The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-28
COMMITTEE WILL CONSIDER BRITISH
 APPROPRIATIONS
Will Be Composed of En- ployers and Employees, With Chairman Named
 by Government
By Associated Pres,

l by ASsOCtateu FfceS London, February 27.-After an all-day session devoted to airing the various phases of labor unrest, the industrial con- i ference called by the government and in which government ministers, labor lead CTS and representatives of the big employ ing interests participated adopted a res i olution presented by Arthur Henderson. laborite, for the appointment of joint temporary committee to be composed of 30 laborites and 30 capitalists, to make a thorough investigation into the questions Of hours, wages, general conditions Of work, unemployment and it's prevention, and the best means of proomting the relations between capital and labor The committee will report back to the con ference. which will reassemble on April ,. ! April 5
 | At the suggestion of Premier Lloyd George, who strongly advocated the plan, the resolution was amended to include q | sentence from resolution presented ear 1 Tier by Sir Allan Smith, chairman of the managing committee of the engineering employer3 federation. This called for report by the committee on the causes of 1 the present unrest and the steps neces-
 
 1 tween capital and labor. i large majority of the conference voted | for the resolution, but small labor group ] vigorously protested on the ground that the conference was not representative of the whole of labor.
 1 Chairman Brownie of the executive council of the Amalgamated Society of 1 Engineers, representing the triple alliance of miners, transport and railroad work CTS, asserted thatfhey would not be bound l by any decision the conference made 1 until they had an opportunity to get ll- structions from their unions. | A few refused to vote. EAGER TO ACT I The speeches disclosed that the partici- pants were extremely eager to act as we'll as to talk.
 1 The premier waited until the last mo- ment before addressing the assembly, 1 Y came to hear a frank discussion,' l he said. and I got it.''
 ; He discussed at length the various causes of the unrest and promised re- 1 duction by summer of the high cost of living by dollar week per household He declared there was no way to relieve unemployment until industry was fully restored. which could not be until peace ! was signed. He hoped that would be ac- ' icCfnplisked within a few weeks. l tions for relieving the situation was the restoration of confidence and the re- moval of the atmosphere of suspicion between capital and labor, and continued: 1: Tt Is not for the government to dic- tate to either capital or labor, but to be impartial
 He declared that the unrest was the greatest problem ever confronted by the ] British people in peace time. and ap- 1 pealed to all sections tc hold together" Mir. Henderson made powerful appeal hto all to take steps immediately to deal with the situation, which he termed "grave, comprehensive and menacing''
 Miss Stephens, representing the cater Ing industry. was the only woman heard, though cutie number of women were present. She attacked the proposed re- I duction of the womeus unemployment i benefit. advocated a national workshop for women workers. and warned the pre- mier, who was sitting nearby. that un- less something is done to tackle the problem of low wages there won't be any government