New-York tribune., 1912-03-20
MINIMUM WAGE BILL
PASSES FIRST READING
,souith. in Proposing Measure,
IS Shows WEAKNESS and Lack
of Concentration.
pouAR LAW UNDEMORALIzED
,,,,onist Leader Subjects Meas.
rre to Severe Criticism, but
Is Not Likely to Resist
It's Passage.
rBy cable TO The Tribunel

rRv cable to The Tribune
,,don. March 20.-The Unionist
=. appeared at Yesterdays debate
: the introduction Of the minimum
"a hill as a plain business man among
.oro,,zed dreamers and opportunists.
A.. Asouith had preceded him in a
..0cb which disclosed WEAKNESS OF
,na and lack of concentration. He
lid 70 explain his bill with any de-
80 of lucidity, and virtually confessed
p, 4, WAS a makeshift reluctantly
,on,ad by the government because ne
stations to end the big strike had
e,ored futile and that it would I've tenta-
,,ys,v applied for three years.
Tho Prime Minister disappointed his
,od,caI followers with the feebleness OF
80 ore,nent and consoled the Labor
onohers by revealing the emptiness Of
-, own phrases about safeguards ana
aorvincing them that they would be ao'e
:, vote for the measure, since compul-
..r,. arbitration was veiled and there
rros no mechanism for coercinG the MIN
crs bv levying tribute upon the strike
funds Of the trade unions.
When this lawyerlike appeal for the
ssttlemcnt Of a strike which was IN
settling every industry in the kingdom
had ended. Andrew Bonar Law, with
o,t 2 SIGN of hesitation and without a
.i,o,e utterance which would commit
tho Opposition to organized resistance 10
tho measure. subjected it to destructive
.ri,;cism as an artificial makeshift OF
most unsatisfactory character. 1t was
described as a bill which would pro
mote p similar agitation for minimum
r,oga in other Industries and multiply
s,rikes instead Of settling them. The
,ool business man pointed out the OBJ
,tous defects Of the despairing oppor-
,,n,st device embodied by the bill, ana
declared that there were no real SAFE
guards for securing an adequate output
,u return for the minimum wage.
Mr.. Laws speech foreshadows a de-
Ilberate attempt to amend the bill at its
second reading. The proceedings In the
Commons and the talk in the lobbies
lsave the situation in a more critical
stage than ministers expected. The
government has lost its grip upon this
exceedingly difficult and dangerous labor
question.
Lord Robert Cecil. in criticising the
bill. went far beyond the lines of attack
laid out by his official chief. He char
acterized the governments bill as the
climax Of "a great conspiracy on the
psrt Of a small band Of revolutionarles
20 obtain dictatorial power over the in
aystries Of the country" and accused
the syndicates Of purposely engineering
strikes. He emphasized the remarks or
the leader Of the Labor party In the
House Of Commons to the effect that
this was only the beginning Of cam
naign for a fixed minimum wage in all
trades. The bill, he said, was an admis-
sion that the government had yielded to
pressure.
London. March 19-The governments
coal mines minimum wage bill. designed to
nut An end TO the coal strike, passed its
first reading in the House Of Commons to-
night II consists Of six clauses and a
schedule defining twenty-one districts. the
country being divided for the purposes OF
the bill
As outlined by the Prime Minister. the
bill provides a reasonable minimum wage
for the miners and safeguards for the
owners. these TO be arranged by district
boards The minimum will be paid from
the date Of resumption OF work. The en-
actment IS for three years.
An important clause provides that II
within a fortnight any district lacks
recognized district board the Board Of
Trade may appoint any person TO act In
place Of the local body. There is nothing
in the bill to prevent a recurrence of the
strike should the miners be dissatisfied
with the district boards decision.
brief debate followed the Introduction
Of the bill, which does not give promise
Of easy passage through Parliament. The
Opposition is dissatisfied with the absence
Of penal clauses or measures for compul-
sory arbitration, and will move amend
ments with view TO remedying this.
The Prime Minister said that he intro
duced the bill with great reluctance, but
that It was absolutely imperative IN the
interests Of the country. Mr.. Lloyd George.
Chancellor Of the Exchequer. said that the
government was confronted by the ne
cessity Of speedily terminating the strike,
but that recourse to drastic methods would
create a perilous situation. Tho bill was
Tar from revolutionary. II had been ac-