Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-03-25
NEW LABOR DEPARTMENT
The Wider Power Conferred Under
the Act Which Created 1t. -

Washington is just iaking up to the
fact that the act cree ing the new de-
partment of labor, ' hose head Is 9
member Of the presidents cabinet, has
given to the secretary Of labor unpre-
cedented power to intervene in cases
OF industrial disputes. Under the pro-
visions of the Erdman act, government
mediation is strictly limited to cases
in which Intervention Is requested
Under the new law, no request is nec-
essary-the secretary Of labor may act
upon his own initiative. r
1.-The Secretary Of Labor" says Sec
ton s Of the act, shall have power tc
act as mediator and to appoint COM
missioners Of conciliation in labor dis
putes whenever in his judgment the
Quire II to be DONE" ..-r.
Compare this with Section 2 Of the
Erdman act: E
THAT whenever a controversy con-
cerning wages, hours Of labor, or con-
ditions Of employment shall arise be-
tween a carrier subject to this act and
the employees of such carrier, serious
ly interru )ting or threatening to inter-
rupt the business Of said carrier, the
chairman Of the interstate. commerce
commission and the commissioner OF
labor shall, upon the request Of either
party, with all practicable expedition.
put themselves in communication,
etc. &
If there be any suggestion that the
Erdman act in any way limits the
scope Of the new department OF labor
law, let 1t be remarked that the new
law, approved March 4, expressly says:
This act shall take effect March 4,
oil onfc n
consistent with this act are hereby re-
pealed." The Erdman act was ap-
proved June 1, 1898. 1t Is not claim
ed that this law repeals the Erdman
act, but there are interesting possi-
bilities Of conflict.
With powers such as are given by
this act to the executive, Mr.. Roose-
velt's intervention in the anthracite
coal strike a decade ago, could not
have been regarded as extra-legal. The
moral power and the moral RESPONSE
bility laid upon the president and his
secretary of labor by this brief para
graph, whose significance may or may
not have been realized by its sponsors,
are enormous. It all depends upon
how the powers are used.
william B. Wilson, the new secreta-
ry Of labor, Is conservative In discus
ing these new powers, which he says
he fully appreciates. "The policy to
which shall adhere" says he, will
be to do all can to bring labor and
capital together In mutual conferences
so that they may settle their own diff
ferences." '..l
The creation of a full-fedged de-
partment Of labor, whose head should
be a member of the presidents cabi-
net, took a surprisingly long time, con-
sidering that there never has been
much open opposition to the project.
Various bills to that effect have slum-
bered in the house for years; yet there
never has been a serious battle on the
subject. The late Senator Hepburn Of
Idaho, all last summer, by objections,
blocked the progress Of the bill OF his
colleague, Senator Borah, no doubt
preventing it's passage, and, in the final
session Of the Sixty-second congress,
would have continued that procedure;
but he died last fall, and had no sue
cessor in opposition to the project.
Even so, the measure made sluggish
progress, and attained its goal only in
the closing hours of the session. Pres
ident Taft signed 1t reluctantly, almost
on the last stroke of the clock as his
term expired; stating specifically that
he did not like the form In which the
bill came to him, but understood that
1t was desired by his successor, and
was unwilling to embarrass him.
Washington Cor. Of the New York
Post.