The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-03-15

We know that of the men examin- ed in this state, 46.3 per cent were re-
 jected as physically unfit, and 12 per cent of the remainder were rejected at camp after a second examination; and we know that the federal authOri- ties found that of the defects in the men rejected, 60 per cent would have
 been prevented by a youth spent un- der decent condition with proper uourishment and normal medical care. believe the next most pressing de- mand of labor after a subsistence wage is provided, is that of self-eN- pression We hear on every hand stories of the worknan's ingratitude. And the complaint has this much truth in it; their protest today is against their sense of helplessness. They do not want factory lunch rooms, kindergartens, good tenements, given to them. The more that is giv- en to them, the more they feel in the power of the person responsible for the benefits. They are going to in
 sist on exercising a powerful voice in shaping the conditions surrounding their labor, which means, among oth- CT things, collective bargaining. This has already been adopted by innum- erabIe concerns under pressure from the war and navy departments and
 the National War Labor board during the war.
 But the operations of these recent ]! experiments make a poor criterion, l because they were installed under eX- ceptonaI and unusual conditions. We have experiments that have met the
 acid test of time.
 Scheme of Bargaining
 Seven years ago, following a disas- trous strike in the city of Chicago, Hart. Schaffner &. Marx, who. I be- lieve, are tho greatest manufacturers of clothing in the United States, adopt ed a scheme of collective bargaining, i the outline of which is about as fol lows:
 A Board of Arbitration and a Trade Board were established. The first | consisted of three members, one of whom was chosen by the union and r one by the company, and the third | was the mutual choice of the union and company. This board concerns | itself mainly with questions of princi- pie and the application of the agree
 ment to new issues as they arise. This board has tho right to make changes l in wages and hours. The Trade Board 1 consists of II members, all of whom 1 excepting the Chairman are em- 1 ployees. Five members are chosen by | the company, five by the union, and 1 the chairman is again mutually agreed 1 upon. This board has primary juris- diction for readjusting all grievances. l In addition to these two boards. ] deputies who are members of the un- i ion investigate immediate and just l complaints and make settlements where possible in order to keep the dockets of the arbitration board and trade board from becoming congest- ed. and the union has shop repre- | sentatives who are given sufficient op- | portunity to plake proper inquiry con i corning complaints and organization | in the shop.
 After seven years of 7ln'brol1en ex- perience, employers and employees | alike testify to the successful work l ing of the plan, and this on the part | of the employer notwithstanding the
 fact that during this period the { working hours have descended from | 54 per week to A per week.
 After this experience, it is note
 worthy that the employer says: Policies Reflected
 We did not realize and we be- lieve the paajority of employers | do not yet realize the extent to which the attitude and conduct
 of their organized employees re- fleet their own policies and con- 1 duct Strict adherence to jus l tice, especially if interpreted to the peopia by a board in whom | they have confidence, will gradu- 1 ally educate them and their lead l CTS to see the advantage in this | method. In our own busi- 1 ness, employing thousands of | persons, some of them newIy-ar- i rived immigrants, some of them | in opposition to the wage sys- I tenn, hostile to employers as a \ Alaaa~ Hza have observed astanisia-