Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-12-26
INTERVIEWS AT LONG RANGE,

of the Order of Railway Conductors:
Organization on the part of both en-
ployer and employee should be as per-
feet as possible. Each should be
dominated by desire to be fair and to
do right. If such organization existed
the arbitrarily disposed and hot-head-
ed employer who resents the idea of
his employe presuming to question the
conditions fixed by him in the conduct
of his own business and in his own
way would by virtue of being control
led by the regulations of the employ
ers' organization, of which he was a
member, or by the more calm and
cooler judgment of the lawfully con-
stituted majority within such an or
ganization, be restrained from precip-
itating trouble, which, when it was
over, could, by careful analysis, be
shown to have no real cause other
than foolish or unreasonable deter,
mination to uphold personal or official
dignity.
st is not to be wondered at that, in
connection with the determination of
the employee to have a voice in fixing
the conditions under which he is to
labor, his efforts to assert and main
tain that right and the disposition of
the employer to deny and withhold
that right, some serious friction is
created and some serious conflicts oc-
cur These have been undoubtedly
necessary to the working out of this
problem, however regretable their oc-
currence may have been. New lessons
have been learned from every in
stance of that kind. The conditions
are growing better year by year. EN-
ployers, partially from desire to be
! fair and considerate with their en-
ployes and partially because the con
viction that it is to be so, has been
forced upon them, are showing a will
ingness to concede to their employees
the right to voice in fixing mutually
acceptable conditions of employment.
Employees are realizing more and more
the responsibilities resting upon them
and the necessity for their being just
and fair with their employers. as we'll
as considerate of the rights of others,
which must always be involved, to
some degree, in serious conflict be-
tween an employer and any large
number of employees.
Employees are realizing more and
more that mere test of strength
does not really settle any vital prin-
ciple and that the defeated one, in
stead of being convinced, simply sub
NIT through force of circumstances
and bides his time, consoling himself
with the knowledge that he has in
fiicted sore injury upon his opponent
and with the hope that some time his
day will come
Are you an advocate of concilia.
tion?"
THE practice of employer and en-
ploye meeting onlsyen terms and in a
friendly and rcopciliatory spirit for the
purpose of intelligent and frank dis
cussion of these matters is the ration
al, reasonable and civilized way of
dealing with this question. If that way
be adopted, the next and natural step
is a friendly agreement to- submit to
arbitration such disputed points as the
principals are unable to reach an
agreement upon. If the proper spirit
is entertained at the start and exer-
cised during the discussions there
can be no fear or anything occurring to
seriously mar the pleasant relations
or to prevent the matter being carried
to the logical conclusion of negotia-
tions carried on in that spirit-arbi-
tration. If each knows at the outset
that such points as cannot be agreed
upon are to be submitted to arbitra.
ton, they wall be much less liable to
assume or maintain any position
which their conscience and better
judgment tells them is wrong or un-
tenable. Simple fair-mindedness as
between man and man will be the ba-
sis OF the negotiations and the foun-
dation stone of the conclusion finally
reached"
DO you favor compulsory arbitra-
tion?"
Il know that much has been said
on the subject of compulsory arbitra.
ton, My idea of the principle of ar
bitration is the friendly submission
OF disputed points between two or
more parties to an outside party, in
the selection of which the disputants
nave equal voice and whose decision
1t Is agreed in advance shall be final
and conclusive. In order to have ar.
duration in the sense that | see it,
each disputant must feel confident
that his interests are going to receive
the same consideration that Is shown
TO those of his opponent and must
nave an abiding faith that the award
), Will be rendered in spirit of fairness.
1t does not seem that these feelings or
'-S.Aoiio NOuiu NC 0ulCildluSu ltuuSl
compulsion and it is also difficult to
see how employees in this country could
be compelled to submit their differ
ences with their employers to arbi-
tration and be forced to continue in
employment pending the finding of an
award without seriously conflicting
with the provisions of the thirteenth
amendment to the constitution of the
United States"
What advantage results from vol
untary arbitration"
Much has been said and written on
the subject of the power of legislators
and of the courts in this direction. In
my judgment, an effort on the part of
legislators or courts to compel arbi-
tration would result in more harm
than good and in ultimate failure.
There is, in this land, an influence
more potent than that of the legislat-
or and court higher than those es-
tablished by legislative enactment.
That influence and that court is public
opinion. When public sentiment gen.
orally demands the enactment or the
enforcement Of law, the law will be
enacted and will be enforced. When
public sentiment penarally is aeainst