Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-06-01

" WASHINGTON, D. c., May 23.-No one VIII
wv deny that for some time to come America
can get all the fighting she wants made In
Germany. 1t is highly important that we have
peaceful and whole-hearted cooperation within our
own boundaries. One of the most delicate tasks
that the nation faces in the coming months is that
of keeping industrial peace at home, maintaining
friendly relations between capital and labor.
Labor troubles sap the vitality of a fighting
nation at it's industrial roots Yet nation at war
has escaped them. England has had strike after
strike, sometimes when the products of the idle
factories cryingly needed at the front. She
has just the last of munition-makers strike,
and bus-drivers' strike that kept the mun1t1on
workers from reaching their jobs. Germany, In
spite of ironcad discipline and the traditional re-
spect of her people for authority has just gotten
done with munition-makers' strikes that even the
name of Hindenburg could not put down. There is
no reason to believe that shall be lucky enough
to escape all labor disturbances. and much of the
machinery for adjusting them is oiled and ready
for business.
Already we have escaped first serious war
time strike. An agreement was reached just IN
time to avert walk7out. The incident attracted
comparatively little attention considering its I'M
portance largely because there was no cessation of
work. The threatened strike OF the coal miners In
the second Pennsylvania district was settled
through the efforts of the conciliators OF the de-
partment of labor and the settlement agreed upon
is just being submitted to the miners convention
for ratification. This strike would have affected
thirteen counties, taken out 5000 miners and II
1t had continued ten days under present conditions
it would have been little less than a national
calamity.
There are two official agencies in the United
States for the settlement of labor disputes Neither
of them in the final analysis, has any real power
power that is, to enforce settlement-but both
have proven effective. The board of mediation and
Cancellation is empowered to step in and mediate
and conciliate in any labor trouble affecting the
interstate service of the railroads. The board has
Jurisdiction of this sort trainmen and telegra
piers actually engaged in the operation of trains.
official
bes affecting all the other immensely important
factories and industries of the nation is the depart
ment of labor. The department has quite a re-
markable record for settling disputes between labor
and capital although it has no power whatever to
force a settlement and only its Offices to
bring about better understanding.
The officials of the department look forward to
doing brisk business in the Cancellation line for
the next few months There Is undeniably consid-
cradle unrest in the relations between capital and
labor in the United States today. The department
confident, however, that no trouble serious enough
to threaten the national interest will arise, If
because both sides have shown themselves alive to
their patriotic duty in war times.
None the less the conciliators of the department
are being kept busy. They have smoothed out
troubles in the coal fields, in one of the biggest
munition plants in the country, in plant that is
delivering locomotives contract to Russia, on
one of the most important muniton-carrying rail-
roads, in mandatory of electrical supplies that
was making deliveries to the navy, all in the last
few weeks. Even threatened strike in a New
Jersey lace-making town tied up with the war
situation because the plants in question work
ing on contract to supply the United States army
with mosquito-bar.
The council of national defense plans to supple
ment the present machinery for Cancellation with
twenty-five special subcommittee for mediation
and Cancellation, responsible to Secretary of Labor
Wilson.
It is interesting TO note that the experts regard
the present tendency unrest in labor natu raj
result of conditions, and not indicative of spirit