New Britain herald., 1919-10-10
AT THE CAPITAL-LABOR.
 CONFERENCE.

the conference of interests in Wash
 ment to the assembled body, which,
 all of us will agree, should be taken
 up at once. They are the moot sub
 jects of the world condition now eX-
 isting in the reconstruction period
 Bernard Baruch, an erstwhile
 Washington newspaper man and
 well informed individual upon eco-
 monies is responsible for the sugges- tion that an industrial truce, to last
 for three months, be arranged. It
 was explained that Mr. Baruch did not necessarily approve of the plan, according to the rules of the confer support of the public group to be presented. It was simply brought before the conference. There is no doubt, in our opinion, but that a three months, or even longer, indus trial truce is needed by all of us and would be welcomed by the public, about Connecticut, at any rate. We do not believe, though, that the greater part of labor, organized and unorganized, will consider itself bound by the decisions of the con- ference, and will go out on strike imm ediately any group decides that there is the faintest excuse for doing so. If the workman on the street, on new buildings, in the steel mill and at the bench could be depended upon to religiously follow the ethics of the decision we might rest easy. But 1t < is certain that someone will spill # the beans" therefore the resolution may as well be left from the records. If the public, made up largely of x labor is ready to adopt the plan,
 there is no need of introducing the @ resolution. all that we need is an ad @ herence to the scheme.
 The general plan for arbitra- # strikes in the future might be good < one. but in the final analysis any board of arbitration is merely court < to which labor may take it's troubles and complaints, with little redress for employers. Providing the board does not approve of labor's plans, x labor will take things into it's own M hands, a thing which has been dem- # question lies between the employe x and employer; they should form N their own board, in their own fac x tory. The essential truth of the fact @ that it is a privilege of any work @ man to leave job in which he is
 Imposed upon cannot be denied and x any employer is only too anxious to
 grant every workman, worth his salt
 at all, many favors, which means @ that adjustments should come @ between the workman and the man
 who hires him. If arbitrary actions $ are decided upon by labor, all of the #8 outside boards in the world will not @ decide the issue, unless the confer
 ence now meeting decides to pass SR laws making it compulsory for the M laborer to assume some obligations x as an individual and in groups. Pro- N viding that there is legal assurance
 s that labor will keep faith and obey the dictates of the board, arbitration @ may well be adopted as national x m easure to relieve financial difficult X ties
 Samuel Gompers' plan was little # different than that advanced by @ labor for some time past and is open @ to little criticism Briefly, it cov- # cred the right of labor to organize, @ to bargain collectively and to ob-
 serve the eight hour day. A living
 wage was asked for all. Why not x meet all of these things? We should.
 ABut what is labor to give in return? 8 Will it, in asking for a share in the @ profits of a concern, and that is what
 Organization eventually plans to do, !Nk kagree to share the losses also wh on
 times are dull? If it can give as-
 surances that it will, there should be x no argument. Unhappily it will not, N i've fear.
 z That is the line along which the z8 conference must work If labor K wishes q share in the profits it must gree to partake in the losses, other N Rwise capital will no more look to the x Investment of it's money and labor
 Twill eventually be without jobs. What zAs sauce for the goose is sauce for 8 he gander Labor has advanced the K! sauce for capital, let som cone invent