Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-15

The Washington Star Is urging that
accredited representatives of industry
and labor meet at Washington to find
a common ground Of understanding
wherein they can found an agreement
that will insure industrial peace dur
ing the period Of great prosperity that
lies ahead
No newspaper could be engaged in
better, more necessary or more prom
Using business.
President Wilson pointed out in his
message to Congress that we have
gone as far as we dare along the path
of perennial strife between labor and
capital; that II we would avoid the
abyss that lies just ahead we must
other way must be some form of
agreement between capital and labor
that will secure the just rights Of
each, and at the same time insure
each against the unjust exactions of
the othef
The Herald believes that the prob
lem of industrial peace is capable of
solution: that If a handful of men.
wisely chosen from each side of the
ancient tug-of-war between labor
and capital, will honestly sit down
face to face and man to man. lay all
the cards on the table and be frank
with each other they can outline
constitution of industrial peace that
will fully protect the wage-earner
and the wage-payer. and so will pro-
looming threat of strife.
But first they must meet In nine
cases out of ten that Is all that is
necessary to prevent strike or lock-
happen to widen the breach and to
make the dispute more. and more ir-
reconcilable. Labor and capital, then,
are like two former friends who have
been estranged. II they stay apart
and refuse to speak constantly each
by the other; busy tongues are con-
stantly bringing to each Indignantly
distorted versions of the others light
est remarks: and so the split widens
and becomes irreconcilable.
But If something had happened to
bring them together to talk it over,
nine times out of ten they would find
that what divided them was largely
imaginary; that what wasn't imagi-
nary was capable of explanation and
be friends again and always instead
of enemies.
Labor tends to believe that capital
Is greedy, exacting. oppressive, arro-
CANT.
Capital tends to believe that labor
is greedy, exacting, lazy. shiftless.
Indifferent, careless in it's work; that
If you give 1t an inch it will take
an ell.
There is just enough truth in both
lies to make them dangerous. If CAPT.
tai and labor stay apart both lies
tend to become wholly true. and an
apparently irreconcilable conflict tends
to become actually irreconcilable.
no pitch hot-for Haywoodism. the
I. w. W.. bolshevism and all red
radicalism have their root in the the
DRY that the conflict between labor
and capital is interminable and ir-
reconcilable.
If that conflict truly is capable of
radicalism, though wrong in it's
methods. may not be right in its
aims?
But it is not incapable Of. solution.
1t remains. unsolved because,<as yet,
no honest. open. prayerful effort to
solve 1t through a frank discussion
between labor and capital as national
units has been made.
We take 1t that what The Washing
ton Star is after is just such con-
ference, just such an attempt. Ger
tainly nobody should say that the
problem can't be solved until such
an effort as this to solve it has been
made. If 1t is made and succeeds,
then the doom of all red radicalism in
this country has been sounded. II it
is made and fails-well, then we shall
not be much worse off than we are
now. But If both sides approach it
In the right spirit, which is in
spirit of determination to solve 1T
and to be fair to the other fellow
while doing it, we believe that it can
be solved and will be solved. 1t in
wolves the shelving of huge guam
tity of prejudice and a good deal of
selhshness. but it can be done.
Therefore 1t ought to be done.
An industrial peace conference, in
which is represented all the states
panship and observation-disclosures there is
in the ranks Of labor and capital,
should by all means be held in this
country at the earliest possible mo-
ment.