The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-08-29
after and accepting the larger re-
spcnsibility which the public would
mt ,rnop fhem

L
put upon them.
ut seemed to me. in considering
the subject matter of the controversy
| that the whole spirit of the time and
| the preponderant evidence of the re-
cent economic experience spobe for the
eight hour day 1t has been adJudged
, by the thought and experience OF re-
cent years a thing upon which society
! is justified in insisting as in the inter.
est of health, efficiency, contentment
and a general increase OF economic
vigor. The whole presumption OF
modern experience would. it seemed 10
me. be in it's favor, whether there
was arbitration or not and the debat-
able points to settle were those which
arose out of the acceptance or the
eight hour day rather than those
which effected its establishment.
therefore proposed that the eight
hour day be adopted by the railway
arrangements and put into practice for
the present as substitute OF the
existing ten hour basis OF pay and
service; that / should appoint, with
the permission of congress, small
commission to observe the results OF
the change, carefully studying the flg'
ures of the altered operating costs not
only. but also the conditions OF labor
under which the men worked and the
operation of their existing agreements
with the railways with instructions TO
report the facts as they found them,
to the congress at the earliest pos
sible day. but without Recommended
ton; and that after the facts had
been thus disclosed, an adjustment
should in some orderly manner be
sought of all the matters now left I'M
adjusted between the railroad man
ayers and the men.
These proposals were exactly in
line. it is interesting to note, with the
position taken by the supreme court
of the United States when appealed to
to protect certain litigants from the
financial losses which thoy confident
ly expected if they should submit TO
the regulation Of their charges and of
their methods of service by public
legislation. The court has held that
II would not undertake to form a
Judgment upon forecasts, but could
base its action only upon actual ex-
perience; that it must be supplied
with facts, not with calculations and
opinions, however scientifically at
tempted. To undertake to arbitrate
the question of the adoption OF an
eight hour day in the light OF results
merely estimated and predicted would
be to undertake an enterprise OF con-
lecture. No wise man could under
take it, or, il he did undertake 1t,
could feel assured of his conclusions.
II unhesitatingly offered the friend
ly services of the administration to
the railway managers to see to 1t that
Justice was done the railways in the
outcome. felt warranted in assuring
them that no law would be suffered to
stand in the way of their increasing
their revenues to meet their expenses
resulting from the change so far as
the development of their business and
their administrative efficiency did not
prove adequate to meet them. The
public and the representatives OF the
public, I feel justified IN assuring
them, were disposed to nothing but
Justice in such cases and were willing
to serve those who served them.
1.-THE representatives Of brother
hoods accepted the plan; but the rep
Of the railroads declined
to accept it. In the face Of what can
not but regard as the practical certain
ty that they will be ultimately obliged
to accept the eight hour day by the
concerted action of organized labor,
backed by the favorable Judgment OF
society, the representatives of the
management have felt Justi-
fed in declining a peaceful settlement
which would engage all the forces OF
Justice, public and private. on their
side, to take care of the event. They
feel the hostile influence OF shippers,
who would be opposed to an increase
Of freight rates (for which. however,
Of course the public itself would pay);
they apparently feel no confidence
that the interstate commerce com
mission could withstand the objec-
tons that would be made. They DO
not care to rely upon the friendly as
surauces Of the congress or the presi-
dent. They have thought it best that
they should be forced to yield If they
must yield. not by counsel, but by the
suffering of the country While my
conferences with them were in prog
ress and when to all outward appear
ances, those conferences had come to
a standstiu. the representatives OF
the brotherhoods suddenly acted and
set the strike for September 4. The
railway managers based their decision
to reject any counsel in this matter
upon their conviction that they must
at any cost to themselves or to the
stand firm for the principle
of arbitration which the men had re-
iected. based my counsel upon the
fact that there was no
means of obtaining arbitration. The
law supplied none: earnest efforts at
mediation had failed to influence the
men in the least To stand firm for
the principal OF arbitration and yet
not get arbitration, seemed to me fu-
tile and something more than futile,
because it involved incalculable dis
tress to the country and consequences
in some respects. worse than those OF
war-and that in the midst OF peace.
/ yielded to no man in firm adherence
alike of conviction and OF purpose to
the principle Of arbitration in indus
trial disputes, but matters have come
TO a sudden crisis in this particular
dispute and the country had been