The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1918-06-28
Arbitrate!
IL
BY BOOTH HARRINGTON
OF The Vi9ilanfsS


ton by the government are the rene
dies for profiteering. Profiteering that
brings on a strike is, in effect, not bet
ter than treason; but strike may it. |
self be an attempt to "profiteer" and |
therefore not better in result than |
treason. Every sensible person, how |
ever, understands that workmen are |
entitled to as high wages as they can |
get without interfering with the utmost |
possible efficiency of industry engag-
ed in the prosecution of the war. A |
strike does interfere with such eff
cheney, and therefore means larger
casualty list and increased danger to
the country. That is to say: If am q
war industry workman on strike | am
prolonging the war and adding to the
risk of Americas defeat in the war.
This means that / cause death and
wounds to a certain number of Ameri-
can boys who would have come home
safe and sound to their mothers If l
hadn't gone on strike. That is the sim
pie truth and if am impeding war
industry by going on strike. might
just as well have torn and tortured the
bodies of those boys myself. The re
sponsibility is so terrible that no work
man who understands 1t would take 1T,
except to avoid greater amount of
torture and death at home through
starvation wages.
Arbitration will give him what he
needs and what he justifiably wants.
The whole country understands that
workman cannot live today on the
wages of ten years ago. Wages have
| got to advance, of course, as the price
of commodities advances; and the
price of commodities advances, of
course, as wages advance; though it is
to the advantage of the workman to
let the price of commodities begin to
advance first. But his wages must
take account of higher prices, and per-
NIT him not only life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness, but allow him
to save, as well. That is all that any
man on this earth is entitled to wheth-
err he be garbage man or kaiser; and
it is all that is worth getting !, and the
ideal of this country is that every man
shall have it. This is what we are
fighting for; that no man shall take
away this right from another man,
that no man shall make another man
his slave, as the Germans have made
conquered labor their slave and as
they would make slaves of us II they
conquered us.
Now such is the temper Of our coun-
try that the responsibility for a strike
which means more death, more Grip
ping, more binding, more shot away
faces, for our young men, sons OF
workingmen and sons of capitalists,
fighting side by side and comrades
:'over there" as they will be over here
, when they come home-the response
bility for such a strike is an Infinitely
heavier and more dangerous thing
than those who rashly assume that re.
sronsibility can know, and no decent
human being could be so selfish and sc
treacherous to his country as knowing
" to bring about such strike.
= And the temper of the country In
: these days is to know causes as well
Z as results. Where the greediness OF
) profiteer has caused strike, his money
, will not be envied him for he shall moi
! have 1t, nor his liberty either. And II
i is unthinkable that American Work
! men, or workmen who are human
beings, for that matter-it is unthink
:. able that they will strike, even for mere
!. Justice, without having to the last ut
most atom of their energy pressed fol
settlement by arbitration.
! The syndicate service, founded b!
Samuel Gompers and representing tbs
- point Of view of the American Fedora
ton of Labor, reports an address D.
William Moses, president of the Pat
tern Makers Union of Great Britain
Mr.. Moses was speaking in the Labo
Temple in San Francisco. He said
eve were requested to abrogate GU
working rules and agreements
to give up everything that tended to re
strict OUTPUT. Being convincet
that this was necessary, unless we de
sired to see the entire world suo1uga'
ed by German autocracy, we recon
mended that our unions submit to tn
request made by the government
This meant that there was :
be no stoppage of work during the wal
II meant the acceptance of compulsor
arbitration. We have secure
better results through arbitration tina
by resorting to the strike, which shout
be used as last resort after all els
has failed. If this is done, the strik
weapon will rest in its scabbard."
And Mr.. Moses said another thin
worth thinking about. "Today labor |
Great Britain is more prosperou
than ever before in its history.
Our influence is greater than ever b.
fore and our workers are enjoyin
wealth beyond the dream of avarice
MOI onlv is arbitration necesSar-