El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-02-18
IF OTHER LABOR IS TO ORGANIZE
WHY NOT POSTAL EMPLOYEES ALSO?

NE of the most interesting documents which has
I IN this period is the final report Of
- president Wilson's mediation commission covering
It's investigations throughout the west into industrial dis
pute The commission looked into the situations at Globe
and Bsbee the oil fields of California, and the telephone
strike in the Pacific Northwest.
As remedy for what termed the unhealthy spirit
besFeen capital and labor" and the "unsOund industrial
structure" the committee recommends collective bargain
ing, which unonsm; recognition by employers Of
the night of employees to organize which generally means
the closed shop; the elimination Of profeerng the estab
Hsmenf Of the eight hour day as national principle and
unified direction Of labor administration instead of its
present confusing administration by many boards and
agencies
Referring to the Arizona mining camps the commission
reports that the strikes last resulted loss Of
production OF pounds Of copper Discussing the
occasions for such shocking dislocaton of basic
dusry the report reveals underlying labor conditions
which @Vere devoid Of safeguards against strikes and in
iact pIoyoeaton Of them says distant ownership
barrier understanding of human problems Solidarity
Of interest among the checked the views of any
liberal owner fFo prevailing against the autOcTatic policy
Of the majority"
The report goes on to say that resident managers failed
70 understand and reach the mind and heart of labor The
commission found the labor "appalngy large"
and with consequent economic social evils The trade
union is described the most promising unity
ing spirit among the workers but it impeded by the
opposition of the companies and by difficulties due
racial diveTsities and to internal discussions
The report adds:
aAs is generally true Of community serving single
industry, there not the cooling atmosphere Of outsiders
70 the conflict The entire community embroiled
Such agencies Of the public as the so called loyalty
leagues only served intensity bitterness and
fortunately the minds of workers in the west served
associate all loyalty movements with partisan and anti
union aims"
After pouring all this sympathy on the strikers the
commission makes the rather surprising admission that fac
created by the complicated the Arizona labor diff
cules Particularly the Globe-Mami district, doctrines
Of intsTnationaism and the conviction that all
cspastie marked the labor leadership and led to resou
Of opposition the by the miners local union at
he outbreak Of the The commission says:
The uncriticaI opinion of the that all wars are
capsstic and therefore that must be such
couraged BY the heavy profits of the copper companies
sulng from the European before entrance into
IT. The limitation Of profteering through price fixing
and taxation had been too to have made itself felt
either In its actual operations In the understanding of
the wormen" The commission might have added that the
same sentiment Of dsloyay prevailed in the Bsbee and
Jerome districts, thanks to W. W leadership. In refer
mig the heavy profits of the copper companies" it.
should have been generous enough to make mention that
the workers also got their share due to sliding wage scales
which gave them raise in wages every time copper ad
Vanced.
Finally the commission II plain that wages and
working conditions did not figure chiefly in the Arizona
strikes but that the right TO unonize the issue
which the workers sought to tie up industries and thus
hamper United States in the prosecution Of the
And strangely enough the commission to consider
that fact neither surprising mertng rebuke. In fact