The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-14
Is rhere a Remedv for strikssP

/ The question whether or not there is a
way TO prevent labor strikes is one that
has received a great deal Of attention, but
as vet no satisfactory answer to it has
been found. IL some Of the states, nOta-
bly, New York. there is a law providing
for arbitration. but il has not proven salts
| factory, because there is no way TO compel
obedience to it. If a strike were to occur
on the New York roads, out of sympathy
| with the Pullman employees, the New
/ York board of arbitration could do moth
| ing toward settling II because there would
be nothing 70 arbitrate. The arbitrators
could not undertake to settle the Pullman
trouble, the parties to that trouble being
residents of another state, and having no
connection with the railroads of New
York or any other state.
A good many we'll meaning men. not
connected with the populist party, are
arguing that the only remedy for strikes
is government ownership of the railroads,
telegraph lines and the mines. But if the
employees of the roads and mines and tele-
graph lines. under that condition of
affairs, were not satisfied, what would
prevent them from striking2 1t is said
that they would be enlisted, Just as sol
diers are ana that if thay deserted their
posts they would be dealt with as de-
serters. If they should strike by the
thousands the government would have
an interesting time in arresting and pun
ishing them as deserters
And then what a time the politicians in
! congress would have! The employees
would De continually demanding higher
wages and a reduction Of the hours of
labor and the shippers would be forever
insisting upon lower traffic and passenger
rates. Between the two demands con-
gress would have time for little else than
the railroads. To make the railroads
earn operating expenses and interest on
the cost of them would be problem the
wisest fnauciers would find difficult to
solve
But what an extraordinary power the
party in power would have if il controlled
not only the oficeholders, but the en-
ployes of the transportation lines the
mines and telegraph lines. 1t is esti-
mated tina: there are about 100000 of
these employees, and the number is stead
lily increasing With such a vast number
OF Wdge carriers drawing pay from Lne
government the party in power could keep
itself in Office, and there would be an end
of civil liberty.
But it does seem as if some means
might be devised for settling labor
troubles that would make it possible TO
avoid strikes. If there were courts to
which employees and employers could
carry their grievances and have them
settled, like the courts of Cancellation in
France, much might be accomplished to-
ward lessening the number of strikes
and boycotts. These French tribunals
have been very successful-so successful,
in fact, that the Introduction of similar
courts in this country is well worth CON
sidering.
The immensely of the present strike
and the grave dangers it threatens are
well calculated to make congress think
about this matter 1t is thinking about
it, and out of the numerous suggestions
that are likely to be made may come
some plan for settling strikes that may
be thought to be worth trying.