The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-03

chief of the brotherhood stood as a type of the wise and conservative. labor leader. Mir. John Mitchell is 8 thorough and ar dent supporter of all conciliatory methods and of arbitration If controversy reaches the acute stage. fjo is MT. Samuel Com pers, the head of the American Fedora l ton of Labor. So are all intelligent labor
 men in favor of the private adjustment. | through the trade agreement, of all la Dor disputes.
 The trade agreement, which all reason able labor men advocate to-day and which employers are in d very general | way not only considering but adopting, will in time do away with serious strikes and loclCouts. The trade agreement Is a solemn contract between employers and
 employees fixing all the conditions of la
 bor in a specific, detailed way providing
 that all grievances arising on either side
 shall be submitted to joint committee
 composed of employers and employees for
 final adjustment. and that pending the
 adjustment of the difficulties there shall
 be no suspension of work on the part of ! the employees nor a lockout on the part l of the employers.
 Successful in England. In England, where this system has pre-
 vailed for twenty-five or thirty years, tt has met with the most emphatic success, most of the industries adopting the meth cd having been free from strikes during 1 the continuance of their agreements. In this country also like results are being obtained. Many trades are making these agreements, extending not only to sin gle establishment, but to associations of establishments and to associations of or- ganizations.
 Even when such agreements are broken, as in a very few instances they have been broken by either one side or the other, they have eXerted a very strong moral influence. They lead to manliness on both sides. They avoid the suspicious at titude, a potent influence toward difficult ty in labor matters, and they win the con- fidence of each party in the other. But, above all, they bring to the front the very best minds in the labor movement. for when an agreement exists all parties have 6 moral relationship and seek to abide by their word.
 These are signs in the labor movement that should give the greatest encourage merh and they offset over and over again the disturbances of which We hear. They are changing the whole moral tone of the industrial situation. They are producing a state of sobriety which canot be ob- tained by any other means.
 What Intemperance %a@"~
 The question of intemperance Is one which is largely in the hands of employ CTS of labor. When the employer under stands and announces that he can hire man with a clear head for the same com pensation for which he can set one with muddled brain the temperance move ment Is subjected to force not known by the dynamics of the temperance move ment, and began on the railroads a gen. eration ago. first in orders that men who drank while on duty should not be ems pIoyed. It was soon seen that this meant nothing whatever, and so the next move- ment was to prohibit the employment | of men who were habituai drinkers, even in slight degree.
 This movement has spread over the
 country. The public is interested as much
 as the railroads themselves. The safety
 of travel and the ayiodanee of disaster
 concern the whole people and thus the
 economic value of the prohibition has
 been felt in every direction. It now ex- | tends to private and corporate concerns | which desire to run their establishments | with as little friction and as little loss
 as possible. The common and the statu- tory laws which make employers liable | in some degree and under certain cir | cumstances for the carelessness of their | employees are a most powerful incentive to | the employment of men with clear heads Thus economically again the movement | acquires strength.
 The signs of the times relative to wages | are those which can be drawn from economic conditions, as e rule. Wages | are higher at the present time than at l any previous period in the history of the l country. This applied not only to this.