and violence, or by threats

obstruct any railroad track within this state, or shall injure or destroy the rolling stock or any other property of any railroad company, or shall take possession of, or remove any such property, or shall prevent or attempt to prevent the use thereof by such railroad company or its employees, every such person so offending shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, and may be imprisoned not less than six months nor more than one year, at the discretion of the court.

In Illinois (109-111, 114), and Kansas, substantially (see below):

If any locomotive engineer in furtherance of any combination or agreement, shall wilfully and maliciously abandon his locomotive upon any railroad at any other point than the regular schedule destination of such locomotive, he shall be fined not less than $20, nor more than $100, and confined in the county jail not less than twenty days, nor more than ninety days.

If any person or persons shall wilfully and maliciously, by any act or by means of intimidation, impede or obstruct, except by due process of law, the regular operation and conduct of the business of any railroad company or other corporation, firm or individual in this State, or of the regular running of any locomotive engine freight or passenger train of any such company, or the labor and business of any such corporation, firm or individual, he or they shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than twenty dollars nor less [more] than two hundred dollars, and confined in the county jail not more [less] than twenty days nor more than ninety days.

If two or more persons shall wilfully and maliciously combine or conspire together to obstruct or impede by any act, or by means of intimidation, the regular operation and conduct of the business of any railroad company or any other corporation, firm or individual in this State, or to impede hinder or obstruct, except by due process of law, the regular running of any locomotive engine freight or passenger train on any railroad, or the labor or business of any such corporation, firm, or individual, such person shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by fine not less than twenty dollars, nor more than two hundred dollars, and confined in the county jail not less than twenty days, nor more than ninety days.

This act, shall not be construed to apply to cases of persons voluntarily quitting the employment of any railroad company or such other corporation, firm or individual, whether by concert of action or otherwise, e[x]cept as is provided in [par. 109]

* *

And also (Ill. 38, 187, 188, and 190):

If any two or more persons shall conspire or combine to break down, take up, injure or destroy any railroad track, or railroad bridge, or to burn or destroy any engine, engine house, car house, machine shop, or any other building or machinery necessary to the free use of any railroad, every such person shall be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary not less than two nor more than five years.

If any two or more persons shall attempt to prevent the passage of any railroad train, carrying any provisions, troops or munitions of war, for the use or in the employment of this State or of the United States, by any violence or offer of violence, or shall assemble themselves together for that purpose, or if any person shall induce, entice or persuade, or attempt to induce, entice or persuade any other person to do so, such persons, and each of them, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than ten years.

Whoever shall maliciously hire, persuade or induce, attempt to hire, induce or persuade any person to burn, or in any way injure or destroy any railroad bridge, to take up, injure or destroy any railroad track, or any machine shop, engine house, car house, engine or car, or other machinery or property necessary for the operation of any railroad, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than ten years.

In Kansas (2480-2483):

If any locomotive engineer, in furtherance of any combination or agreement, shall willfully and maliciously abandon his locomotive, upon any railroad, at any other point than the regular schedule destination of such locomotive, he shall be fined not

of violence, or by stealth, and shall proceed to carry out such purpose by making threats against the party or parties in possession, or who shall enter upon such lode or mining claim for the purpose aforesaid, or who shall enter upon or into

any lode, gulch, placer claim or quartz mill or other mining property, or, not being upon such property but within hearing of the same, shall make any threats or make use of any language, sign or gesture calculated to intimidate any person or persons at work on said property from continuing work thereon or therein, or to intimidate others from engaging to work thereon or therein, every such person so offending, shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceedsix months and not less than thirty days, and by fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars, such fine to be discharged either by payment or by confinement in such jail until such fine is discharged at the rate of two dollars and fifty cents per day. On trials under this section, proof of a common purpose of two or more persons to obtain possession of property as aforesaid, or to intimidate laborers as above set forth, accompanied or followed by any of the acts above specified, by any of them, shall be sufficient evidence to convict any one committing such acts, although the parties may not be associated together at the time of committing the same.

SEC. 3. BOYCOTTS.-The ordinary acts committed by persons engaged in a boycott are usually prohibited by the statutes forbidding intimidation by individuals (see Chapter I, Art. F). As we said in that article, we have here to consider only those statutes which apply to combinations of

less than twenty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, and confined not less than twenty days nor more than ninety days in the county jail.

