Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-04


years from January l. 1881, to December
81. 1900. there were strikes affecting 1850
establishments. and 6.1O5.e94 employees
were thrown out of employment. During
the same period there were ZOOS lockouts.
involving nearly 10000 establishments.
throwing over one million people out OF
employment. These strikes and lockouts
involved an estimated loss to employees OF
SJoiNO.OoO and to employers of $l43VWoU
a total of $4J0.000.O00. The public suffered
directly and indirectly probably as. great
additional loss. But the money loss great
as Ii was. did not measure the anguish and
suffering endured by the wives and children
OF employees whose pay stopt when their
work stopt. the disastrous effect OF the
strike or lockout upon the business of en-
ployers, or the increase In the cost or
products and the inconvenience and loss
to the public
Many of these strikes and lockouts would
not have occurred had the parties to the
dispute been required to appear before an
unprecedented body representing the nation
and. face to face, state the reasons for
their contention. In most instances the
dispute would doubtless be found to be due
to a misunderstanding by each of the 9TH
ers rights aggravated by unwilling
ness of either party to accept true the
statements of the other as to the justice
or Injustice of the matters In dispute. The
exercise of judicial spirit ny distnter-
ested body representing the federal gov
eminent. such would be provided by
commission on Cancellation and arbitration
would tend to create an atmosphere OF
tending parties; and the giving each side
an equal opportunity to present fully Its
case In the presence OF the other would
prevent many disputes from developing
Into serious strikes or lockeuts and, in
other. cases, would enable. the commission
to persuade the opposing parties TO come
to terms. 800
In this age of great corporate and labor
combinations, neither employers nor en-
ployees should be left completely at the
mercy of the stronger party to dispute.
regardless OF the righteousness Of their re-
spective claims. The proposed measure
would be In the line OF securing recogni-
ton of the fact that in many strikes the
public has Itself an interest which can not
wisely be disregarded interest not
merely of general convenience, for the
question of a just and proper public policy
must also be considered In all legisla-
ton of this kind 1t is well to advance eau
uously, testing each step by the actual re-
suits; the step proposed can surely be
safely taken. for the decisions of the COM
mission would not bind the parties in legal
fashion and yet would give a chance for
public opinion to crystalline and thus to
exert its full force for the right
Withdrawal of Coal Lands.
1t is not wise that the nation should
ALLEVIATE it's remaining coal lands. 1 have
temporarily withdrawn from settlement all
the land which the Geological Survey has
indicated as ontaining, in all prob
ability containing, coal. The question,
however can be properly settled only by
legislation, which in my judgment should
provide for the withdrawal of these lands
from sale or from entry. save in certain
especial circumstances. The ownership
would then remain in the United States.
which should not however, attempt to
work, but permit them to be worked by
private individuals under a royalty syS-
TEN, the government keeping such control
as to permit it to see that no excessive
price was charged consumers. 1t would
OF course. be as necessary 10 supervise the
rates charged by the common carriers to
transport the product as the rates charged
by those who mine it; and the supervision
must extend to the conduct Of the COM
mon carriers. SO that they shall in way
favor one competitor at the expense of
another. The withdrawal of these coal
lands would constitute policy analogous
to that which has been followed in with
drawing the forest lands from ordinary
settlement The coal. like the forests.
should be treated as the property of the
public and its disposal should be under
conditions which would inure to the bene-
lit of the public whole.
-. Corporations.
The present Congress has taken long
strides in the direction of securing proper
supervision and control by the National
Government over corporations engaged in
interstate business-and the enormous ma
jority of corporations of any size are en-
gagged in interstate business. The passage
of the railway rate bill, and only to less
degree the passage of the pure food bill,
and the provision for increasing and render
Ing more effective national control over the
beef-packing industry, mark an important
advance in the proper direction. In the
short session it will perhaps be difficult to
do much further along this line; and it may
be best to wait until the laws have been in
tins, TO- bar Of he hafa
endeavorng to increase their scope, be-
cause only operation will show with exact
ness their merits and their shortcomings
and thus give opportunity to define what
further remedial legislation is needed. Yet
in my Judgment 1t will in the end be ad-
risable in connection with the packing
house inspection law to provide for putting
a date the label and for charging the
cost of inspection to the packers. All these
laws have already justified their enactment
The interstate commerce law, for instance,
has rather amusingly falsifed the predic-
lions, both OF those who asserted that 1t
would ruin the railroads and Of those who
asserted that 1t did not go far enough and
would accomplish nothing. During the last
five months the railroads have shown In
creased earnings and some of them unusual
dividends; while during the same period
the mere taking effect Of the law has pro-
duced an unprecedented, hitherto unheard
OF, number OF voluntary reductions in
the founding OF the Commission there has
never been a time of equal length In which
anything like so many reduced tariffs have
been put into effect. On August u, for in
stance, two days before the new law went
into effect, the Commission received notices
Of over five thousand separate tariffs which
represented reductions from previous rated
1t must not be supposed, however, that
with the passage of these laws 1t will be
possible to stop progress along the line of
increasing the power of the National Gov
eminent over the use of capital in inter-
state commerce. For example, there will
ultimately be need of charging the powers
of the Interstate Commerce Commission
along several different lines, so as to give
it larger and more efficient control over
the railroads.
1t can not too often be repeated that ex-
perience has conclusively shown the impos-
sibility OF securing by the actions OF nearly
half hundred different State legislatures
anything but ineffective chaos in the way Of
dealing with the great corporations which
do not operate exclusively within the limits
OF any one State. In some method, whether
by national license law or In other
fashion, we must exercise. and that at an
early date, a far more complete control
than at present over these great corpora
tions-a control that will among other
things prevent the evils of excessive over
capitalization, and that will compel the dis
closure nv each big cOrpOration Of ia