Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-12

III mas seemed 10 me luNl INC NulAtu
States was fortunate in having a president
at this time who was not bound by ira
ditions and conventionality.. II was a bold
stroke, perhaps. for him to undertake the
appointment Of the commission, but as |
feel Il the action has made him the stronger
with all conditions Of men, and l believe
the findings of the commission have met
with general approval.
All Better for Arbitration.
Here, to my mind. have been the great
results Of the work OF the commission, not
only in the anthracite regions in particular,
but in some degree all over the labor world
in America:
Employer and employed have been
brought from the extremes OF social con-
ditions near enough together to see the
common manhoo binding them together;
on both sides concessions have been made;
the employer has been shown some Of the
hardships Of the employee, living in the
squalid shack. and the employe, in turn, has
seen some Of the slave driving eXactions
which wealth imposes upon its possessor;
the drama Of life and living was shown
not only to the 55S witnesses called on
both sides, but to the crowded halls day
after day in Scranton and in Philadelphia,
until the commission finally went into
secret session in Washington; and there,
in executive session, the striking fact OF
the investigation was the almost unanimous
verdict of the commissioner upon every
point finally set at rest.
LAS to the anthracite regions, both
parties to the long contest are the better
for the arbitration. Irritations and mis-
understandings on both sides have been
swept away. In the conduct Of the COM
mIaaion'e Investigations tie harmonious
movement throughout was more marked
than 1t could have been in a court OF law.
Lawyers were more considerable of wit
nesses. Technicalities had less considerd-
tion. More effort was made on both sides
to placate the commission than would have
been shown in a jury case Of the kin in a
state or federal court"
Compulsory Arbitration Inadvisable.
But this was arbitration" suggested
the questioner. do you understand that
an arbitration committee, working under
agreements of both interested parties,
would move with less friction than a pos
sible board of compulsory arbitration"
This was arbitration repeated the
bishop; yes, New Zealand has compulsory
arbitration. too, and has called it success
full. But IL must not be forgotten that New
Zealand st!ll is a primitive civilization,
with no realization Of the in;r.cacies Of the
industrial system Of the United States.
ITO consider arbitration in America. 1t
was Washington who said: In proportion
as the structure Of a government gives
force to public opinion 1t is essential that
public opinion should be enlightened Now,
compulsory arbitration, whatever argu-
ments may be advanced in favor Of it, is
not practicable in a country like ours,
The settling OF disputes can be accom-
plished by boards of Cancellation, to which
employers and employed voluntarily may
refer matters in dispute. When this is
found impossible and the business affects
large interests in which the general wei
fare is involved, then simple investigator
should be made compulsory, and laws tc
this effect should be enacted.
There is a marked difference between
the principal and the effect of compulsory
investigation and compulsory arbitration
This difference is made plain in a remarl
which Samuel Gompers once made, to me
when the subject of the conversation wal
the deslrability Of the incorporation OF tho
trades unions as something to make then
more nearly responsible parties to agree.
ments. Trades unionism,' said he, is just
as strong and never stronger than public
opinion; and Just as soon as organized
labor has lost the backing that it has II
the public opinion 1t will fall to pieces o.
itself.
Appeal to Public Opinion.
Thus you see. in the first place, a Law
demanding a public investigation into tn,
merits of a labor controversy becomes al
appeal to public opinion. Secondly, 1t in
wolves the laying open Of the details o
private business to the world, something
that is not relished by any man or any bod!
of men; thirdly, it would prove a costl,
process to both sides to II. Whatever thu
finding Of such a board might be, the ap
plicatton Of the remedy would not be II
the hands Of the board. empowered by an!
authority to act; II would be a fndinI
addressed virtually to public sentiment.
I'VE will have strikes and lockouts ant
perhaps violence in the future. The herct
competitive system under which we liv,
and which results in overcapitalization ant
overproduction. is responsible for many o
the evils from which we suffer. Some o
our greatest industries are capitalized a
four and five times their real value, anC
every possible device is resorted to in orde
to pay dividends on the watered stock
The outcome sooner or later is a pani
which destroys hundreds Of millions Of dol
lars anu DTluBb WTeIcneuueSS ana want II
millions Of human beings.
Too Great Desire for wealth.
Where is the reason for all this? /
springs from our American hurry to ge
rich, which is a disease OF a people VIII
lack ideals; who measure the value Of re
ligion, culture and art by the influence o
these things on thrift and material pros
perity. In the midst of all this rush an,
noise Of business, OF expansion and success
we are rapidly growing incapable OF takinI
or loving the deeper views OF life.
"our faith in education is, at bottom, tn
faith in its powers TO enable us to ge
more money.
"our preaching. leaving aside the thing
that are eternally right and true and in
dispensable, concerns itself with that whicI
is frivolous. startling and vulgar.
There is, / think, somewhere in tn
bible a text which says that God is angr.
with the nations that are rich. II we loo
profoundly there is much in our social an
political life which should make our per
sistent optimism seem little else than a
unwillingness or an inability to see thing
as they are.
How many Of US in the contemplation o
the lives Of men who have spent al thei
energies in sccumulating riches have hal
an eye for the exactions Of this wealth
have thought how misspent these lives 10
the most part have been, how barren O