The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-04-07

Lave Compelling Man to Work Gam
not Be Enforced In Free Govern
rnent-Coleotive Bargaining Between
Employer and Workers the Best
Method of Settling Differences.
Various plans have been devised from
time to time trying to insure peaceful
relations between capital and labor.
Numerous persons are trying to find a
solution of the labor problem. Some
try to do it by profit sharing or bonus
systems; others try to do it by ironclad
contract; others try to do it by welfare
schemes, and still others try to do it by
legislation, says the Shoe Workers
Journal
For quite a number of years there
have been various attempts made to
enact laws providing for compulsory
arbitration Of industrial disputes. The
effort has been to use the police power
Of the state to compel both employing
corporations and their employees to
continue their activities regardless Of
any differences they may have as to
wages or conditions Of work.
There are two fundamental troubles
with this plan. In the first place, every
man feels that his labor is his own
property, and no one, not even the
state, can force him to part with it, for
that would be involuntary servitude, or
slavery Therefore law compelling
man to work-every man who is not a
criminal or convict-is extremely re-
pugnant.
In the second place, under any speci-
fed form Of compulsory arbitration
law the employer is in position Of
commanding advantage He hires the
man and pays the wages; he also es-
tablishes the working conditions He
has the right to hire and discharge,
and he can use that power to discrimi-
nate against any employees who are
, not amenable to any new regulations
or working conditions he may wish to
introduce.
Compulsory arbitration therefore
amounts to an effort to compel the
worker to labor whether he wishes to
or not and under conditions In which
he has no voice. If a man has a quart
of beans to sell and does not like the
price or terms Of payment offered by a
possible customer he refuses to sell the
beans. But under the compulsory ar
bttration statutes 1t is contemplated
that man, the image Of his Creator,
shall be compelled to sell his labor
power whether he wants to or not
The comparison is ridiculous.
The Dominion of Canada has adopt,
ed the compulsory idea to quite an ex-
tent, particularly as applied to public
service corporations, but q recent oc-
currence shows that no law can be
made strong enough to tie the hands
of labor
The street railway employees Of
Hull, in the province of Quebec, have
been for a considerable time asking for
better wages and working conditions.
The company pursued dilatory tactics
and referred them to the statute. FL
nally the employees repudiated the
statute on the grounds that the com
pany would not be obliged to abide by
any award and notified the company
that if their demands were not agreed
to within fOrty-eight hours they would
! go on strike and tie up the system.
The company then signed an agree
ment recognizing the union and
granting the increased wages and i'm
proved working conditions.
This is another instance going to
show that there Is no known method
of tying the hands Of labor, except
such reasonable restrictions on both
sides as may come from a mutual
agreement In which the principle OF
collective bargaining is recognized and
expressed In a trade agreement be-
tween the employer upon the one side
and the union upon the other, under
the terms of which each respects the
rights Of the other and a method of set
Element of all differences of opinion is
provided.