The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1911-04-15
President of Wabash Railroad
Favors Establishing an Ar
bitration Tribunal.
PRESENT LAW UNJUST
TO EMPLOYER AND EMPLoYE
Asserts That Erdmann Plan Can
Be Improved by Change
of System.

Necessity for changes in the pres
ent methods of settling labor and
wage disputes by means of arbitra
ton, especially on railroads, are
urged by President F.. A. Delano Of
the Wabash railroad in a letter to the
Railway Age-Gazette.
Mr.. Delano advocates strongly the
establishment of a standing court Of
arbitration, to be composed of men,
bers specially fitted for their duties
by reason of experience and special
training, and including representatives
of the general public as we'll as the
two sides to the controversy.
Arbitration Of labor disputes as thus
far worked out in this country is a
comparatively new thing, Mr.. Delano
points out, and in it's present form
he asserts it is unsatisfactory both
to employer and employe. The new
court is urged to take the place of the
present system as provided for in the
Erdmann law, of a board Of three,
one partisan for each side, leaving
the decision usually to the third ar
bitrator.
Arbitration Better Than Fight. :
Most enlightened people concede
that arbitration is far better than
actual hand to hand conflict, he de-
clares. "Yet in the settlement of la,
Dor disputes the arbitrating body is
selected on the spur of the moment,
when feeling is running high, with
one man representing and advocating
one side of the controversy; with an
other man representing and advocat-
ing the other side, and with a third
man chosen by the other two repres-
entatives on accent of his known or
supposed neutrality, Or chosen by the
court for the same reasout44-a he is:
the maj Rho finally hasstos decidesaax
I'm the nature Of things these arbf=
trations, have proved to be COM
promises which rarely go deeply in
to the matter of the principle in
volved. Unlike decisions of court
they furnish no useful precedent for
future action and are of practically
no educational value.
Problems Call for Study.
LAS matter, Of fact the decision Of
these questions involves q great deal
of special study The man or men
who should decide them should be
largely freed from other responsible
ties and chosen for a reasonably lone
term. A single, able man as has been
demonstrated in the experience of
Canada, giving his whole time and
thought to the adjustment of contro-
versies between employers and en-
ployed, can do an immense amount
Of good.
Even if it were possible for rail-
road corporation,' says Mr.. Delano,
"as it is in some cases with other
employees. to advance wages and to
put the resultant added expenses up-
on the consumer. it would certainly
De undesirable to do so; for I firmly
believe that nothing is more impair
tant for American railways than to
maintain their rates on as low a basis
as the most efficient methods and a
fair return for capital invested will
permit.
But at present the great public.
upon whom the burden of increased
wages and of strikes and 1ockouts
must largely fall, takes only small,
amount of interest and has. as a prac-
tical matter, little or no voice in the
setlement.'