The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-09-05

the United States is considering to- day the problems involved in an ef
 fort to place on the statute books remedies that will prevent industrial { disaster for the future.
 Much might be said in reference to the rights of labor and the burdens of I commerce on each side of the contro- versy that confronts us. but l thirA it Is idle for us to discuss those phases of the question at this time. l take | it that all will concede that 1t is im- possible for the Congress itself to work out fair solution of these prob , lens, and it is only by the establish ment of certain fixed principles that may act as compass to guide the way in the future and by the estab- ' lishment of tribunals to represent the government in solving these problems, ] that we can find the real way out.
 '-To enact law for compulsory arbitration at this time appears to be both impracticable and undesirable. In New Zealand. where the law tIr 1 compulsory arbitratios mad it's birth, 1t Is generally admitted to have proven a failure Tn line with this view of the subject. we find that before the beginning of the great war there were mora than 300 boards of conciliation {, in existence in Great Britain, and yet British official reports show that, de- 1 spite the efforts of these many con- l ciliation agencies, there were in the year 1913. 1497 strikes or lockouts in Great Britain, with attendant time 1 losses of nearly 12000,000 working days. On the other hand, it must be admitted that conciliation and arbitra- | tion acts have mitigated the evils that | grow out of labor disputes, but 1t is clear that they have only scratched the surface. and that beneath the surface the controlling factors of force and violence are found in control of the labor situation The industrial equa- ton is as far from solution today as it was in the beginning. Was not Mir. Garretson right when he said, Mod ern method should be directed to pre- venting the disease, not primarily to curing the patient?' Then, how can the problem be solved fairly to all concerned--labor, capital and the pub lie?
 SUGGEST THE MEANS
 There is but one way out. in my judgment, and that is to appoint a tribunal with the power to adjust | these matters. which has the time to consider and the opportunity to know the facts. Such a tribunal must not only have the power and be prepared to do what is right and just by the labor employed on the railroads. but must have authority and power to see that property Is not confiscated by its decisions For, should you confiscate the property of the transportation companies of America, you would break down the channels of transpor- tation as effectively as you woulc break them down in strike with the resultant injury to the people of the United States A tribunal of this kind must also have the authority and or portunity to consider the rights of the shippers and travellers of America. who in the last analysis will bear any lir
 creased burden that falls on the car riage of property or persons over the transportation lines This tribunal must have authority and power to pro- tect the rights of the whole people of the United States against the re- currence of lockouts and strikes.
 What body, then, Is most capable of determining all these questions an6 fairly adjusting them to the interests of all parties concerned? A board of arbitration to be appointed by the em- ployers of the railroad companies of the United States will only look to the mat terS in dispute between the contending parties, and will not have ia mind the ultimate rights of the people. The gen eral courts of the land are not equipped either with the knowledge or the power to obtain information in reference to the cardinal facts that must decide the l just solution of such a controversy. you are practically driven to leaving the de cision to a governmental commission that has full and ample opportunity te l investigate the rates of wages, thu earning power of the transportation companies, the cost of living, the bur den that rests on the shipping public and after a fair and full investigation to determine what is a fair, just ant living wage may be increased to enable the toilers to secure the higher ideals of life and living; second, how fal this charge can be placed on the capita. of the corporation without breaking il down, destroying the value of it's se- curities, bankrupting it's property, an6 taking away from the investing public fair return for capital invested; third how far an increased charge for labor interest or supplies can be handed down to the public without doing in- justice to the shipper and traveller and without becoming a menace to the . development of the industry of tho country. All of these questions mus be determined by court. or an inde. pendent commission but their findings except so far as they may determine tie rate for transportation that mus be paid by the railroad companies, ant the rate of wage that must be received by the men if they continue their em. pioyiHent, Will be academic, because they will have no power to operate or the side of the problem in which tho general public is interested. The power to determine what are just and reason able rates of transportation of person. and property over the interstate rail roads of this country Is fixed by law and any increase or decrease of these rates must be made under the law of the land. Therefore, it is essentia that the board of commission that is given the power to adjust the wage scale of the men must also have the power to reflect it's findings into the rates charged for the transportation ol persons and property over the railroads The board or commission that is ere ated for the determination of these grave questions must determine wheth- CT the rates for transportation shal 1 be increased and whether a charge made against the railroads for in. creased wages shall remain a charge on
 It's capital. or whether in justice and fair dealing it shall be handed on to 1 the shipper and the travelling public It is, therefore. clear to me that the same power that has the right to fix the rates of transportation should have the right to fix the rates of wage and the hours of labor on the great transportation companies of the United States, and that this power and this duty should be given irrevocably to a governmental commission or board ir lthat it may do justice to a governmental commission or board of the power tc determine the hours of lahor and the for the hours of labor and the rate of | ware will solve the prohIep, for tba f,r