Norwich bulletin., 1912-02-03


dertaken by men who have had ade-
quate experience in economic inquiries
and a levelheadedness and Judgment
correctly to apply sound principles to
the facts found
For some years past the high and
steadily increasing cost Of living has
been a matter of such grave public con-
Germ that deem it Of great public In
terest that an international confer
ence be proposed at this time for the
purpose of preparing plans, to be sub
mitted to the various governments, for
an international inquiry into the high
cost of living, its extent, causes, eff
fects and possible remedies. / there
fore recommend that to enable the
president to invite foreign govern
ments to such a conference, to be held
at Washington or elsewhere, the con-
gress provide an appropriation, not to
exceed $4,000, to defray the expenses
of preparation and Of participation by
the United States.
The numerous investigations on the
subject, official or other, already made
in various countries (such as Austria.
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France,
Germany. Great Britain; Italy, the
Netherlands and the United States)
have themselves strongly demonstrate
ed the need Of further study Of world
wide scope. Those who have conduct
ed these investigations have found
that the phenomenon Of rising prices
is almost, if not quite, general through
out the world, but they are batfled in
the attempt to trace the causes by the
impossibility Of making any accurate
international comparisons This is be-
cause. in spite Of the number OF inves-
legations already made. we are still
without adequate data and because as
yet no two countries estimate their
price levels on the same basis or by
the same methods.
AS already indicated, the preliminary
conference itself would entail COM
paratively small expense, and most of
the subsequent investigations for which
it would prepare the way could be car
ried out by existing bureaus in this
and other governments as part of their
regular work and would require little,
If any, additional appropriations for
such bureaus.
Commission on Industrial Relations.
The extraordinary growth of indus
try in the past two decades and its
revolutionary changes have raised new
and vital questions as to the relations
between employers and wage earnerS
which have become matters Of press
ing public concern. These questions
have been somewhat obscured by the
profound changes in the relations be
tween competing producers and pro
ducers as a class and consumers-ir
other words. by the changes which
among other results, have given rise
to what is commonly called the trust
problem. The large scale production
characteristic of modern industry
however, involves the one set of rela
tons no less than the other. Any in
terruption to the normal and peaceful
relations between employer and wage
Garner involves public discomfort anC
in many cases public disaster Such
Interruptions become, therefore. quite
as much a matter Of public concern a,
restraint of trade or monopoly.
Industrial relations concern the pub
lie for a double reason. We are di
rectly interested in the maintenance Of
peaceful and stable industrial condi
tons for the sake of our own comfort
and well being, but society is equally
interested in its sovereign civic capac
ity in seeing that our institutions art
effectively maintaining justice and fail
dealing between any classes Of citizens
whose economic interests may seem tt
clash. Railway strikes on such scalt
as has recently been witnessed IL
France and in England, strike Of
coal mine workers such as we have
more than once witnessed In this coun
try and such a wholesale relinquishinl
Of public service as that Of the stree
cleaners recently in New York illus
trate the serious danger to public wei
being and the inadequacy of the exist
ing social machinery either to preven
such occurrences or to adjust them OF
any equitable and permanent basi!
after they have arisen.
In spite of the frequency with which
we are exposed to these dangers and II
spite Of the absence Of provision FOL
dealing with them we continue to as
sumo with easy going confidence thai
in each new case somehow or other tbs
parties to the dispute will find some
solution which will be agreeable Il
themselves and consistent with the pub
lie interest. We all see the grave OBJ
jections to strikes and lockouts, how
ever necessary they may be in extreme
cases. and we are ready to criticise the
more extreme phases Of the industrial
conflict, such as boycOtts and black
lists. but we leave the situation such
that industrial disputes lead inevitably
to a state Of industrial war in which
these are the only weapons left to the
two combatants. No more clumsy OIL
expensive method Of determining the
rate of wages and the hours and con
ditions of labor could well be devised
The successful operation Of the Erd
man act as between interstate railroads
and their employees shows how much
good can be done by proper legislation
At the moment when the discomforts
and dangers incident to industrial strife
are actually felt by the public there is
usually an cutlery for the establishment
Of some tribunal for the immediate set