Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-11-24
Projecting Public Interest
From the St. Louis Globe Democrat.

When the Kansas court appointed receivers
for the idle coal mines, it gave representation
equally to the mine owners, the mine workers
and the public. That was an official recognition
of the fact that in all such controversies as are
new going on between workers and operators
of great basic industries, the interests Of the
public in the sort of settlement made is at
least equal to the interest of the two contend
ing parties. AS matter of fact the public in
terest is greater than that of either when coal,
fuel, clothing transportation, etc, are affected.
Hitherto Cancellation boards appointed by state
governments or the federal government have
not represented the people in this sense Their
sole purpose has been to compose the difficulty
between employer and employee in any possible
manner acceptable to both of the contending
parties. These agreements have not always been
harmonious with the interests of the consuming
public and of other industries than the ones
Immediately affected.
1t does not follow that the best settlement
of controversy, or rather of conditions which
lead to a controversy, is wage scale.
More pay is the natural remedy the worker
sees for an insufficient income. Lower wages is
the natural resort of the employer who finds
his production cost too high. This may be so
because it is more direct more easily seen and
done, than the making of changes in other con-
ditions which would result in the workers get
ting more pay or having less expense or in the
employers being able to cut production cost
1t is in these ways Of settling controversies
l.
ing the wages that the public is the most in
terested. Let us take the coal controversy as
an instance The miners are demanding high
er daily wage because the present rate does
not afford them sufficient annual income. Such
increase would raise the price of coal to every
industry and to every home in the United
States. There are possibly 100000 miners who
would be favorably affected by such an increase,
but there are 100000 people who would be
unfavorably affected. There are perhaps 100000
homes to which the Increased pay would bring
a needed relief, but there are 200,000000 homes
which would bear an added burden.
In his address to the mining convention
Samuel o. Dunn editor of Railway Age, said
that there has not been a time in the past
four years when the railroads could handle
the coal the mines would produce if the. men
in settlement of the strike which will be
practically ingnored if the interests of the pub
lie are not specially represented in the negotia-
tons. More production and more cars is what
the interest of the public demands. The Esch
railroad bill has just been passed by the house.
1t provides for boards to settle controversies
which the companies and the operatives
will be equally represented, but it makes no
like provision for representation of the whole
people, whose interests my be entirely ingnored
and be seriously and unfavorably affected.
There is great undercurrent Of sentiment
condemning strikes which constitute an assault
upon the public. That is the reason why the steel
strike is failure and why the injunction against
the miners had such general approval in spite
of the fact that injunctons are not considered
desirable method of procedure in themselves.
public interest should be satihed by providing
for their representation on all boards and at
all conferences where they are to be affected by
the conclusions reached