New-York tribune., 1886-03-09

OF the lSlanu. III lucy Ig, lhcy O"h "''ti'N' y"
desirable class of residents. II they DO not
try the last state of Staten Island may be
worse than its first.
.-----------~-----------
THE ANCIENT STRUGGLE IN NEW FORMS
In the long run organized labor will succeed
according to the justice of its demands. III II
demands only what is just, refusing 10 employ
Unfair means even to attain worthy ends
faithfully obeyng Law and seeking the perma-
nent prosperity of industry, 1t Will gam III
power every day. But every instance OF uh-
wisdom in the demands made by labor, OF law
lessness in its methods, of unialrness or un-
reasOnableness in the measures to which IL re-
Sorts sets back the cause of organized labor,
and weakens the influence Of labor organlza-
tiuns When q President comes Ill rs re-
former, one bad appointment deliberately made
hurts him beyond measure. Organized LABOR
begius by protesting against the injustice OF
existing regulations. 1t comes III as reiormer.
If it does injustice or violates law, 1t destroys
its only claim to the confidence of the workers
themselves.
The "Molly Maguires" of the coal regions
once had a terrible power. The organization
used that power against law and against justice,
and public sentiment stamped 1t out OF exist
ence Who can remember all the LABOR organ
iZatiOns that have since arisen, seeking TO Wlcld
the same gleat power for the benefit OF work
ingmen? Hundreds have started with high
hopes and grand promises but soon have van
ished Others linger to-day only III form, hav-
inc lost power with work mgmen themselves or
with the public A few + main strong, ana
have steadily grown in power and III pubic CON
fidence The few remain because they have
faithfully tried to do justice and to obey law.
The many have gone down or gone out because
they have made unjust demands, or resorted to
unfair or lawless methods.
is this quite fair 2" the worker asks. "Can
"an organization of men, not all educated OF
"trained, be expected from the iilst to avoid
"all errors of judgment or to restrain all un-
"wise advisers or turbulent elements Z!
Hardly and yet in undertaking to dictate To
employers and workingmcn alike, the Organza-
ton claims almost superhuman wisdom,
prudence and justice. For it says to the
workers Surrender individual freedom to an
Organization that has more wisdom IN defence
=" of your interests than You have yourselves.
Il says to employers: The dIctatlun proposed
is, in the long run, best for your interests also
your selfish policy Is shUlt-slghted; the Or
" ganizatiOu knows what you ought 10 do better
than you, with your binding hunger for M
mediate profits, possibly cal If that proves
true, the organization Is blessing TO all but
! if 1t proves not true, If unWlsdOm or injustice
rules it, then the organization IS curse to all.
The greater its pletensions and It's power the
| more its need of almost SupeIhuman sasaclty
and impartlality.
Thus the path Is cleared for arbitration.
Organized labor has not shown supcrhulnan
sagacity or impartiallty it has formed leagues
and chapters by the thousand, only TO see them
crumble to pieces because they were not found
equal TO a task requiring wisdom and fairness
more than human. Labor cannot escape from
! the binding influence OF scilishncss. any more
than capital. 1t is as Likely to err in one dncc-
ton as employers are to err III the other DIcia-'
ton by either ends in wrong and in loss. Ihe
! impartial decision of trained albltcrs VINO near
| both sides is infinitely more likely to be correct
than the one-sided and unavOidably selfish
demand OF either party to the controversy.
So far it is not difficult to see. Selection and
| enforcement are the Scylla and Chary5dls OF
| that voyage. Ii arblters be selected by the
/ interested parties, there Is prospect that their
| finding Will command no confidence, and so
can be enforced only by the extreme measures
| to which the cOntestlhg parties now resort with
great loss. The bill pending at Albany illus
! trates both those difficulties. a trades union Is
to select two arbiters ii Is proposed vii! Try to
! choose lair and unpIc JUDGED men Clearly not,
! because 1t Will not expect such men TO be chosen
on the other side II will select men as stlll and
uncOmpromisngly One-sdcd as possible. The
! finding of such men will have 10 weight with
employers the finding of similar men selected
| by the employers will have no weight with the
men. Thus the finding Will at last have no
more weight than the judgment of the fifth man
gives it, and the choice of this fifth man by Il
majority of four one-sided partlsans renders Il
good selection improbable. Nothing i'll the
measure tends to insure submission to the find
ings; there is no penalty for workers or
employers who first submit the case and after
ward reject the decision.
At the bottom lies the selection, and il ought
to be made entirely by an impartial authority !;
best of all by permanent State board, if such Il
body can be secured and maintained strictly
apart from politics and impartial in its attitude
| The verdict of five men selected, after fair
hearing, would command some confidence.
| Then there is needed some provision for the
enforcement of final decision. The passage
of an inadequate law would only do harm, be-
cause it would bring the principle of arbitration
into disrepute.
MR.. GIFFEh'S IRISH FIG URES
There has been no more valuable contribution