New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-09-04
Too High a Price.
ship.

Congress and President Wilson showed
bv their disgraceful surrender to the rail-
road brotherhoods that they believed In
saving the country at any cost from the
warfare the unions threatened. Whether
the peace purchased by the enactment OF
the eight-hour law prove permanent or
merely temporary, as there is much reason
to expect, the price was too high.
For years the wisest and most farseelng
men, both in the capitalist and labor
groups in various industries, have been
building up policy of settling labor diff
ferences without violence. Arbitration
agreements, peace protocols and the like
have come into being to protect not only
the rights of the contestants but the rights
of the ever-present third party, the pub
lie, which is more important than either
of the others. This course has been fos-
tered and upheld by enlightened public
sentiment. 1t has resulted in orderly and
steady progress toward betterment of the
conditions of the workers, without infiict-
ing undue hardships on the men whose in
vestments have furnished the working cap
ital for business, and without plunging
the public into the wastes and losses OF
strikes and lockouts.
Giving lip-service to this humane and
enlightened policy, President Wilson dealt
it a serious blow when he decided that the
brotherhoods demands were not arbitrable.
Congress, accepting his verdict, joined In
the glorifcaton of violence when it passed
the eight-hour measure against the better
Judgment of many of its members and in
spite of the protests of level-headed legis-
lators that such violation of all estab-
lished principles would bring endless
trouble in its train.
The point at issue was not the justice
of the mems demands. Of that Congress
had no more knowledge than the man in
the street The point was not even that
the country was facing a general tie-up of
the transportation industry. Serious as
that would have been, the country has
faced such a crisis before and gone on to
bigger, broader existence. The point was
that comparatively small group, made
powerful by conference and the imminence
of Presidential election, should have the
effrontery to threaten to inf1ict 'tragical
calamity" as the President put it, on the
whole country. Such action was the quin-
tessence of selfshness. Leaders of the
brotherhoods have themselves termed the
strike vote dynamite" and the unionists
cultures" The Characterization are not
one whit beyond the fact. Their conduct
was the more culpable because at all times
the railroad executives were willing, even
anxious, to have investigation of the whole
question Of wages and hours made by i'm
partial government agency, and no crisis
existed which the brotherhoods themselves
did not produce.
For the President and Congress to have
Surrendered, therefore, to this doctrine of
violence was a betrayal of the people.
Pages of the Presidents most glowing
eoquence cannot gloss over that betrayal.
Even that is not the worst Of the evil, for
! it is not ended by this one case. Assume
that the present question is settled for a
long e-indefnitely-by this surrender
What answer will the next group of work
ers who have demands" make to any per-
son innocent enough to suggest arbitra-
ton? What practical argument to bring
about arbitration can any person, either
capitalist or worker, present after the
President and the Congress Of the United
States have given their approval of vio-
lence by their acts in this railroad contro-
versy?
Arbitration in labor disputes may not
have received its deathblow at the hands
Of Mr.. Wilson and the Congressman who
accepted the cight-hour measure-arbitra-