Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-12-11
End Of the Mine Strike.

The coal strike L. over, but Its 'enects re-
main. They will be with MS till warmer weath-
er, ana perhaps longer. Industries and trans
portation will be many weeks in catching up.
for II will be stern chase, especially for the
latter. In the meantime tens of thousands VIII
be partly or wholly unemployed and hundreds
of thousands, here and In other lands. will b
deprived Of some Of the comforts and even
some OF the necessaries that they otherwise
would have enjoyed.
In money the cost will run up into the BILL
lions It will be the most expensive industrial
contest ever wassd, and those most directly in
volved will not be the greatest sufferers.
For such a stupendous outlay the public has
q right to demand something substantial In
return. 1t will expect assurance in some form
that it will not be called upon shortly to repeat
the experience, either with respect to coal or
some other necessary commodity.
How this may be given safely, with fairness
10 all interests and with the least chance Of
falling short Of the object 10 not q matter to
be decided offhand. Two general plans have
been suggested One Is compulsory arbitra-
ton in industrial disputes where the public
interest outweighs the combined stake of the
principals. The other is by duly authorized
boards Of Cancellation. the findings having force
and effect mainly through the weight Of an en-
lightsned public sentiment. The latter pro-
posal seems to be regarded with the creator
favor. certainly among employees and employ
era, and to . less marked degree in ofacial
circles where the problem IL being most &C
lively discussed.
Ono result Of the mine strike undoubtedly
will be an increased respect for popular opin-
ion, which played no small part in bringing
about an agreement, belatsd though It was
There is good reason to suspect that the min
ers' leaders were more than glad to embrace
the terms offered by the president They saw
more clearly than the vast majority Of the men
in the ranks whittier they were drifting. They
realized that the patience Of the public had
about reached its limits and they doubted their
ability to hold the sympathy that was theirs
at the start when freexing and starvation came
on the scene. The operators. on their side.
were even more concerned over the situation,
for they knew they would not escape gener-
Gus share Of the blame. 1t Is not probable that
eitherside, in the light Of their experience will
care to again take such chances Of provoking
drastic legislative restrictions. That, Of itself.
Is likely to be one OF the substantial benefits
Of the strike, for the lesson will hardly be
lost upon others who have it in their power
TO bring down upon the land crises as bad, or
even worse.
Within the coal industry permanent bene-
fits are confidently expected No matter how
the public may feel toward the trade 1t must
have fuel and there is but one way to get it.
There will be no lessening Of the demand for
coal and no reduction in the returns from the
business. -
The miners will get larger share Of the
proceeds. That they are entitled to it il not
generally disputed. Some arrangement prob
ably will be worked out by which they will
be given steadier employment and that is at
least as important to them as higher wages
Better transportation facilities and a more
evenly distributed demand will stabilize bust
ness from the operators standpoint and help
to cut down the percentage OF overhead.
II, in addition. precedent is established fol
a better understanding and more amicable re-
lations between operators and miners load
will be taken Oh the public mind and the bone.
FITS all around will not. after ALL fall 50 fas
out of proportion to the cost.