Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1919-04-10
CLOSER COOPERATION
OF EMPLOYERS AND
WORKERS IS SOUGHT
Small Attendance Features
Conference Held Here
Last Evening.

Keeping in mind the injunction
rdespise not the day Of small things =
the informal labor conference held last
night in the grange hall might be term
ed important notwithstanding the
sparse attendance. Representatives
were present from the labor department
and the industrial accident commission,
and various industries and labor organ
izatiOns in SGlem and Portland were
represented.
Mr.. Gramm opened the discussion by
stating briefly the objects of the move
ment to bring employer and employee
into a position where they could deal
with one another without prejudice, and
he stated that there was no better time
than the present and no better place
than Salem to launch the movement as
indicated in the Eugene Smith meeting
some weeks ago.
Mr.. Marshall recalled the fact that
the ultraradical element in the laboring
class had repeatedly brought down dis
Gster upon both themselves and the in
dustries by harsh and high-handed oper-
ations. He believed the time was at
haud when employers were willing to
sit down with the labor unions and ne
gotiate for equitable adjustment of difs
ficulties.
Il. Hofcr spoke at some length from
the standpoint Of the manufacturer and
employer, stating that he had come to
see that the matter Of adjustment must
laI IL, Il,
boring man if it is to be dealt with in
telligently. He pointed to the drastic
and high-hGnded methods organized la
bor had resorted to in the past to gain
s.its ends, but at the same time admitted
ahat he was ready to endorse their ae-
tions as being justified under the cir
A% cumstances. However, he believed all
these were things Of the past and that
we are entering upon an era Of higher
:. ideals and methods, Working men are
now doing their own thinking and can
no longer be stampeded into general
strike by INSCRIPTIONS leaders. There
must be a higher ideal on the part of
labor, who in the past have demanded
u maximum return for a minimum serv-
ice, and on the other hand, the employer
must cease to look upon labor as mere
commodity. He held that voluntary
mediation was the only logical means of
getting capital and labor on an equal
footing, as had been done through the
industrials councils in England. He
challenged the statement OF one dele
gate to the effect that all efforts at me-
diation would fail unless there was an
authoritative body back Of it all to en-
force decisions. He held that the great
need was & campaign Of education for
both the employers and the general pub
lie.
A representative of the L. L. L. L.
organization pointed to their records in
the past year to show that they were
furnishing the most effective solution
for labor troubles through their griev-
ance boards, by which all troubles are
carried up from one council to another
until they reach the highest tribunal,
from which there is no appeal. He
pointed to the fact that during all the
disturbances Of the war period there
had been no serious trouble from the
L. L. L. L. organization.
Several labor representatives from
Portland made statements showing the
effectiveness of their Organization there
in not only increasing the rate of wages,
but of reconeiling difficulties with EN-
ployers. One of them showed that Or
gained labor in Portland was getting
as high as 81 day more for work than
the same class received in other parts
of the state. One class of engineers
there were getting as high as 50 day
for eight hours. Referring to the work
of organized labor in the shipyards, he
stated that after the government au-
thorities took hand in the labor trou'
bles and got the contractors and unions
together, there was such an improve
mont in the spirit Of the men that in
the course Of few months they had
cut down the building time for steel
ship from 1877 days to AZ days,
One of the delegates suggested that
arrangements be made for mass meet
ing in which to formally launch the plan
for voluntary mediation, but Mr.. Hotter
urged that this would be too preclpltous
and advocated further quiet conference
and education through the press in or.
der to prepare both labor and capital
for a new move.