Arizona republican., 1919-12-15
MONDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 15. 1913
o Never deny the babies their Christ mas! It is the shining seal set upon a year of happiness.
 Marion Harland.
When the Mediator is a Mutton Head

If is the doctrine taught by labor agitators that there is something essentially antagonstic between capital and labor That their interests are dame- tricaly opposed; that what one wants in the nature of things good for the other In this there is calm disregard of the interests of the public In the contests between capital and labor Perhaps the nublic itself or a part of failed to perceive that it had any interest It manifested sympathetic in tersst though at times generally the side of labor without considering the merits of it's dispute with capital
 We have more recently to understand, though, that the public has an interest all its own Tn these contests and that it's interest is large and more vital than that of either capital labor That new doctrine given impetus at the recent fruitess labor conference at Washington.
 Former Fuel Administrator, Dr. Garfield in giving the for his resignation brings this subject out still clearly when he crtcises the constitu- ton of the commission to settle the coal strike, in which commission the public given minority representation. Garfield could conceive of sit nation in which the coal industry composed of own CTS and workers. would be in overwhelming ma- iority against the public.
 We had previously witnessed phenomena of that kind without really understanding what it meant These phenomena have appeared in disputes between the railways and their employees since the power
  state commerce commission
 The railways have not always seriously opposed the demands of their employees for increased wages when such an increase could be used excuse for rate increases The latter was usually enough cover the proposed larger outlay and leave something over. Thus the public would be miked. the plunder being divided between the railways and their workers.
 The coal industry, long as it was left to the operators and the miners largely fight between them. And when the government assumed supervi- sion to the extent fixing price coal the fight was left undisturbed. But when the government went further and proposed to fix wages creating the pos siby of further increase of prices, the operators and the miners brought together common ground against the public. It made little difference the operators what advance made to the miners and 1t made little difference to the miners what prices the operators might be allowed to charge. The public would pay 1t all. Both could trust commission composed of their representatives against one the part of the public to fix things in a manner satisfactory to both miners and operators. As Dr.. Garfield states settlement on any such basis must be Fundamentally wrong
 The public has always been more or less a nut tonhead in dealing with industrial disputes It has always felt complimented in being chosen as a med- ator between capital and labor. That seemed to be
 tribute to it's honesty it's of fairness and it's good judgment It proud to be the third man in the ring" and had not enough to see that it getting all the buffeting and hard knocks
 But the public is learning some sense and among tho things it is learning is this that party to triangular dispute in which he has vital interest and who allows himself ockeyed into the position mediator, is really nothing but helpless minority monkey.