Arizona republican., 1904-07-28
A Strange Lack of Happiness.

The revival of the labor troubles at
 Chicago on a scale so great that the
 whole country looks on with misgiv
 ing, will lead many people, no doubt,
 to pay increased attention to the pro-
 gress made by labor organizations in Australia, New Zealand and New South
 Wales, where they are partly or alto
 gether in control of public affairs. In
 New South Wales, for example, there
 should be nothing needed to complete the happiness of labor. The govern ment is now manned at every post by with exclusive concern for the labor organizations. But nobody is happy, strange to say. Business is stagnant, capital is pulling out of the country as titude of idle people because there is no work to do. The population is fall ing off at an alarming rate because thousands of people are emigrating for countries where is some hope of their making living. Taxes and the public debt are steadily on the increase. This state of affairs applies to the whole of the British antipodes. in fact, where the advanced ideas of socialism have taken such root. We are indebted to article on the laws now in force in New South Wales and the condition of the country generally.
 Compulsory arbitration is in force, all for the sake of 52OOO persons and not at all in the interest of the mill lion odd citizens of the state. On the same theory of a part being greater than the whole, seven shorthand writ CTS and typewriters banded themselves together in an association such as the law would recognize. It was the sev- en against the 5000 experts in the bus mess. The seven declared for a certain rate of pay, so much and no less. The 5000 protested, but in vain. The min- ority, who are declared not to be ex- perts, had the statute book on their side. So the courts will have to give effect to the orders of the few as against the many. If any employees are fined for not obeying the decree of this oligarchy the fines will go into the coffers of the seven, to be expended as they see fit.
 The hotel keepers are in despair. So stringent are the restrictions placed upon their cooks, walters and cham bermaids as to the number of hours they may work that it is impossible to keep the establishments running with like regularity. Travellers arrive perhaps after a journey of hum dreds of miles to find that they can't get anything to eat all because the servants, while they may be willing to take orders from their employers, don't dare to do so for fear the organizations might find it out and take the law on both parties.
 It is the same story in all lines of business. One typical case was that of the owner of a barber shop, who was so harried that he decided to quit He gave his men a weeks notice. declar- ing that he would no longer be an em- ployer of labor Anyhow he was on the brink of ruin. He announced that he would rent chairs In his place to men and let them take the responsibiI- ity and make what they could. The answer of the organization to this was an injunction prohibiting him from ceasing to administer the affairs of his establishment. He must go on wheth- CT he was making a profit or not, and quite irrespective of his own feelings.
 While the law is powerful and ruth less against the employers, it is vir- tually powerless against the workmen. If one of them disobeys a Judgment of the courts he gets off with a small fine. On the other hand the masters are mulcted in large damages whenev CT an opportunity arises. The result is that industry is in a bad way. Cap ital is leaving the country, and the public debt is piling up, while potential leaders in England are getting shy about making loans when they are ap- preached.