If any person or persons shall willfully or maliciously, by any act or by means of intimidation, impede or obstruct, except by due process of law, the regular operation and conduct of the business of any railroad company, or other corporation, firm or individual in this State, or of the regular running of any locomotive engine, freight or passenger train of any such company, or the labor and business of any such corporation, firm or individual, he or they shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than twenty dollars, nor more than two hundred dollars, and confined in the county jail not less than twenty days nor more than ninety days.

If two or more persons shall willfully and maliciously combine or conspire together to obstruct or impede by any act, or by means of intimidation, the regular operation and conduct of the business of any railroad company, or any other corporation, firm or individual in this State, or to obstruct, hinder, or impede, except by due process of law, the regular running of any locomotive engine, freight or passenger train on any railroad, or the labor or business of any such corporation, firm or individual, such persons shall on conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not less than twenty dollars, nor more than two hundred dollars, and confined in the county jail not less than twenty days nor more than ninety days.

This act [these paragraphs] shall not be construed to apply to cases of persons voluntarily quitting the employment of any railroad company, or such other corporation, firm or individual, whether by concert of action or otherwise, except as is provided in section one of this act [paragraph 2480].

In Mississippi:

SEC. 1266. If any person shall wantonly or maliciously injure, or place any impediment or obstruction on any railroad, or do any other act by means of which any car or vehicle might be caused to diverge, or be derailed, or thrown from the track, such person, on conviction, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not longer than ten years; and the penalty provided in this section shall apply to any engineer, conductor, switchman, brakeman, train dispatcher, or telegraph operator who shall willfully or negligently cause the derailment or collision of a passenger train.

SEC. 1270. If two or more persons shall willfully and maliciously combine or conspire together to obstruct or impede, by any act, or by means of intimidation, the regular operation and conduct of the business of any railroad company, or to impede hinder, or obstruct, except by due process of law, the regular running of any locomotive engine, freight or passenger train on any railroad, or the labor and business of such railroad company, such persons, and each of them, shall on conviction, be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or both; but this section shall not apply to persons who merely quit the employment of a railroad company, whether by concert of action or otherwise.

persons to boycott or injure others. The statutes concerning strikes or combinations to leave work, etc., will be found in section 1 of this article. In many cases, as will have been seen, these statutes apply also to combinations to boycott, the two matters being often covered by the same statute; but a few States have separate statutes applying expressly to boycotting. These are Maine, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, and Texas. The Maryland and Montana 1Thus, in Maine (R. S., 126, 18):

1

* *

SEC. 18. If two or more persons conspire and agree together, with the fraudulent or malicious intent wrongfully and wickedly to injure the person, character, business, or property of another; or to do any illegal act injurious to the public trade, * they are guilty of a conspiracy, and every such offender, and every person convicted of conspiracy at common law, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three years, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.

In Illinois (38, 46):

* * *

or to

If any two or more persons conspire or agree together, or the officers or executive committee of any society or organization or corporation, shall issue or utter any circular or edict, as the action of or instruction to its members, or any other persons, societies, organizations, or corporations, for the purpose of establishing a so-called boycott or blacklist, or shall post or distribute any written or printed notice in any place, with the fraudulent or malicious intent wrongfully and wickedly to injure the person, character, business, or employment, or property of another, do any illegal act injurious to the public trade, health, morals, police, or administration of public justice, or to prevent competition in the letting of any contract by the State, or the authorities of any counties, city, town or village, or to induce any person not to enter into such competition, * they shall be deemed guilty of a conspiracy; and every such offender, whether as individuals or as the officers of any society or organization, and every person convicted of conspiracy at common law, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not exceeding five years, or fined not exceeding two thousand dollars, or both.

* *

In Kansas (2481–2483) and Illinois (114, 109–111—see § 2 above):

If any person or persons shall willfully and maliciously by any act, or by means of intimidation, impede or obstruct, except by due process of law, the regular operation and conduct of the business of any railroad company or other corporation, firm or individual in this state, or of the regular running of any locomotive engine, freight, or passenger train of any such company, or the labor and business of any such corporation, firm or individual, he or they shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not more than three months, or in the state prison for a period not exceeding one year.

