Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1917-09-28

DAY, SEPTEMBER Is. 1917.
wherever the employers or their
foromen repeat their aggression, or
what the Norkmen consider to he
aggresSiou there will be-in spite of
all the good wishes and efforts OF the
leaders industrial strife. Moreover,
prices will certainly continue 10 rise:
and the American government will
find. as the British government has
found, that employers cannot be
trusted spontaneously TO raise wage
rates in anything like the same pro-
portion. The government is there
fore compelled TO intervene. If only
to prevent interruption of work, and
peremptorily to require and enforce
the concession of such advances Of
wages or war bonuses as il Consid-
erS to be necessary. All this has be-
come in Great Britain for the dura-
ton of the war, simply common
form: and the federal government
will find itself, willy-nilly, and quite
regardless OF the constitution, in the
same position. Where smooth run
ming from the outset is imperative,
or where difficulties become acute
as in Great Britain in the cases of the
railways and of the coal mines, it is
found simpler to 'nationalize' the
whole industry summarily: and to
require the existing directors and
managers to carry it on for the ac-
count of the government.
What has caused most of the
labor discontents' which, notwith-
standing the tremendous patriotism
shown by the manual workers., the
United Kingdom has not escaped, has
been the inability of the employers
largely of the managers and fore
men--to realize that it was essential
under war conditions to give up
taking advantage of the wOrkmen
in ways which are, in peace time,
customary and condoned. Thus, no
injunction of the government has
awaited to stop the constant tendency
to cut rates on piecework jobs
largely on the occasion of fixing
]
|ent magnitude or character), when
ever the workmen were thought to
be making too much This has led
to repeated strikes and enormous ma
ltional loss. The only suggested rem
'edy is that the fixing of piece-work
rates or premium bonus times
should be taken altogether out of
the hands of the management, just
las in well-organized trades the
standard rate for time work is re-
moved entirely from the arbitrary
rule of any one employer or any one
Operative, and is formulated collect
lively for al the establishments of the
district.
1.-THE translation of the standard
time rate into the piece work rate or
premium bonus time for a particular
Job, should, it is suggested, be
always done by pair of independ-
lent rate fixers'-one representing
the trade union and the other the
employers association-these two
referring to an umpire chosen by
them in any case In which they can
not agree upon this issue of fact. But
to this curtailment of their autocracy
British employers in the engineering
ndustry-unlike those in the BRASS
working trade and In the coal mines,
where the system has long prevailed
cannot be made to agree.
1T remains to be seen whether the
American captains of industry will
accept this method of avoiding indus
trial strife. or devise some other.
What Is certain is that the absolute
necessity Of securing unbroken con-
tinuity of production in modern war
compels not only great deal Of I'm
voluntary servitude' in industry, but
also, If the gravest discontents and
revolts are to be avoided. some en-
tirely novel expedients of workshop
management, about which the Brit
ish ministry of munitions is presum-
ably advising the United States gov
eminent"