The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-03-30
SATURDAY, MARCH 80, 1912.
DoDG.NG THU SAFEGUARDS.

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Tile main difficulty with Mr.. Az
ou:lu's minimum wage bill appears to
ilaNc been IN regard 10 hat he called
the "~safeeuards." His l'ii!, according
:" the reports of l. sent ""er mere,
hlu,iied me- s~a!ngua:ds. II did no
n-or" tnan 10 provide that certain To-
cal bodies of men should he authoriz-
"a To decide what ;lie minimum
wage IN thcir mining districts vas
10 be. and presumably these decisions
wnl;ld have had thu. force of law. But
ono element of Law is d penalty 10 be
;nficted upon thos" who berak it.
and it was just at this point of a PEN
atty that Mr.. .Asluith baked.
Some of tho mining unions now
taking part i the great British coal
strike We're lnder contract with the
m~ine-owners TO 90 on for a definite
period AT tbs existing rates, but these
contracts did not hold them. OBJ
%Viousiy If the state is to fix a legal
wage the state ought TO have power
TO enforce il. for otherwise the state
gets nothing by its Intervention. 1t
is in tine same danger of being over
Whel,ned by :; sudden strike, with all
80 ~ 49, y IA ~ 49,
suffering. AS before. A legal wage
without guarantees is a jug-handled
arrangement. furnishing no security
whatever that The public injury.
which its establishment was designed
to guard against. would not rccur
whenever the men and their leaders
ha pponcd IN feel that way. So in
regard to tho difficulties that might
arise III the application of a legal
wage.
No one believes that there would
not u. the same dissatisfaction and
complaint under a legal wage as UNI
der the voluntary system. and unless
the legal wage was guarded by some
process of effective compulsion to
abide by il, except as it might he
changed 10y agreement, 1t would leave
the state as subject to strikes as it
now is.
Compulsory arbitration is the only
civil method known 10 make two men
who disagree agree. The judicial
system is nothing more than the for
NAL application OF this method of
compulsory NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. in
dividlals in civil cases. and between
the state n the individual where q
crime has been committed. But COM
pulsory arbitration canno be enforce
ed. except ny the physical force Of
policemen or soldiers. unless both
sides are legal persons. possessing
financial responsibility to the extent
of their property holdings for their
acts. The idea of his is to make
every man pay for it when he does
not choose to 20 straight. and thus
TO make it more advantageous for him
to keep his agreements, or 10 abstain
from iniuring other people. than to
do otherwise.
These miners unions in England
and Wales and Scotland are not legal
persons: that is to say. they are not
Incorporated. but are merely volun-
lary associations. working together
with tremendous power. as in the case
of this British coal strike, to put the
screws upon the industrial system.
hut without that financial response
bility which would enable the indus
trial system to put the screws on
them in return for injuries received,
or. what is better. and much more
likely TO result. to prevent the open
and ~dislocative' quarrels which are
known as strikes. Mr.. .Asquith might
very we'll. then. have coupled this idea
"f legal responsibility on the part
of British trades union with his as
sent to a legal wage. not for the pur-
pose OF iniuring or Gripping the min
ing unions. but for the of
protecting British society from the
injuries done To it by these organiza-
Mons IN their present unincorporatcd
and irresponsible condition. He might
very we'll have said that such legal
responsibility AS he proposed to en-
tore" upon them, in return for a le-
gal wage in the mining industry, was
no more than the normal responsible
lily attaching to every Englishman
or Wclshman or Scotchman for his
individual acts. Why a miner should
hc responsible at law il he kills a
~h"ighbors hen or tears down a piece
of his neighbours fence, and not re-
sponslble when he and thousands OF
other miners combine to arrest the
industries Of A kingdom. is not ex-
~plainabic On any ground Of fair play
Or n secure state. 1t is not TO be
supposed that Mr.. Asauith, by con-
sci,tine to make a legal wage, had
simply the idea Of applying a plaster
or administering first aid to the in
tured. AS a statesman his idea must
nave been TO cure a costly social dis
order--to make a real cure. and not
a sham one-to make Great Britain
secure for the future against a recur-
renee Of the elemental and dislocat-
ing struggle which she is now going
through because Of the stoppage in
the supply Of the raw material Of her
large Industries and her various sys-
tens of transportation.
Mr.. Asquith, however, did not push
his Safeguards" He took a little
reef in the sail. and left the rest OF
1T to be strained by every wind Of
irresponsible labor combination blow
ing up In the future. He was willing
that the state should give a legal
wage. but apparently was afraid to
demand for the state a natural and
normal price for this gift. Why was
he afraid? The only reason that ap-
pears plausible at this distance is the
small bread and cheese of party in.
t%erests; or, as the Daily Telegraph
puts it:
Because the liberal party would
break absolutely to pieces like a Dot.
ter's shard' were any attempt made
to pass a law under which the strike
would be illegal. and the funds Of the
trade unions concerned liable to for.
fejture."
A sUPERsTIT1OUs WORLD.