The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-01-25
TO AMEND STRIKE LAW.
Proposed Changes In New zsaland's
Arbitration Act.

rFoPooeo manages III NoW [catano
Arbitration Act.
Compulsory Industrial arbitration In
New Zealand has been passing through
troublous times Of late. Awards OF the
arbitration court have been disregard
ed Fines imposed for such disregard
have remained unpaid. In one or two
notorious cases, strike maintained
for months in defiance Of the law has
been finally settled by employers and
employed without reference to the law.
1t Is therefore small wonder that fur
Their legislation should be thought nee
essary.
Recently the minister of labor intro
duced an Industrial Cancellation and ar.
bitration act amendment bill In the
house Of representatives. AT first sight
this bill appears designed rather to
weaken than TO strengthen the law, as
1t repeats the section In an earlier act
enabling strikers to be imprisoned II
they remained obdurate under mllder
punishment. The fact is, no doubt,
that this penalty Of Imprisonment for
refusing to work except on ones own
terms is too severe to be effective. II
is a weapon so dangerous in the re-
sentiment 1t causes that little is lost
by abandoning II. In other respects
the bill Is certainly intended to make
the lot Of Illegal strikers-and prac-
ticaly all striking is Illegal in New
Zealand harder than 1t was before. II
Is designed In particular TO remedy a
curious daw discovered by the law Of
fcers in the arbitration acts as they
stand at present.
Clearly during dispute the posi-
bility Of the mems getting financial
support from other men or unions is 3
point of the first Importance. During
recent mining strike. as Is described
in the article from our New Zealand
correspondent, money poured in to
support the Tnen FROM unions IN every
part Of the dominion. Since the strike
itself was In defiance OF an award or
the arbitration court It might reason
ably have been thought that those
who sent this money were, as persons
"aidIng or abetting' an Illegal strike,
themselves doing an Illegal act. The
attorney general of New Zealand APP
pears, however, to have advised that
strike, as contemplated by the act,
was an instantaneous deed. Those who
merely supported the men after they
had struck might do SO with fmpunity.
The first object of the present bill Is
to rule Gus this reading Of the law. A
new defnition IL given of the term
strike" A penalty is imposed not
only for the first act of stopping work,
but alse for every week that the
strike continues thereafter. A spe-
cially high penalty is to be inflicted for
aiding or abetting strike when this
Is done by a union, employer or any
person other than q worker. Another
clause provides for suspending during
not more than three years the regis
tration OF any union found guilty Of
aiding, melting or instigating strike
by any Of its members.
Whether these new provisions viii
be found effective remains to be seen.
However that may be, their mere en-
actment is eloquent as to the diiicul-
ties OF enforcing industrial peace upon
those who are determined to have eli
Their their own terms or war To have
q land without strikes is an admirable
ambition and one that any community
may quite reasonably aim at by all
means IN its power. But the means in
such a case are really very limited.
The government cannot really under
anything like a democratic rule inn
prison thousands of individuals for re-
fusing TO work under conditions which
they dislike. 1t cannot, except in the
case Of a strike affecting the public |
generally and SO rousing public feel
ing, as railway strike would have
done, depend upon any sympathy in
enforcing the law. Rather It is apt |
to find very effective sympathy on the |
other side and the way OF the rebel |
against authority made easy.
The New Zealand experiences un-
doubtedly suggest that the only form
in which state Intervention in wage |
questions could ever be practicable in
this country is IN the fixing of mini |
mum wages in really swested trades.
and these aione. Those who are above /
the level Of absolute sweating must be
left to sight for their ewn hards.-Lon-
den Post