The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-09-05

u CdnflOl accomplish lnUlNlOudilE. Zap ital. responding to it's own selfish de- sires, meets organization with organiza- tion, force with force. The rule of req son is not part of the final settlement, and right and justice cease to be factors worthy of consideration.
 NOT SATISFACTORY SOLUTION
 From the very nature of things, col lective bargaining cannot be very sat isfactory solution to work out the diff ferenceS that arise between capital and labor, especially in railroad disputes, when prompt and adequate service is of
 first importance to all the people. When collective bargaining fails to solve the problems in dis- ute, strikes and loekouts are the next steps ahead. Surely with the people, or their representatives in the legislative bodies of the land, must rest wiser and better solution of our industrial problems, looking to the ele- vation of labor, the promotion of com mercial progress and the establishment of industrial peace.
 "In an article published by MT. Gar retSon, president of the Order of Rail- way Conductors of America, he has said:
 The real difficulty in the solution of these questions lies in the fact that nearly every remedy that is offered deals only with the effect of conditions In the treatment of industrial strife, it would be well to follow the general trend of medical schools for the past century.
 Formerly the mission of the doctor was only to cure. In later years, greater effort is given to the prevention of ills, and until this course is pursued, and the cause of industrial unrest is removed, it will be found that the effort to abol- ish the diseases is without result
 INT. Garretson is clearly right. We will accomplish but little in our efforts
 to mend an industrial dispute after is sues are joined We should establish
 permanently the rights and duties of
 labor and capital, each one to the other. and both to the public, and then we wilt
 have established a situation that can
 be worked out at all times without a re-
 sort to force as the final arbiter.
 ''The problem that is now before the Senate for consideration is one not only
 involving the general rights of labor, but also the industrial peace of the nation.
 Under our dual form of government, the
 Congress can only act within the scope of its delegated power, and there is a definite limitation on our power to act
 in reference to the general problems we
 have under discussion. Most of these
 problems fall within the Jurisdiction of
 the states, and must be worked out by
 state legislation. The problem before
 us relates to the rates of wages and
 hours of labor of men engaged in inter
 state railway transportation
 "The constitution of the United States
 gives the power to the Congress to reg
 ulate commerce among the several states and by long line of decisions the su-
 preme court of the United States has
 held that the power to regulate com merce carries with it the power to reg ulate the instrument of commerce. Un-
 der these decisions an interstate conn merce commission has been established by the federal government. and granted power to fix reasonable rates for the transportation of commodities among the
 several states. Our Jurisdiction to con-
 trol the matter now before the Senate
 rests on the determination of the ques- ton as to whether the men employed in the movement of interstate railway trains are an instrument necessary to the movement of commerce among the states. If so, the Congress has Jurisdiction of the matter, and to my mind the man is as much the instrument of commerce as the train itself. which the courts in num- erous cases have held that the Congress has the power to regulate. If, under the commerce clause of the constitution we have the power to fix the rate of transportation of commodities from one state to another, to prescribe the manner in which the locomotives and cars shall
 be constructed and operated, surely we nave lIl0 ftSDt tO pISSCi lbc what ShaAi
 be reasonable hours for the men em- ployed in this line of industry to work, and what is reasonable compensation in the way of wage for the service rem dered.
 IMPORTANCE OF RAILWAY "The avoidance of railway strikes and lockouts in the future is of far greater importance to the nation than the set clement of ordinary industrial disputes. iccrt inv are largely confined to the two contend ing sides-the employer and the em- ploye-and the public at large, as rule, has only a remote interest in the con troversy; but in disputes between labor and capital engaged in transporting the
 commerce of the country, the public interest is vastly greater than that of the
 owners of the property or of the wage eaTners in their employ.
 sThe steam railroads of the United States on June 90, 1916, had in their em- ploy approximately 100000 persons, and paid out in wages sl.600, ,00o,0oO Since that time the employees of the railroad systems of the United States have m- creased to over 100000 men and the com pensation paid in wages has increased billion dollars.
 "At the time mentioned, a general rail- road strike throughout the United States was impending. The President of the United States called on the Congress to avoid the strike by affirmative legisla- tion. fixing the rate of wages on the in- terstate railroads of the country. This legislation was advocated and approved by the representatives of the railroad employees Legislation was passed. it's constitutionality has been tested in the supreme court of the United States and the court has affirmed the validity of the act So that there can be no doubt that a precedent has been established Tor the Congress to regulate the wages on the interstate railroads of the country Tt has long been recognized that Con gress has the power to regulate the rates for the transportation of persons ana commodities on the railroads, and it is also recognized beyond cavil that the Congress has the power to delegate the regulation of these rates to commits sion. after prescribing the conditions on which the regulation shall be based. IT we can delegate the power to regulate
 the rates it must be true that we can
 delegate the power to regulate the wage scale an dstablish court, ae board, or
 a commission for that purpose. We pre-
 scribe that the railroads of the country
 shall collect only reasonable rates TOT
 the transportation of freight. It seems
 to me that it is clear that the congress
 has the power to require that the rali-
 road systems of America shall pay 10
 their employees fair, reasonable and Just
 compensation, to be prescribed py com
 mission.
 Having the power to act. the ques-
 ton confronts us as to whether the
 time has come when the Congress
 should exercise this power and appoint
 Q oor,mission to determine this grave