The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-10-03
why Not National Board of Arbi
tratiOn!

The Brooklyn Eagle states very I'M
portant point in great sc, as follows:
"That man cannot throw up place
and hold on to IT,, at the same time, ought
to be plain. But it is not plain to hundreds
of thousands of men. That place one
man leaves another is free to take ought to
be plain. But it is not plain to hundreds of
thousands OF men. The failure to realize
two truths 50 plain as these makes all the
troubles Of any STRIKE"
IL makes all the trouble after the
strike is inaugurated, but it is not the
primal cause of the strike. There is
the grievance.
There must be two parties in quar-
rel. There is a vast amount to be said
on this great subject of the conflict of
capital and labor, and it is not profit
able or possible at this time to enter in
to any lengthy examination or discus
sion of all the aspects of the matter.
In the first place no man or combi-
nation of men should engage in a
business employing labor unless they
can and will pay fair, living price for
that labor. If they cannot do this
and make a decent profit, the business
should be discount ued. As a matter
of intrinsic right and wrong, capital
has no right to employ labor which it
does not adequately recompense. If it
does do this thing, the proper griev-
ance to produce the results spoken OF
by the Eagle at once exists. This is
one side of the case; o elaborate the
Eagles statement of fact is the other.
II a man cannot afford to work for
the wages that he may be receiving,
let him stop and go away. That is the
grand privilege of labor, to choose its
own market. But-and too often here
is the result of the grievance-the man
has no right under heaven, in law or
equity, to take any means to prevent
any one else working. The moment
he does this he violates this same right,
in the case of his neighbor, to sell his
labor where he pleases. If the striker
has a right to stop work and go else
where, then another man has the same
right to stop work elsewhere and com e
and take the place vacated by him, if
he sees fit. Does not the rioter under
stand that he is violating the right
which is most sacred to all labor when
he seeks by any means whatever to
prevent labor finding whatever market
it may choose?
Here is the inconsistency, the evil,
the long train of misery, the miscon-
ceptiou of duty which results from the
original grievance. Capital is to blame
for the grievance, labor for the terrible
results of it,
Not seeing any prospects of relief
elsewhere, the JOURNAL is inclined to
suggest as solution National Board
of Arbitration. The world may con-
tinue to hope for such an era of BROTH
erly love and respect for the rights of
man as will obliterate all labor troubles,
once and forever, but this condition
Will uOI OAlSb Ill tlluS w w thO PlcoOhp
generation any good. Therefore, why
not attempt t1e experiment of Ma
tional Arbitration Commission? Let
capital and labor organizations each
name say three men for appointment on
a commission, and the President
seventh. Let the commission be es-
tablished by law of Congress, so that
its decisions can be enforced. If the
idea Of the appointment by the Pres
ident of the man holding the balance of
power is Objectionable, then let him be
chosen in some other satisfactory way.
Certainly there ought not to be any diff
fculty in creating an able commission,
satisfactory to all parties and interests.
Certainly any means by which the
continually recurring troubles between
capital and labor, with the endless mis-
cry they involve, may be avoided and
abolished would be grand solution of
a mighty problem. Why not nation
al commission? Has anyone anything
better to offer?