The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1906-09-07
LABOR AND CAPITAL.
Arbitration Advocated.

|
| ! have referred to the investigation Of
| international controversies under q sys-
/ tenn which does not bind the parties to
accept the findings Of the court Of In
quiry This plan can be- used In disputes
| between labor and capital. In fact. II was
| proposed as means of setuing such dis
putcT before II was applied to Information
| al controversies. II Is as important that
| we shall hay" peace at home ns that We
| shall live peaCeably with neighhOrng ma
lions. and peace Is only possible whom
| 1t rcsts upon Justice. In advocating arbi-
| tration Of difference between large cor
porate employers and thor employees. !
believe we are defending the highest in
| terCgts OF the three parties to the dispute
viz the employers. the employees and the
| public. The cmployc cannot lie turned
over to the employer 10 be dealt with a.
sometimes asked: Can not conduc, my
/ business to suit mysclf2' IL n plausible
one but when a man IN .eondpcttng his
| business attempts to arbitrarily TX the
/ conditions uudor which hundreds Of ON
| ployes nrs tn live, and to determine the
| future Of thousands Of human beings.
answer. without hcsitntion. that he has
! no right To conduct ms own bUsiu#s5 in
! such a way ne to dqurivc his employees
I OF their right to NE, liberty and the pur-
suit Of happiness. To support tins posi-
| tiun, | need only refer To tNc laws rrEu-
/ lat!ug the safety OF mines, Tie factory
! laws liking the age ~ which children eau
I nc employed. nud USury laws establishing
! the rate of interest The .nort OF The
employer To settle differences without ar
| htrttlnn has done much To cmbttef him
| against those who work for him and to
cstranEe them from him "a condition de
| plurHble from every standpoint.
The Strike TWO Edged Sword.
nut II II IS unWl"e To make the en-
| ployer the sole custodian OF the rights
and interests OF the employees, Il Is eq ally
unvise to give the employees uncontrolled
| authority over the rights and interests
| OF the employer Tho employees are no
more 10 bo trusted to act uInsrlhshly and
disntcrestedly thnn tho employers In
| their zeal to secure present advantage
! they may not do injustice but even for.
| felt large future gain. Tho strike. the
only weapon of the employe at present is
n two-cdgcd sword, and may lnturc the
workman as much "a the employer. ana
oven when wholly successful is apt to
| leave n ranking In the bosom Of the
wage Garner that should not be there
Soclsty's Claim.
Society, moreover, has something at
stake AS well as the employer and en-
| ployo. for there can be no considerable
| strike without considerable loss to the
| public. Society, therefore IL justified In
| demanding that the differences between
! capital and labor shall be settled by
I peaceful means. If tho permanent Impair
| tial board is created, to which either
party OF an Industrial dispute may appeal,
! inquiry. public opinion may be relied on
To force the finding. II there II compulsory
submisHon to investigation, It is not nee
cssary that there. shall be compulsory
acceptance OF the decision. for a full and
| fair investigation will in almost every
case bring about n settlement
Government by injunction.
| No reference to the labor question Ia
| complete that does not include come men
! ton Of whit In known as government by
| Injunction. As the main purpose OF the
| writ IL to cvade trial by Jury. 1t is really
an attack upon the jury system, and
ought to arouse an unanimous protest
So long as the meanest thief IL glaran-
| tsed trial ~ Jury. jury ought not 20
be denied to wage earners However. as
| the writ Is usually invoked In case Of a
strike the importance OF the suboc
would be reduced by the adoption Of a
| system OF arbitration, because arbitration
would very much reduce. even II IL did
not entirely remove. the probability OF a
| strike.
Tho Eight. Hour Day.
| Just another word IN regard to the
| lnborlngman Tho struggle to secure an
eight hour day ~ an international strIIY-
| gle. and II is sure to be settled In favor
OF the worldngman. the benefits OF the
| labor saving machine have not been dis
| tributed with equity, The producer mas
enormously multiplied his capacity. but
so far the owner Of the machine has re-
ceived too much Of the increase and the
| laborcr too little Those who OPP os" u
eight hour day DO Il, ! am convinced
more because of ignore zoe OF conditions