The Minneapolis journal., 1905-11-16
STATES ARE WEAK
AT ARBITRATION
Industrial Peace a Condition
Gained Without Much Of
fetal Effort.

Washington, Nov. l6-The practical
working of government industrial az
bitration here and in other countries
is the subject Of exhaustive investiga-
tion reported in the official bulletin of
the bureau of labor, which has just
been issued. The paper is an account
Of laws and results of their operation,
date as possible. It includes all laws
in any land which have been enacted
to provide means for the settlement of
the collective industrial disputes.
The report shows that at the begin
ming of the year 1905 twenty-four states
had passed laws for industrial arbitra-
tion or Cancellation, and one other state,
by it's constitution, directed such legis-
lation. The earliest law upon the sub
ject was passed in Maryland in 1878.
Groupings Of Laws.
The state laws are grouped in four
classes, as follows:
Local Arbitration, with No Perma-
nent Agency refor-Maryland New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas.
| Permanent District or County Boards
Established by Private Parties-Penn-
sylyania. Ohio, Iowa and Kansas. ~,
State Commissioners of Labor-Colora-
ton, Maryland. -.: -"
Special. tate Board or Commission
for the Settlement of Industrial Dis
putes-New York, Massachusetts, Mon
tana, Michigan, California, New Jersey,
Ohio, Louisiana, Connecticut, Illinois,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah, Colorado,
Idaho, Indiana and Missouri
First Group Dead Letters.
The report says that the laws in the
first group "have all turned out to be
same verdict Of, failure must be pro-
nounced upon the second group Of laws.
In Pennsylvania alone was anything
accomplished under this system.
For the ten states with laws for state
boards which provide also for local ar
bitration, in none Of the reports of
such board is any trace to be found
that the latter provision was even made
use Of except in Massachusetts, and
| Ohio. ~. a.<. @.,~ :'..
AS to state boards Of Cancellation
and arbitration, involving seventeen
those which have been active relatively
little or not at all, are the following
nine states: California, Colorado, Con
necticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan
Minnesota, Montana and Utah.
The remaining eight state boards not
only have been more active ever since
their establishment than the nine men
toned, but also have all published reg
ular reports as required by their laws
They are New York, Massachusetts
New Jersey, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois
Indiana and Missouri. ~
-. In North Dakota.
Of the FIVE states which provide in
tervention by state labor commission
ers, the law was in force in North Da
kota only year, In Colorado thi:
was superseded by a state board o1
arbitration, the records, however, show
ing that during ten years, ending 1897
with seventy-one strikes in. the state
in only three of them is Intervention
by the commissioner reported, and ir
none of the three did he effect set
tlement.
In Missouri considerably more ap
pears to have been accomplished Ii
Washington state, during two years
record, there were twelve cases of in
tervention by the commissioner, result
ing in six settlements 1.-TWO dispute
without strike OF lockout) and six fail
ures. In Maryland the provision is s.
recent that the arbitration law "ha'
not been tested.'