If two or more persons shall willfully and maliciously combine, or conspire together, to obstruct or impede, by any act or by means of intimidation, the regular operation and conduct of the business of any railroad company or any other corporation, firm, or individual in this state, or to impede, hinder, or obstruct, except by due process of law, the regular running of any locomotive engine, freight or passenger train, on any railroad, or the labor and business of any such corporation, firm, or individual, such persons shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not more than three months or in the state prison for a period not exceeding two years.

This act shall not be construed to apply to cases of persons voluntarily quitting the employment of any railroad company or such other corporation, firm, or individual, whether by concert of action or otherwise.

In Michigan this statute appears to have been repealed.

In Wisconsin (4466a):

Any two or more persons who shall combine, associate, agree, mutually undertake, or concert together for the purpose of willfully or maliciously injuring another in his reputation, trade, business or profession, by any means whatever, or for the purpose of maliciously compelling another to do or perform any act against his will, or preventing or hindering another from doing or performing any lawful act, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not more than one year, or by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars.

In Colorado (1295):

It shall not be unlawful for any two or more persons to unite, or combine, or agree in any manner, to advise or encourage, by peaceable means, any person or persons to

statutes (see section 1 of this article) seem to legalize all boycotts in labor cases; and other statutes of other States quoted in section 1 might apply as well to boycotts as to strikes. Such are the laws of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. In Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Florida the statutes concerning blacklisting (see Chap. X, section 1), cover also the matter of boycotts.

SEC. 4. PICKETING. The English statute has expressly regulated this subject, substantially permitting picketing or patrolling by not more than two persons conducted in a peaceable manner for purposes of observation. There are no statutes whatever upon the subject in the United States.

SEC. 5. INJUNCTIONS AGAINST STRIKES, BOYCOTTS, AND OTHER LABOR COMBINATIONS. This matter might well be regulated by statute, and it has to a slight extent been so treated in United States laws, but the only statute yet passed concerning injunctions or equity process in labor cases, that of Kansas, applies generally to all injunctions. (See Chapter I, Art. E, above.)

SEC. 6. RIOTS.-The matter of riots is usually covered by ordinary criminal statutes, and the militia laws; but the States of Indiana, Ohio,

enter into any combination in relation to entering into or remaining in the employment of any person, persons or corporation, or in relation to the amount of wages or compensation to be paid for labor, or for the purpose of regulating the hours of labor, or for the procuring of fair and just treatment from employers, or for the purpose of aiding and protecting their welfare and interests in any other manner not in violation of the constitution of this State or the laws made in pursuance thereof: Provided, That this act shall not be so construed as to permit two or more persons, by threats of either bodily or financial injury, or by any display of force, to prevent or intimidate any other person from continuing in such employment as he may see fit, or to boycott or intimidate any employer of labor.

And by a late statute (Col. 1897, 31, 3):

It shall be unlawful for any person. . . society or union to establish... or engage in a boycott against any individual or corporation carrying on any kind of trade or business, by agreement not to patronize, trade or do business with such individual etc., or to induce others not to &c., under penalty of misdemeanor.

In Georgia (4498):

If any two or more persons shall associate themselves together in any society or organization whatever, with intent and for the purpose of preventing, in any manner whatever, any person or persons whomsoever from apprenticing himself or themselves to learn and practice any trade, craft, vocation or calling whatsoever, or for the purpose of inducing, by persuasion, threats, fraud, or any other means, any apprentice or apprentices to any such trade, craft, vocation, or calling, to leave the employment of their employer or employers, or for the purpose, by any means whatever, of preventing or deterring any person or persons whomsoever, from learning and practicing any such trade, craft, vocation or calling whatsoever, every such person so associating himself in such society or organization shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as prescribed in section 4310 of this Code. In Texas (P. C. 279, 289):

An unlawful assembly" is the meeting of three or more persons, with intent to aid each other by violence or in any other manner either to commit an offense or illegally to deprive any person of any right, or to disturb him in the enjoyment thereof.

If the purpose of the unlawful assembly be to prevent any person from pursuing any labor, occupation or employment, or to intimidate any person from following his daily avocation, or to interfere in any manner with the labor or employment of another, the punisnment shall be by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars.

In Montana the common law of conspiracy is repealed, and the conspiracy statute, as in Maryland, is expressly declared "not apply to any arrangement, agreement or combination between laborers made with the object of lessening their hours of work or increasing wages, nor to persons engaged in agriculture or horticulture with a view of embracing the price of their products" (Mont. P. C., 325).