Omaha daily bee., 1919-10-30
Failure of Conference
From the St. Louis Globe. d Democrat.

The breaking up of the industrial conference
at Washington is great disappointment to the
even against doubt that some means might be
foundry it to harmonic the industrial situation
and relieve the country from the menace OF dis
order and disorganizaton. The Interpretation
of the principle of collective bargaining was not
so much the cause of the failure to agree as the
dstrust on both sides which made each fear to
accept an Interpretation proposed by the other,
suspecting treachery even in the fairest phrases.
The labor group saw in the declaration OF the
employers denial of the right of collective
bargaining by employees through outside repre-
sentatives OF their own choosing, even though
the declaration categorically admitted the right.
for it also gave the employer the right to deal
or not to deal with such representatives On
the other hand, the employers group, or a ma
jority OF its members, doubted the sincerity of
ing. believing that "the right of organization
and collective bargaining are interpreted by the
labor group in one way and one way only, or
ganzing and bargaining through trade and labor
unions" They declare in their final statement
that: "The purpose Of the resolution, through
cunning phrases coined to carry double mean
ing, was to commit the conference to support
the only brand of collective bargaining ever Of
fered by the group presenting it, and the EN-
ployers were bound to resist to the end"
1t was unfortunate, we think. that the group
method of organization was adopted 1t COM
the purpose of the conference was to bring
them together. Instead of gathering around
council table and endeavoring to thresh out
their differences man to man, each group met
by itself, and naturally it saw its own side very
clearly and the other side "as through a glass
darkly;" and naturally, too, this separation con
trbuted to antagonism rather than to friendli-
ness. They met together only on the floor of
the conference, where they were still separately
grouped, to present their separate conclusions,
and where every condition tended to maintain
separateness and solidify GROUPINGS, if we may
be permitted the word The public group was
neither fish, fowl nor red herring. 1t, too, re-
voved in its own orbit, which apparently never
touched the others. 1t does seem to us that
the prime essential of understanding and CO.
operation is contact If schedule of points of
difference had been made up and divided for
consideration among number of committees,
each composed of an aqual number of repre-
sentatives of the three elements of the confer
ence, capital, labor and the public, something
concrete might have been accomplished. At
least the opportunity for coordination would
have been given
And now what is to be done? The imme-
date result of the failure is Tightening of the
solidarity of labor and speeding up Of every
movement for radical action. The hope of in
dustry in America lies in the preservation of
conservative principles in the ranks of American
labor: The people of the United States cannot
permit radicalism to triumph in any degree.
Yet radcalism is strengthened and conservatism
weakened by the failure. Can the public group,
which still remains, accomplish anything? 1t is
doubtful. There are some excellent men in it,
but there is no labor representation. 1t would
seem to be essential that the leaders of con-
sentative labor. and the great employers be
brought into some kind of working accord and
we do not see how that can be done without
contact. A new conference, fully as representa-
tive of all the elements concerned and organ
lied on different lines might be more effective
1t would have the very great advantage of the
experience of the first one, and perhaps know
better how to deal with the issues to be met
At any rate, the situation is too critical to be
allowed to drift Some determined action must
be taken and taken soon.