The Cordele dispatch. (Cordele, Ga.) 19??-1971, 1918-02-10
LABOR COMMISSION
REPORTS FINDING
ELABORATE STATEMENT COVER.
ING WESTERN LABOR
TROUBLES.


day less Inconsistency between our
democratic purposes in this war a.
beard and the conduct CT some q
these guid.2g industry at home. and
the recognition OF some form OF col
lective relationship between capital
and labor as principle in nation
al labor policy. are the principal re
concentrations Of President Wilson's
mediation commission which just has
finished a survey of the labor unrest
west Of the Mississippi River, which
menacing to successful prosecution
OF the war
In return for his, the commission
hclds, labor should surrender all
practices which tend to restrict max
imun efficiency when it assured OF
sound conditions and effective means
for just redress cf grievances.
The commission head by Secretary
Wilson Of the Department Of Labor,
went west principally to look into the
copper Strikes in the Arizona district
and the I. w. W. acsivities in the
lumber districts of the Pacific North
west. 1t ipcluded in its investigation,
however the dispute in the California
oil fields, the tthrea tened strike OF
the threatened strike Of packing house
workers in Chicago. and the street
pathway trouble in Minneapolis and
st. Paul
Generally. the commission found
that uncorrected specific evils and
The absence of healthy spirit be-
tween capital and labor, due partly
10 the evils meGtioned and partly to
Gan unsound industrial structure"
were the main causes of the indus
trial difficulties arising since the war
began. The commission SAYS that
while Sinister Influences and extrem-
ist doctrine" have availed themselves
of those conditions, they have not
created them.
"The overwhelming mass of the
laboring population is in no sense
1isloyal Says the report"
A means CT correction suggested
by The causes Of the unrest itself the
ccmmossion outlines as follows:-
81. The elimination to the utmQt
practial extent Of al profteering dur
ing the period of the war is a prere
quisite to the best morale in industry
'2. Modern large scale industry
has effectually destroyed the person
al relation between employer and en-
ployee-the knowledge and coopertior
that come from personal contact. Il
is therefore no longer possible to con
duc1 industry with employees as in
diyiduals. Some form of collective
and men is indispensable. The re
cCgnitiOn Of this principle by the gov
erment Should form an accepted part
of the labor policy of the nation
'3. Law, in business as elsewhere
depends for its $itality upon steady
enforcement instead Of waiting fof
an justment after grievances come
| to the surface there is needed the
establishment of continuous admire
| istIatiye machinery for the disposition
Of industrial issues and the avoidance
Of an atmosphere of contention and
the waste Of disturbances
-. The eight-hour day is an estab
iished pilicy of the country; exper.
fence has proved justification of the
principle also in war times. Provision
must of course be made for longer
hours in case Of emergencies. Labor
viii readily meet this regiment if
its misuse is guarded against by ap-
prcpriaie overtime payments.
%. Unified direction Of the labor
| administration Of the United States
for the period of the war should be
established. At present there is an
unrelated number of separate com.
mittees, b0arder agencies, and de
conflicting jurisdiction over the labor
problems raised by the war. A single
headed administrator is needed, with
full power to determine and estab.
structure.
IS. When assured of sound labor
conditiccs and effective means for
the JUS redress of grievances that
may arise, labor in its turn should
surrender all prstices which tend to
restrict maximum efficiency.
~. UncOTrected evils are the great
est provocative extremist propaganda
AVID their correction in itself would
be the best counter-propaga nda. But
there is need for more affirmative
education. There has been too little
publicity Of an educative sort in regard
to labor's relations to the war. Tie
purposes Of the Government and the
methods by which it is pursuing then
should be brought home to the fu!lay
understanding OF labor. Labor has
NEST at stake in this war. and il will
eagerly devote its I'll If only it be
treated with cc2fidence ana under
standing. subject neither to ndul-
gence nor neglect, but dealt with rs
? part of the citizenship Of the
state"
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