The Washington times., 1919-09-21


| and labor should be fair-unless a
| Ireactionary spirit is shown by the
/ employers representatives, and there
/ is a good deal OF surface evidence to
| indicate that they will display it
Success In Britain.
There seems to be no doubt that
/ the Whitley plan is a great success
I in Great Britain. It has been applied
/ in a large number Of important indus
| tries, and has worked well. That II
/ does not mean an extension OF bureau
cratic control Is stated by the British
| Ministry Of Labor in this way:
Fears have been expressed that
the proposal to set up industrial cOUn-
ellis indicates an intention to intro
duce an element OF state interference
which has hitherto not existed in In
dustTy. This is not the case. The
formation and constitution OF the
councils must be principally the work
Of the industries themselves. The
success OF the scheme must depend
upon a general agreement among the
various organizations within a given
industry and a clearly expressed de-
mand for the creation OF a council"
The persons concerned In any in
dustry are quite free to choose
whether or not they will form an in-
/ dustriai council. and no pressure Is
needed BY the Government on any ins
dustry. The Government is not. OF
course, unintedested in the formation
OF these councils. Industry Is becom-
ing every day q more urgent prob
lem, and it.is more and more neces-
sary for the GoveRument Of the day
TO know the view Of those Immediate
iy concerned in the industries. An in
dustrial council is, therefore. useful
to the Government in providing one
voice for the industry concerned. Such
a council can present the views OF all
those employed IN the industry. and
IL can suggest or promote any further
Legislation which may be necessary.
Best InStFwent.
On the other hand. III the Govern
ment desires anything done by an In
dUstry. an industrial council may be
the best instrument through which
ii may be done. Thus. the resettle-
ment OF workers and the reguIariza-
tiOn Of employment may be. referred
by the Government to industrial
councilsN
At the British industrial confer
ence OF last April, a beginning was
made toward giving statutory re-en-
forcement to a national minimum
wage, and a fOTty-eight-hour week
to be applied without exception to all
industries where there is not a joint
agreement between workers and en-
ployers that IT should not be applied.
Both Of these laws were unanimously
recommended to the British Pafiia-
ment by the labor and capital rep
resentatives. These bills are now
before the House OF Commons, and
will be passed in the near future.
The Whitley councils will be the in
stEUmentality through which all la
Dor legislation is to be put into ef-
feet The councils themselves can
/ IeEislate for TIE industries, Of course,
but only through, agreement, and il Is
probable that all OF its main agree
ments will be translated into formal
statute by Parliament
At the Canadian Industrial Con-
ference held in Ottawa last week,
there was strong Endorsement OF the
Whiteley plan. II has many cham
pions in the United States. The shop
committees which have been estab-
lished in many leading plants in this
country. through the War Labor
Board and other sources, are funda-
mentally part and parcel OF the sys-
tematiC organization OF Industrial
democracy which must be reached IL
period OF struggle and disturbances.
Must Adopt Principles.
II the coming conference is placed
firmly on the basis OF the labor cove
nant Of the peace treaty, it will find
that II must adopt certain fundamen-
tai principles which have been the
subject of bitter dispute in the past,
such as "the payment TO the emplOye
OF a wage adequate to maintain a
reasonable standard OF life as this is
understood in their time and cOun-
try" the eight-hour day; "the prin-
cipIe that men and women shall re-
ceive equal remuneration for work OF
equal value" the fright OF assOcia-
tion for all lawful purposes by the
employed as we'll as by the employ
ers."
It is greatly expected that the rep
resentative organization OF industry
will go far toward putting these
principles into effect without recourse
to Congress or any Government
agency. Once the principle OF collec-
tive bargaining Is established under
the aegis Of the Government in peace
times as we'll as in war times, the
unionizatiOn OF workers will proceed
at a rate hitherto undreamed OF. This
automatically solves the cause OF the
most savage strikes-uniOn recOgni-
ton as the spokesman for the work.
ers. Il % fairly certain that Gny pro-
gram OF Industrial peace which does
not involve collective bargaining and
g systematic uniOnization does not
mean peace at all, but warfare,