El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-12-14
MINE OWNERS BLAMED FOR THE
CALUMET AND COLORADO STRIKES
Secretary of Labor Wilson Says Mine Owners OF Prop
critics Involved Failed Deal With the Trouble
in It's Incipie ncy, as They
Should II ave Done.

- -AsTTTNGTON. D. c., Dec. IA
NA/ Secretary W. B. Wilson, Of the
w department Of labor in his an
nuaI report, expresses the conVlcIloh
that had the owners Of the mine prop,
critics in the Calumet copper region ana
the Colorado coal fields dealt win IhS
strike situation in their inception, 'hau
they been on the ground and pers many
in charge, there is reason 10 pelisE g
that no strike would nave occur occur. Gu ~
whatever may have been the re-
sponsibility of the wOrkmen Tor Ihe
strike and its incidents" said secretary
Wilson. the local management caIlllo'
be wholly acquitted; and upon the eIe5
mentarv principle of agency, as sounu
in morals as in law, ultimate resPUn-
sibilitv must rest upon the owners.
Labor Disputes Medinted.
Principally, secretary Wilson'S report
is devoted to review OF the LABOR us, uiS-
putes the department has successfully
mediated during the last year and IL
defines at some length the principles
upon which the department acts IN suCll
cases OF the mediation and concllla-
ton work the report says:
'Of all the functions Of the depaIt l
ment Of labor which it is yet possible
to administer. this one may be reason
ably regarded as the most important
Suggesting with reference to labor DIS
putes a development Of diplomatic Gu-
ties in the department or laDOr analO
cons to those in the department of state
g,itt reference to international dis
Dutes it points to a federal admins
trative system for promoting ana los
terine industrial peace; not a peace OF
the Warsaw order, but one OF mutual
benefit and good viii
Must Conserve Wage Earners lnterestH
primarily the department OF laDor
must conserve in Industrial DISPUTES
the interests Of the wage earners OF Jh l
limited States such is its duty under
the law of its creation, the 1lIst sec
tion of which charges II win re
snonsibilitv for their general Weltar e.
while the eighth makes this response
bility specific as to labor disputes. anu
those interests are exceptional IN their
magnitude. Not only do wage earners
constitute in numbers more than d
third of our total populatlOn' Dul ~
financial respects also their aggregale
interests are vast. It is doubtful II
anv vocational interests represented III
our governmental system exceed IN
volume or public Importance those OF
the wage earners of the United States
But though the department Of labor
represents primarily the wage earn
ing interests in labor disputes, its idea
&c TO make its representation similar IT
character to that Of the department OF
state. which, while representing TN
interests Of this country in disputes De-
tween it and other countries, does 81
with fairness toward all countries, Ac'
cordingly the policy of the department
of labor, though it executes its media
ton and Cancellation functions as th'
governmental representative Of wage
earning interests, is to do so Wlthou
partisanship or prejudice, but VIII
fairness to every interest concerned.
Mediation Is Not Arbitration
aft should be understood, therefore
that mediation does not mean arbitra-