New-York tribune., 1901-12-21
HANNA PREDICTS SUCCESS,
IMPORTANT RESULTS EXPECTED FROM
THE LABOR ARBITRATION COURT

IMPORTANT RESULTS EXPECTED FROM
THE LABOR ARBITRATION COURT
WHILE STRIKES WILL CONTINUE. He SAYS,
THE NEW MOVEMENT WILL REDUCE
THE EVIL TO A MINIMUM
LBY TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBUNEI
Washington, Dec. 20.-When called upon to-
day by representative of The Tribune and
asked for an expression the aims and scope of
the National Civic Federation's undertak-
ing for the prevention of strikes, Senator NJ. A.
Hanna seemed as happy any child in the land
that expects Santa Claus to slip down the Chin
ney the night before Christmas and leave bulg-
ing stockings and overburdened Yule trees The
Senator had just returned to his house from a
visit to the President. who had congratulated
him heartily the start made in a work of such
philanthropic design and propitious promise.
and assured him of his earnest desire to help
the movement in every way possible. AS chair
man of the committee appointed by the recent
conference in New-York, Senator Hanna will be
expected to look after all the details of the
work.
Il never entered upon task with more genu-
Inc pleasure or confidence" said the Senator.
things impulse. I have been thinking
about some such movement this ever since
I joined the Civic Federation at Chicago two
years ago. I am confident 1t will be a success
In fact 1 know 1t will be- There is no such
word as can't In my vocabulary. With the
earnest workers that are associated with me, 1
do not see how 1t would be possible for the
work to fail. The time is ripe in this country for
better and permanent understanding between
the men who control invested capital and the
men whose labor makes this capital profitable
With the growth and multiplication in the
United States of large Industrial combinations
for the cheapening of production there is a
rapid decrease in the number of who
troll invested capital There is a corresponding
increase in the growth and multiplication of
labor organizations and lessening of the num-
Der of men who direct these organizations. Thus
the powers Of these two sources of wealth pro-
duction-captal and labor-are being ooncentrat-
ed in the fewest possible hands. The highest
wisdom and best thought of both capital and
labor are represented at the heads of the two
forces. and of such calibre and character
easily can be brought together on a common
basis for the promotion of the best interests of
both sides. Thus the so-called widening gulf
between capital and labor in the United States
will be narrowed and bridged. and the dangers
of strikes and other industrial disturbances will
be minimized." Senator Hanna careful to
put emphasis the word minimized"
BROAD SCOPE OF THE PLAN.
II do not wish to be misunderstood" he con-
tinued. Il don't venture to say that our new
movement will wholly do away with strikes.
There will be strikes as long there are hot
headed and unreasonable men on both sides or
either side This is the pity of our industrial
TQ,,+I 7 do at " n, a
position to minimize the strike evil-to make
strikes fewer and less harmful. We can now
get the two sides together for full discussion
whenever trouble Seldom is a strike
precipitated whenever the parties most inter-
ested are brought together for frank, open,
manly talk of differences. We intend to tender
good offices in every case of threatened
trouble between the employees and the employer
II after we thus get them together for dis
cussion they unable to reach an agreement,
we will then offer them the services of our
board of twelve-our high court, so to speak
composed Of men of the highest character, such
as Bishop Potter Charles Francis Adams, Gro
yer Cleveland and Cornelius n. Blss-men who
stand squarely middle ground between CAPT
tai and labor and who have at heart only the
best interests of both. don't mean that we
shall arbitrate in the common acceptation of
that term In fact, we would have power
to enforce our DEGREES even If should assume
to arbitrate. We do not intend to ask for
legislation, either State or national. The coun-
try already has been surfeited with that sort of
thing without deriving any appreciable benefit
from it. AS for me, opposed to compulsory
arbitration, which, of course. is no arbitration
at all-merey the execution of a decree by force.
Therefore. 1 must describe our movement as
entirely humane. Indeed, may say that It IS
using the
est sense and not in its political or theoretical
meaning.
TO BENEFIT ALL WORKING PEOPLE.
Another point 1 wish to emphasize" Senator
Hanna went on to say, "is that our movement
is not intended to benefit organized labor only
It's scope takes in all classes of working peo-
pIe-those who do not belong to labor organi-
cations as well as those who do. In our call
for the New-York conference we invited the
leading representatives Of organized labor to
meet with US, and did not invite any men out
side of the labor organizations for the obvious
reason that did not know who of the latter
class to invite. If 1t is possible to reach this
large element we shall do so. and sincerely
hope that they will make themselves known to
US through some convenient means.
Reverting to the subject of strikes. Mr.. Hanna
said: There will be strikes in this country
long Us there are ignorant and unthlnking la
borers. We cannot reach that element through
any means. It consists largely OF European Ia
borers who have come over here without proper
Of our institutions or the char
acter of our people. This element expects to
establish in the United States the same system
of unionism as prevails in Europe, the principal
aim Of which is to curb production in order to
keep wages at an even basis No more false
economic principle than this was ever devised
and it is so wholly un-Amercan that 1t can
never gain foothold here. l have observed
that these foreign laborers in this country are
so unreasonable and irrational when they be-