Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-10-11

can't even appoint a committee to
investigate a strike or hear the
two sides" said a representative OF
the steel workers to me. while
pending the discussion the men
agree to go back TO work, l can't
see that our Washington confer
Cnce will amount to anything"
Is Bone Of Contention.
So labor baked at the idea of
adjourning till Tuesday, baked at
the use OF conference time to hear
speeches on eXtraneous subjects,
and insisted on action on the steel
resolution. While Judge Gary
doesn't sit on the committee Of Is.
the employers who do recognize
that in the steel strike is a princi-
pie vital to them. They think they
have the steel workers beaten
and they think that a clean-cut
y&etOry will come if the strike goes
~On a while longer. But the labor
union men argue the opposite
they say their invasion Of the steel
industry in the last two wears has
progressed at such leaps ana
bounds that ultimate victory is as
sured.
Any way the principle in the
steel strike is the hone Of conten-
ton in the industrial conference.
And the presentation by the en-
ployers OF their viewpoint shows an
absolute cleavage Labo- and cap
ital, so to speak, have pronounced
their views and they are radically
different. On the surface they seem
to be aiming at the same thing.
Language is susceptible Of adroit
usage to produce psychological as
we'll as political Impressions. Take
me resolution introduced, for in
stance, by John d. Rockefeller. Jr-.
OF the public group. It started of
with q preamble about the brother
hood Of man and stated llatly that
labor had a right 70 representation
IN industry. and then added that
the form Of representation should
be left "tO the parties concerned"
That seems fair enough. and many
people on first reading didn't see
how the labor group could object
10 anything that appeared 20 eGuit-
able. But the labor people. with
a cyniCism born OF years of pow
wOwing and wFangling and debate
with employers, pointed to the
words the parties opcerned." +
which of course require an agree
ment by the employer 10 approve
the kind of organization formed
by his employees. Substantially the
same thing was presented by Har- !
~ A. Wheeler. president of the /
United States Chamber of Com /.
GnnlyarT1,ar n tho
pIoyers group. when he set forth |
the well-known point Of view of !
capital on the question of an
open" or closed shop.
Labor Opposes Plan.
Wheeler's verbiage indicates a
desire to grant what labor gener-
ally ought legally to have but
desire also 10 safeguard by phrase
OlOgy so many situations N which
coercion is used to compel men to
belong to unions outside of their .
shops where the sympathetic strike
is exercised to compel acceptance
in one industry Of conditions i'm /!
posed which relate only generally /
10 conditions IN another industry
But to this, too. labor objects on
The ground that employers should .
not be permitted to discriminate
against men whatever organization
they use and that coercion on the
one hand is outweighed by discrim-
inatiOn on the other Moreover.
while the employers claim that the
right to associate or form organ
izations IS proper. it doesn't confer
any authority or CompulsiOn on T.
anyone to deal with those organic
atoms Yet, on the other hand, say
the laboring men, the same program
in another section of the resOlu-
lions would limit the right OF strike
so that sympathetic strikes could
not be used as q means of moral
compulsiou. To limit at all the
right of any association IN com
pany with any other association to
deal with any employers that they
choose is the same thing. say the
iaboring men. as the right of en-
pIoyers to refuse to deal with en-
floyes who organized in groups
distasteful in personnel or other
wise to employers.
Both 'GOing Easy"
I merely give these opposite
points OF view to show that at the ,
pressed the time worn matters Of
Each side. however. has
stated them a little moro carefully !
and with al. evident desire to go as
far as possible to recognize the !
rights of human beings in a po- {
liucaI democracy But the first
arr nevertheless oppO- !
site and much work and discussion '
is going to be needed to bring
about harmony. At stated at the
of this article. however,
unanimous agreement is required:
that is, after the opinion inside of |
p group is determined by majority
vote and the ballot Of each group
is cast as a unit, all three groups l
must cast their final vote the same
way to make any proposal binding 4
on the conference. \
Same as Peace Farley.
It was the same way at I
The Paris peace conference. I
Every nation had a right to inter S
pose objeCtions-an no voting oc- ;
Cured. Everything was done by
agreement. II points of view were {
absolutely opposed. compromises 5
and concessions were made to get
agreement. That's why certain I
'eatures Of the peace treaty are "
1epIored by some of the men who l.
igned IT, 1t was agreement or dis
, .ptiO1. and no one wanted to take
The responsibility of breaking IN 2