The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1919-11-28
Government Domination Through
Overwhelming Voting Strength
rlay Lead To Action Preventing
Repetition In Future conferences
Voting

/ Inc conference is made up of
three sets of delegates, all, however,
being appointees of governments and
all having the same status in the con
ference. Governments have two rep
resentatives and two votes each. En-
ployers from each nation have one
Representative and one vote. Labor
has one representative and one vote
per country.
If ell governments sent their full
quota of delegates governments would
have as many votes as labor and en-
ployers combined In this confer
ence, however, some ten governments
have sent nc labor delegates and no
employer delegate Thus governments
have some twenty votes more than la
Dor and employers together. It is
possible some way may be sought to
prevent such representation in future
conferences.
AS the situation stands in this con.
ference any program generally favor
ed by governments can be put through
in spite of the opposition of all non
government delegates, if such an OPP
position were possible.
International Bureau Holds
Deep Interest
OF Importance equal with the
agreements that may be arrived at
is the International Labor Office to be
created by this conference. This
office will be opened at Geneva and
will be stated by tri-party staff to
be elected here. The term of office
will be three years. Governments
will have twelve representative in
this bureau and labor and employers
six each. The bureau will function
continuously and will be an institu-
ton of wide influence and great i'm
portance.
One of the points Of particular in
terest in this conference surrounds
the method of preparing the material
upon which its major actions will be
based Owing to the fact that there
was no international bureau in opera
tion through which to prepare the re-
ports and the agenda for this con-
ference, that work was done by the
international organizing committee.
The important reports and the COM
mittee drafts of the conventions to be
voted on were prepared in London
and, naturally enough, largely under
the influence and guidance of the Brit
ish government. With the interna-
tional bureau in operation next year
repetition of this will not be neces-
sary. 1t is recognized that for any
single government to exercise a dom
mating influence is wholly undesir-
able, no matter how impartial that
government may attempt to be.
Britain Pays Bills for Conference
But for the British government it
is possible there would be no con-
ference held. The cost of the con-
ference is estimated at 100000,
which the American government was
asked to advance until the League of
Nations becomes operative. The
United States congress cut the appro-
priation to $4,000 and delayed it SO
that none of that amount was avail
able until almost two weeks after the
sessions began. Meanwhile British
officials, understanding the situation
volunteered to see that the money
was provided This they did, and
while the money is forwarded by the
treasurer of the League of Nations
the major portion of the deposits
came from England, and checks signeo
in Washington for conference bills
bear the personal signature of H. B
Butler, secretary general of the con
ference, an Englishman Mr. Butler:
work has been, it is generally agreed
highly efficient and effective
1t is possible that the conference
may conclude its work by the end Q
| November, but there will be no sur
prise if it runs we'll toward the mid
die of next month
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