The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-09-09
PUBLICITY TN PUBLIC
UTILITY LABOR DISPUTES
Thirty Days Notice Of Strike or Lockout Suggested as
Remedy for Many EvIs--The Operation Of
the Lemieux Act IN Canada

Upon the healthy ambition OF our
Workingmen to improve their efffcien-
cy and to advance their position IL
life depends our Industrial and social
progress. says Marcus M. Marks of the
national civic federation in the sur
vey press bureau. The strike is the
acute manifestation OF the desire 10
improve conditions of employment. AS
last resort, we cannot blame work
ingmen for expressing their dissatis-
faction with oppressive conditions by
striking unless we provide a proper
official court OF investigation which
will tend to secure justice without
strikes.
Before the mutual losses of strikes
and lockouts are risked, two distinct
efforts at prevention should be made.
The first Is the attempt to peacefully
arrange for improved conditions while
work continues. OF course, this is not
always possible, but 1t should always
be tried.
Even when negotiations have failed.
the strike is not yet in order. The
next move should be an appeal for
arbitration. It is only after confer
GIIflCE
been refused or have failed that en-
pioyers or employed may be excused
for inflicting the serious blow caused
by stopping the wheels Of their indus
try. It is much more costly to adjust
industrial differences during a strike
than before 1t. Arbitration by an I'm
partial tribune before a strike is more
apt to establish just conditions than
will be established by the strike IT.
self. A strike, in fact, rarely settles
a dispute on the basis of Justice.
Whether In the right or not, the
stronger usually wins and the end
leaves one or the other side ranking
for retaliation.
Let us assume that negotiations for
conference and attempts to secure
arbitration have failed and that a
strike has been called.
The employers try to fill the places
of the strikers-the latter try to pre-
vent this. Unfortunately, In many
strikes this effort to checkmate the
employer in his attempt to run his
business has been accompanied with
violence and riot.
Violence leads to counter violence
and 1t has been limited that in some
cases employers have retorted by In
timidating the intimidators. This pro-
cedure savors of the middle-age
methods of warefare and is q STEP
ping stone to anarchy. If the parties
affected cannot by peaceful conference
succeed in settling the strike, efforts
to secure arbitration should again
proceed. DISTINGUISHED third parties
Of experience, carefully selected, are
frequently helpful in clearing up mis-
understandings and in bringing order
out of disorder.
The fight to finish is usually car
ried on when a clear question Of prin-
ciple seems to be involved In many
recent strikes wages and hours ap-
peared to be secondary considerations
and the real issue was recognition Of
the union. The right OF workingmen
TO organize should be unquestioned.
The employer who excludes man
simply because he is a member of a
union is not acting in the spirit of our
day, which is one of organization and
cooperation. On the other hand, the
union that attempts to force an en-
ployer to exclude all non-union men is
equally intolerant and unwise. Strikes
for better wages and shorter hours are
apt to meet with sympathy and where
the complaints are just, grievances
are likely to be remedied. The strike
simply for the enforced closed shop,
however, almost invariably fails.
The public who suffer, especially
through strikes affecting public utili-