The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-11-19
ARBITRATION.
The New Jersey State
Board Submits Valua-
BILE Suggestions.
IT'S ANNUAL REPORT
Legislature Will Be Inform
ed of Possibilities for
Action.
IT'S ANNUAL REPORT

The New Jersey State Board of Arbi-
the Legislature and facts of value in re-
gard to labor disputes are given therein.
The report is as follows
To the legislature
In forwarding to your honorable body
the report of this board for the year
ending October 81 1900, it seems proper
to present a few remarks on the general
question of arbitration. The great coal
strike in our neighboring State of Penn
sylvania has aroused thinking people to
the crying need of devising some me2ns
of preventing suicidal struggles involving
pitiful hardships to many OF those di-
rectly concerned to say nothing of the
suffering, Inconvenience and expense en-
tailed on thousands of others who sud
denly find one of life's prime necessaries
increased to such a price as to be, in
many cases, almost, If not quite beyond
their means. And it requires little ex-
ercise of the Imagination to gauge, ap-
proximately, the disturbance of industrial
affairs that must necessarily have result
ed from a further prolongation Of that
strike.
There has been much talk in an Off
handed way of establishing a general
compulsory arbitration law, or having all
the States adopt an act uniform in its
easier to urge the adoption of compulsory
arbitration than it is to graft upon our
law code statute of that kind which will
stand the test of scrutiny from a con-
stitutional point of view and at the same
firr1o hae IT,, f1t
ness as to be sustained by popular senti-
ment.
Laws are necessary evils We must
have them because of the imperfections of
humanity. 1t may seem paradoxicaI, but it
is true, nevertheless, that, while our
steady advance to the upward heights of
civilization ought to be marked by de-
crease in our appeals to the law-making
power as curative agency. the contrary
is the case. Instead of the increased in
telligence enabling people to do the right
by their neighbors and themselves, we
have the spectacle of constant demands
that the Legislature shall grant special
privileges to some or restrain others from
doing this or that thing
In the matter of arbitration what is
wanted most is not 80 much more legsla-
ton as a stronger, clearer and more CO.
herently expressed public sentiment.
When you reach the point where the peo-
pie of New Jersey will back up and en-
force compulsory arbitration law popu-
lar sentiment will have power enough to
accomplish the desired results without
any such law.
There is not, as a matter of fact, any
real compulsory arbitration law in exist
ence. We are used to speaking of the
New Zealand arbitration law as a COM
pulsory one, but it is far from that That
law is not operative except where associa-
tions of employers and employees have
signified their willingness to subject them
selves to its provisions by formally regis
tering under the act. Section 10 of the
law in question makes this clear, thus
The effect of registration shall be to
render the industrial union, and all per-
sons who may be members of any soci-
ETY. or trade union registered as an indus
trial union at the time of registration or
who, after such registration may become
members of any society or trade union so
registered, subject to the jurisdiction by
this act given to board and the court,
respectively, and liable to all the provi-
shall be bound by the rules of the indus
trial union during the continuance of the
membership.
Among the important features of the
New Zealand law is one providing for
industrial agreements between associa-
tions of employers and the trades unions
regarding their employees. Markle Broth
ers had such an agreement with their
miners in Pennsylvania, and the en-
ployes, for reasons that apparently SEEM
ed to them good and sufficient, broke the
agreement. Under the New Zealand law,
according to section %, they would have
been liable, as follows:-
| If any Industrial union, trade union, as
sociation or person, bound by an indus
| trial agreement, shall in any partieular
commit or suffer breach thereof. such
| union, association, or person, shall, for
every such breach, be guilty of an offense
against this act punishable by a penalty
| not exceeding such amount as shall be
| fixed by such industrial agreement, and If
no amount shall be fixed, then not exceed
| ing $500.
| How far both employers and employees
surrender their rights under the New
Zealand law may be seen by a glance at
section 20:
| Whenever an industrial dispute shall be
| referred to a board or the court, as here
! matter provided, no industrial nion or as
| sociation, trade union, or society, whether
of employers or workmen, and no employ
| er who may be party to the proceedings
before the board or court shall on account
| of such Industrial dispute. do any act or
thing in the nature of a strike or lockout
or suspend or discontinue employment or
work in any industry affected by such pro-
| ceedings, but each party shall continue to
employ or be employed. as the case may
be- until the board or court shall have
come to decision in accordance with this
act.
1t should be borne in mind. however,
that these regulations. prohibitions and
penalties apply only to those who have
voluntarily put themselves within the ju-
risdiction of the arbitration courts or
boards. so that they could not reasonably
complain of any abridgement of their
rights or prerogatives.
Would the employers and employees of
New Jersey register under such a law?
And If they did would the courts sus-
tain the enforcement of awards against
dissatisfied parties to adjudicated cases?
A compulsory arbitration law, lacking
1.-The voluntary features Of the New Zea-