Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-03
Problem Of the Strike.

The people Of the United States
are accommodating enough expert
ence with the strike to be con
vineed that It ought to be sbol-
ished. They have given it q fair
hearing and have found II to be
inimicsl to the best interests Of en-
ploye and employer alike, unfair to
the public as the innocent third party
and subversive of business stability.
As a remedy for industrial ills It has
proven an utter failure. IL is re.
pugnant TO the highest sense Of jus
tIce and an inevitable barrier to com
mercial, political or social peace and
progress. 1t aecomplishes nothing
that IL undertakes, for where It wins
temporary concessions it lacks the in
herent power to achieve a permanent
victory and engenders a feeling of re-
venge and resentment. inviting re
newed hostiities in the future.
There is pretty well-defned feel
ing that. although the strike may have
btNh uoNlhl III lNo No9 NAAC NAAAAN nus
come to put It out of business. Canada
and New Zealand have no strikes and
both are enjoying nearly, II not fully,
as great prosperity and happiness as
the United States. These countries
have compulsory arbitration laws, that
not only prevent strikes, but initiate
to the great advantage of commerce
and labor by preserving industrial
peace and fostering a sane, healthy
sentiment between labor and capital.
The New Zealand law provides for a
council Of conciliation as the court of
first instance and a court of srbitra-
tion as the final tribunal. Disputes
are submitted by both parties to the
council, and If 1t fails to reach a salts
factory agreement the case is taken
to the court of arbitration, whose And
ing is as binding on both parties as
the decision OF any court of justice.
While one student of the New Zea-
land law says it would not be
adapted to the exigencies of the
United States, It Is interesting to note
that he observes in this connection
that this law would operate success
fully in no country lacking the un-
bounded osperity-growth in popu-
lation, wealth and industries-th
New Zealand has. If these are the
prerequisites for the successful opera
tion of such a law, then there is no
country in the world where 1t would
be more eminently successful than the
United States.
But whether New Zealand's law is
just what we need in this country does
not alter the fact that we need an or
derly solution of the strike problem.
We need something that will prevent
the periodical paralysis of industry
and the general social disorder that
accompanies most big labor disputes.
If we could even hope to obtain indus
trial peace by means of the strike, we
would be paying entirely too high q
price, but We cannot hope for such a
result. Strikes have come to levy
tremendous tax upon the moral and
financial resources Of the people and
industries they affect without yielding
adequate recompense There, ds no
good reason why the public, an inof-
fensive party, should be called upon
from time to time to endure the multi
farious hardships which the strike en-
tails, merely because two stubborn
contestants do not want to have their
differences arbitrated II relief is to
come it must come through this same
third party, rising to the full stature
of its right and might