The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-01-16
THAT ARBITRATION BILL.
Senator Gordon Makes Some Explana-
tion of It's Provisions.

| Editor, Times: 1t Is stated that Sem
ate bill No. 1874 did not meet with the
approval OF majority OF the stone
cutters present at the meeting last Fri
day night. We understand that one
ground for disapproval was the short
time that has been allowed them for its
consideration We admit that the time
has not been as long as desired but we
have explained to committee OF the
union the reasons for the delay in its
introduction, That a bill of this nature
was under consideration was known to
many union men at the time Of the
opening Of the legislature, but the fact
that the union did not care to listen to
an explanation Of the provisions Of the
bill from an outsider who had given it
some study seems little strange
This IS bill that affects all classes
in the state. 1t affects the public, as
well as the manufacturers and workmen.
No class has a just right to reject such
proposition without considering the
interests and welfare Of others The
consideration should be as broad az the
interests affected A man who persists
IN looking at the question from the
standpoint OF his own trade only is very
apt to get a narrow and distorted view.
He is a man who looks at the landscape
in one direction only, and declares it
bad because he does not turn towards
the part that is good Since provisions
are now made By both manufacturer
and employe for strikes and lockouts,
il is probably true that the general
public, which cannot make similar pro-
visions, is more inimiously affected by
trade disputes than the direct parties
to them,
The fact that a measure is not upon
the statute books OF other states In
the union is not in itself serious OBJ
lection There must be first trial
somewhere. compulsory compensation
acts, except Of very limited scope, are
not in force in this country to-day, but
the present legislature has adopted a
proposal of amendment to the eonstitu-
ton to permit the legislature to enact
laws to compel compensation to vic
Tins Of industrial accidents, and has
so far considered favorably a voluntary
compensation law and an employers LA
bility act. No legislature has gone SO
far as the present one to do Justice to the
workmen, but the duty Of the legislature
IA not to one class, but to all Senate
bin No. 1874 contemplates benefits to the
public, without harm to the workman
or the manufacturer By its main provi-
sions, We put into law what exists TO-
day in agreements between employer
and employe. If those agreements are
not harmful, why should the law be?
One marked difference between the agree
ments and a law is that the agreements
rest upon honor and too often fail, while
the law rests upon its sanctions, and is
capable Of execution The law guaran-
tees protection to the public, while the
agreements DO not
That there are evils that demand a
remedy must be conceded. For l4l years
prior to 1880, there we're only l,49l
strikes and loclyouts In the 10 years
following 1880. there were 36.757 strikes
alone; 407 establishments affected
672s04s strikers and S,730,s24 employees
thrown out Of work. The latest statis- /
tics we have found show that only about
81 per cent. OF strikes succeeded fully, !