The age-herald., 1900-09-28
Report of His Testimony Before
 Industrial Commission.
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
Direct Questions and Answers Which Define More Clearly His Views on
 the Subject-Advocate of
 Compulsory Arbitration

Industrial Convention, has just received full report of his testimony given before the industrial commission at Washington, and as he says his position has never been fully understood, owing to the garb,ed ex- tracts sent out regarding it, he has permit ted the Age-Herald correspondent to make some extracts from it. He has also made some additional statements which will be found interesting on this most important subject:
 Colonel Thompson has been a bold 2dvo- cate for compulsory arbitration in differ ences between labor and capital and in his testimony before the industrial commission in June last, stated that he thought that laws should be passed making it an in- dctable otfense to inaugurate a str k pli e. ly on the ground of protecting the rights of other members of society more or less in- jured by them. his position being that gov ernment was subyerted when it permitted one class to attempt the arbitrary redress of their real or supposed grievances, when it required all other classes to submit theirs to legal methods of remedy. This will be best apprecia ted by the following extracts from his testimony, and which has never been published before:
 V. NDy MT fdrGuHdT)-bul dS yOui Noih- ingmen increase in number in the south, how are you going to escape something of the natural law of every country that or ganized labor shall assert itself?
 Al do not want to be understood as ad- vocating the abolition of labor unions
 Q-You mean the regulation of them?
 A.-That is it, pure and simple. That Is all. very readily acquiesce in the idea that they are beneficial l can readily con- ceive that; very readily grant that The only thing is to take away from them this arbitrary power, and let them realize that there are other interests in this country equal to their own-not greater. but equal.
 Q.-Let us practically examine, for in stance the railroad transportation Of this country with the five great brotherhoods, which you will grant are as thoroughly or ganized as any body of men in the world Do you think the whole railroad transpor- tation of this country could be handled equally as well without these organizations! Al am uo1 prepared to say, but nave in mind the injustice of the recent attemp- ed strike on the lines of the southern Railway Company by one of these organl- zations-the telegraphers. Suppose the telegraphers had been successful in tieinS I'D that entire system, as they sought 10 do they would have inflicted great injury on all labor these lines That IS the point make. In strike all rights of oth- CT labor even are ignored except the one. Sunpose the telegraphers had been success ful, very engineer, every fireman In 1act, every other class of organized labor on that entire system would have suffered. Not only that. but every other interest, punhc and private, almost throughout the entire South, would have suffered. Now, say no organization, constituting though 1t may greater portion of society, ought to have any such power.
 o.-But you will concede that the fine discipline that obtains in these brother hoods IS certainly conservative eIeihei'''
 Al cannot give too high commenda- tion to Chief Arthur of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. l desire to be on record as giving him the very highest credit for his attitude in regard to strikes and in keeping the Brotherhood out Of them. He is a broad-minded man. II all labor leaders were like him there would never be any trouble with labor organiza tions.
 Winding up his testimony on this subject, Colonel Thompson said: But 1t should De beyond the power, beyond the temptation even of any organization to arbitrarily in fict injuries on other interests and other rights, which are equally entitled to be protected by the government as their own. To claim such power Is serious inroad upon the loyalty of a citizen, and destroys respect for his government, and it cannot but be dangerous to society to recognise any such power.
 Colonel Thompson referred to the great anthracite strike now on in Pennsylvania. and said that the far-reaching injury which that strike inflicted upon other interests, in no way connected with the miners or their employers, was beyond computation. Government has been destroyed, tempor- arily at least, where such things occur, for it is bound to protect all interests alike, and when failing to do this government is that far a failure.
 Compulsory arbitration, with sR the powers of a court of justice, is the only possible remedy for the growing evils re- sulting from labor strikes, and every in- terest demands that we should be free from these evils
 "Voluntary arbitration has been tried and nowhere with full satisfaction-because having no power to enforce its decisions and being more or less under political in- fuences.
 Texas Is the only State in the union, as yet, that has started movement for com pulsory arbitration, but I believe every State in the South will soon see the justice and advantages of adopting such policy and will secure 1t.
 "At this stage of the South's industrial progress nothing could be more beneficial than a policy that will bring industrial peace. and 1t cannot possibly hurt either labor or capital"