Evening star., 1900-06-30
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION
From the Springfield Republican.

From the Springfield Republican.
or exceptional prnct!ca. interest touching
the labor problem, and especially timely in
the United States at the present moment. is
Henry D. Lioyd's little book. under the tile
"A Country Without Strikes" which de-
scribes the scope and operations of the
compulsory arbitration law adopted about
five years ago in New Zealand. a country
which Mr.. Lloyd has recently visited for
the purpose of studying lis many and rad
ical social and labor reforms. An intro
duction by William p. Reeves. former min
lister of labor and author of the arbitra-
ton law. Is a feature of the book.
Voluntary arbitration is now a familiar
expedient in the United States and else-
where 1t has been deemed the only toll
cradle and practicable kird of arbitration.
1t has been the resort of those who admit
the need of intervention in the warfare
OF labor and capital. and who have asked
and have received no satisfactory answer
TO the questions: How can the DEGREES Of
a compulsory arbitration be enforced? VIII
you compel workmen to work against their
viii? VIII you compel capital to operate
on losing terms? And have had
voluntary arbitration boards created which
volunteer their services and rarely have
them accepted. They have simply been
Jostled aside as workmen and employers
just as interested and as helpless specta-
tors of the strike as the general public.
Before pressing a scheme of compulsory
arbitration upon the New Zealand parlia-
ment Mr.. Reeves studied the workings of
voluntary arbitration wherever applied. He
found it universally useless. or practically
So The Massachusetts board seemed TO
him the most efficient of the lot, but We
have only recently pointed to the fact that
the state is paying $2.n0 q year TO each
OF these arbitration commissioners for
vices which have not been generally of Wis
ible form and substance, and which appear
to be becoming more ard more impercepti-
BILE. And yet this New Zealander tells US
that the fault is not with the commission
crs. Ii is with the system. which Is de-
scribed by him as a sham.
The New Zealand compulsory arbitration
law-the only one in the world of actual
application-grew out OF the maritime
strike of ten years ago. which spread un-
told losses and bitter feeling and suffering
a ! over the colony. The laborers We're de-
feated in that strike, but 1t proved to be
the most notable single victory ever won
by the worknsmen. Five years later, after
much agitation and persistent pressure in
parliament from the minister of labor. tho
present system was adopted. and 1t is al
most enough to say for it that there has
not since been strike worth mentioning
throughout New Zealand The law does
not force arbitration upon the disputants-
though 1t may later be amended to do so.
1t forces arbitration only on appeal from
either one or both of the parties in dis
pute Once an appeal has been made, the
case goes through to an award, and both
parties must abide by it.
There are boards Of conciiation which
first hear cases. Then judge of the SUI
preme court of the coony, selected for the
purpose, sits as a court of arbitration to
give Judgment and award on cases coming
up from the conciliation boards. Laborers
are encouraged to organize in unions,
which are incorporated by law. Manufac-
turers or employers may also organize or
% "a a,,a,
cial body on the part of the workmen, with
which the state can deal in enforcing its
awards. the penalties being fines. If any
organized body of laborers-and seven
men in any one employment can form
themselves into a union under the law-if
any such body of men have a grievance.
such as insufficient wages they can appeal
to the local board of conciliation. and
thereupon their employer must come be-
fore the board with them, whether he
wants to not. The state of his affairs
is then inquired into. His books are SUBJ
5ect to inspection, and he can state his
side of the case. The men present their
side. and are obliged to do this themselves
or through one or more of their number,
no hired counsel being wanted or allowed.
Meantime, work goes on at the factory as
if nothing had happened. If the final award
Is for higher wages the employer must
concede the point. If he refuses he is fined,
and the case is revived against him by the
men, and he would thus be fined again
and again until he yielded, or chose to
suspend operations.
But in fact little trouble has so far been
experienced in making the awards effective.
The court of arbitration is very generally
resorted 10 for the settlement of disputes,
and its awards are very generally accepted
in good faith. An important point is that
the case for both sides is given publicity;
the facts upon which the award is based
aside from the warrantable business secrets
of the employer-are available to all. and
public opinion is thus brought in inn
DOrtant factor in hendinR the side
the other to the decree. Other advantages
secured by the law, besides industrial peace.
are uniformity of wages for like
work in like trades. which extends by
force Of example, from the decree of the
court in a single case throughout the coli
ony. Wages and terms are fixed so that
manufacturers can plan their business and
enter into contracts without fear Of labor
disturbance. and workmen. in a confidence
as to the future never known before, can
marry. buy land and build homes AS yet
the operations of the law are confined pret-
ty closely to manufacturing industry but ic
vii! doubtless in time be extended to other
Industries. and also to the government it,
self. as railway employer and otherwise.
1t is enough. further. say of the act
that it now has the support of all parties
in the colony, and that Of the conservative
as well as that of the radical classes. So
valuable is industrial peace to both work.
men and employers that both are willing
to strive for 1t. and their support of this
law proves that it is effecting such peace
and the security and prosperity to business
which must grow out of it,
The story told in this book is of very
great interest to all classes in the Uni: ed
States. The New Zealand experiment must
be older to deserve any other appellation.
and it applies to a homogeneous political
society exceptionally favorable to success.
But its achievement to date is nothing less
than wonderful. Tho possibility Of its suc-
cessful trial elsewhere Is hardly to be
doubted.