Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-10-16

There is another point of difference
and a vital point. The action l took
was intended to meet the situation at
once. The action that Mr. Wilson took
has been deferred so that it shall not
take place until considerably after
election.
. Fourteen years ago the great anthra-
cite coal strike had occurred in this
region. From the beginning / put the
governmental agents in touch with the
situation and kept myself thoroughly
informed, so that I should be able to
act Immediately if it became necessary
for me to act. l hoped that it would
not be necessary, and that the parties
themselves would come to an agree
ment: for / was very loath to interfere
If it could be avoided. But cold
weather approached coal famine
menaced the entire eastern section of
the United States, and there was not
the slightest symptom of an agreement
being reached by the contending par
ties. l felt that the time had come for
me to act. On the one side were the
greatest and wealthiest mine-oWners of
the country, intimately connected with
the wealthiest and most powerful in
dustrial and railroad corporations in
the country. The financial strength of
Wall Street was behind them. These
men absolutely refused to arbitrate.
They said there was nothing to arbi-
trate that l had no power under the
Constitution to act, and that the public
could not interfere, nor the representa-
tives of the public, with the way in
which they managed their business.
The representatives of the mine work.
ers of labor, on the contrary, expressed
| their entire willingness to arbitrate
and demanded nothing except that as
one OF the conditions of arbitration
there should be some representative of
organized labor to sit together with the
representatives of capital and of the
public at large. I made every effort to
get the two sides to agree. When l
| failed, decided that l would act my
self. l held that where the public ne
cessity was national and imperative it
became the duty of the Chief of the
Nation to act. held that in any such
gigantic controversy between labor and
capital, containing such a threat to the
welfare of the great body of our peo-
pie, there were three parties in inter-
est: viz, the capitalists, the working
Ymen, and the people as whole; and
that where the public need was vital
that need must control.
| held, moreover. that in any case of
such Importance and such interest we
must have full knowledge before final
action on any of the points at issue
was taken, and that this knowledge
must be obtained by an unbiased body
| of arbitrator after a thorough study of
the situation. / held that the power of
the Government must be used to make
effective the findings of this body, and
that pending the findings the work of
mining must go on because the public
need demanded it. Therefore, l de:
cided that | would use the entire power
of the nation to see that there was an
arbitration by dispassionate experts,
and that the conclusions of that arbi-
tration were accepted by both sides,
and that until their decision was rem
dered the work of mining should go on
in the interests of the people as a
whole. When the mine owners, backed
by and representing the most powerful
financial interestsIDf the country, posi-
lively refused to arbitrate, l proceeded
to appoint an arbitration commission
without regard to them: securing the
consent of a political opponent, eX-
President Grover Cleveland, to serve at
the head of that commission. | saw
the Lieutenant General of the Army
and arranged with him that if neces-
sary | would put the army in possess
sion of the mines and would treat him
as receiver to run the mines, and to
see that neither side interfered with
the running. When it became evident
that | meant what / said. that both
sides could count on my endeavor to do
strict justice. and that they could also
count on my insisting that the public
needs be Immediately met. the CAPT.
talists yielded and the commission was
appointed.
You know the rest, you miners here!
Work was resumed in the mines i'm
mediately, on the old terms. which con-
tinued until the commission reported.
The Commission consisted of as able
and as impartial men as there were in
the country, including the head of the
Order of Railway Conductors, Mr..
Clark. 1t also included among others,
a Federal Judge, skilled engineer, a
trained labor expert and a beloved
friend of mine, Archbishop Spaulding
of Illinois, who interest in the welfare
of the workingmen was genuine and
sympathetic, and who also understood
with entire clearnesS that in the long
run justice to the workinkmen could
be permanently secured. only if 1t was
made part of a scheme to secure JUS
tice for everybody concerned.
The arbitration was successful. I
understand that with slight modifica-
tons, you have continued to operate
the mines under it's terms up to the
present day. More important still, it
set the precedent for the course that
ought to be followed in all disputes of
this nature hereafter Mr.. Wilson, on
the contrary has set precedent which
he himself admits must never here
after be followed If justice is to be
done This is a vital point of differ
ence between the conduct of the Chief
Executive in one case and in the other.
When fourteen years ago, acted, there
was no precedent for me to follow, and
no established instrumentalities
through which to work. I had to es-
tablish the precedent in order to meet
a great crisis. I had to create my own
instrument, the arbitration commits
sion. Mr.. Wilson had before him the
precedent had created, and he had as
instruments ready to hand the Arbitra-