The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-05-01
THE SETTLEMENT CONSIDERED.

Strlke IN TINS city WaS sudden, ana IL Is
gratifying to know that so little ami"
mostly remains (eXccpt among dis
gruntled fanatics and partisan bosses,)
and that the duration Of the strike was
so short. 1t is gratifying, further, to
know that the efforts OF Mayor Thomp"
son were what brought the opponents
together. At first there seemed no way
of getting the company and its em-
ployees together on definite basis.
But Mayor Thompson, taking the mat
ter in hand and pushing it vigorously,
finally brought about the agreement
which at the last resulted in the ter
mination of the strike. Everything that
Mayor Thompson obtained a concession
from the company on, was included In
the settlement; nothing that he failed
to bring them together upon is yet
settled And it is excellent to SEQ that
the employees cordially recognize his
good services.
After all, the main question was that
Of wages; the other one, which was IN
the way, where tho company was ask
ed to make a definite pledge of future
arbitration whenever any differences
arose that the company and employ
ees could not settle between themselves,
was speculative and not practical.
Nothing was before either that this
proposition would affect, The arbitra~
tion WAS agreed upon with regard TO
the wages. In so far, then, arbitration
rs n principle was conceded by tho
company, and was part of the Thomp
son agreement. AS a matter Of fact,
the final settlement, so far as tins
practical point is concerned, is not as
favorable to the employees as 1T was
at the point where Mayor Thompson
was forced 10 drop it, The wage scale
demanded by the employees is conceded,
to be sure; but it would necessarily
have been conceded by any board of
arbitration that could be named. The
demands were so moderate that 1T
would be quite impossible for any ar
bitration board. conyersant with the
prices OF the necessities of life III Salt
Lake, TO have insisted upon a smaller
scale than that presented by the en-
ployees. So that there appears TO have
been no reason at all for the strike
upon any practical basis, and no rea-
SON why Mayor Thompson should not
be conceded the full measure of ap-
proval for bringing about the excel"
lent result that was attained. AS we
say, in fact, the concessions obtained
by him in behalf of the employees were
really better as embracing direct pre-
cedent OF arbitration, which is not so
directly done now, but which is COM
monty understood TO be involved in
the settlement, although not in so spe
cific and definite manner as Mayor
Thompson left it. The people Of this
city have shown their sympathy III
marked degree with the cause of the
strikers so far as their wages were
concerned; and, as We said above, we
do not believe that three men in this
city could have been found to refuse
the employees scale on arbitration.
We consider in this whole matter
that 4 very great injustice has been
done to the city by the incendiary talk
against the chief of police and against
the police department. The headlines
in the daily opposition press, that the
police were inefficient, the city was
IN the hands of the mob, that life and
property were unsafe, and the editorial
uttcrances that nothing was TO be eX-
pected in the way Of protection of life
and property from the police, were both
damaging and false, and calculated to
give the outside reader a distrust of
Salt Lake and discourage Investment
here TO an extent that is utterly shame
full. There was no justification what
ever, for spreading abroad to the couD
try any such ill-famcd blazoning Of
Salt Lake None but an enemy could
have done so; none but those utterly
reckless of the fact and of the good
name of the city and working only
for sinister, personal or disreputable
political points could have had the
tcmerty to put forward such false and
scandalous reports. These dirty birds
are put to shame by the utterances of
their own representatives IN the Coun-
Gil, who concedc that the police did
all that could be done and are en-
titled to the most hearty commentator.
The fact is, that for the most part
the so-called "mob' was simply a
crowd Of good naturcd people, largely
composed of boys, There was very lit
tie turbulence, scarcely any violence.
and in few cases where there was
disturbance, as in the matter Of the
motorman who was arrested. the arrest
WAS made in the interest of public or
der; the motorman was taken to the
police station to protect him: and he
was protected, too a deputy sheriff
would have been badly handled if il
had not been for tho intervention OF
the police. The police, rs matter
OF fact. preserved an impartial atti~
tudc which was obligatory upon them
TO preserve, as 10 the point involved
in the controversy; they sensed the sit.
uation very fairly; and while not be-
ing "brash' in iuterposition, were ef-
fectual where any real need appeared