The daily Alaska citizen., 1919-12-31
THE CONFERENCE REPORT

The preliminary report of the new n- duStTIA conference Indicates that 1t pro poses to work along lines tried out with considerable success during the war rath- er than adopting some new schemes as d cureaII for industrial and social unrest. The failure ot labor and capital to get together caused probably by a lack of confidence Ill one another makes 1t necessary for some organization to be set up thru which both sides may present their sides to any con roVersy and be assured of a fair hearing And such all organization to be effective must necessarily have sufficient authority to make its decisions felt.
 The old war labor board was of the nature proposed for the new board. And 1t had the power to put its decisions into effect. But under peace conditions and legislation 1t Is probable that the board proposed would have mere moral influence rather than actual power unless special laws were passed clothing 1t with addition al power. Alr. GOmpers objections to the report of the conference arises from the fact that 1t does not specifically recognize and endorse the resolution presented by Il. labor group at the first industrial confer once. This resolution which stated: The right of wage earners to organize without discrimination, to bargain collectively, to be represented by representatives of their own choosing Ill negotiations and adjus ments with employers n respect to wages hours of labor, and relations and conditions of employment is recognized, was Iabor's effort to get formal recognition from both the public and capital of the principle of collective bargaining. That 1t was not definitely recognized by the present con- ference does not necessarily mean that 1t does not approve of Iabor's rights to bar gain collectively. The present conference does not contain the group system followed in the makeup of the first one. 1t is simply a meeting of national leaders charged with formulating some scheme for solving ma tional industrial problems. It suggests the formation of an industrial tribunal or board with certain powers for that purpose and does not find it necessary to bind such a board with definitions of what policy shall be followed i'll respect to either labor or capital.
 The functioning of the old war labor board is justification of the recommenda- tion of the conference According to the annual report of the secretary of labor made recently to the congress from April 30, 1918, to May 31, 1919, the board receiv- ed l,27O cases, 25 of which were consoidat- ed, leaving 1 l,245 cases to be passed upon Of these, 7O6 (57 per cenO were referred to other agencies having primary ju1iSdic- tion or were dismissed for other reasons: " G per cenD are pending or remain on the docket as undispOsed of because of divided vote or suspension; while in the remaining 462 cases (32 per cent) awards or findings have been handed down. In addition the board made 58 supplementary decisions n cases where action had already been taken, making total of 52O formal awards or findings. This record within period of less than 13 months is one which unquestionably has never been approached by any similar agency in the history of in dustry.