The New York herald., 1920-01-30
COMPULSORY ARBITRATION BY
CONGRESS WOULD FORCE LABOR
TO SERVITUDE, SAYS GOMPERS
Tells Civic Federation That orkers Will Fight Cummins
MeaSure-DeclareS Strikes Are Protest Against Wrongs
and Make for Better Civilizat on.

duction Shsc patriotic American citizens
quarrel with today. hold that there ers
two maxine which is universally ana et
fecttiveiy applied will solve most OF tht
difficulties hero and In every other part o.
the world. They may be embraced undel
the two words Save and Produce Ant
above all. in Gods name, let us produce
sPnrt of n Conspiracy"
Being head OF one OF the brotherhood
directly affected by the Cummtns bin
Timothy Shea directed his whole attaci
against compulsory arbitration. He sale
organized labor always has been opposed
to compulsory arbitration as a method fol
the settlement Of industrial disputes. He
declared tho Cummins bill Is part Of q
conspiracy to reduce the wages of railroad
men after the roads are returned TO private
ownership.
.In its ffnai analysis the opposition oi
the wage Garner to compulsory arbitration
is three fold in its main aspects,' MIR. She's
said. 'In the first place it Is looked upon
as an fll-conceived scheme by which th'
employer hopes to gain a mastery over his
employees and thus deprive the work1ns
class OF their only economic power. sec
ondly, the wage Garner considers activity
in behalf of compulsory arbitration as
conspiracy to deprive him OF his funda-
mental rights and to reduce him pract-
CaLy TO SeTNlluNc'
'In the third place, because Of these be-
llefs. the wage earners consider the forces
behind the movement for compulsory ar
bitration really symptom of the mental
and moral degeneration through which all
great and prosperous nations have passed,
when the fundamental principles OF indi-
vtdual liberty are forgotten, when the at
titude for which the founders OF liberty
were honored falls into social disrepute,
and when the struggle for wealth over
shadows all other considerations, with a
consequent disregard for the rights OF the
working classes.
1.-THE large finsncial interests who are
in the background evidently originated
this legislation under the guise of pro-
tecting the public against railway strikes.
They have reasoned that II governmental
control Of the transportation industry
ceases after March l of this year, they
will reduce the rates of railway workers,
and, If strikes result, they will break them
by filming and imprisoning the workers"
Other speakers were Jeremiah w. jerks,
of the Alexander Hamilton Institute
Ralph M. Easley, chairman of the Execu-
tive Committee of the Civic Federation
Louis B. Schram, chairman Of Industrial
Accident Department of the Federation,
and Miss Maud Wetmore, chairman Of the
women's department.
Mr.. Easley criticised the preliminary
statement Of the second industrial confer
ence, saying:-
ITO my mind no more vicious system
can be devised than one which contem-
plates employers and wage earners sub
hitting their disputes to arbitrators ap-
pointed by the Mayor of a city, the Gov
ernor of a State or even the President OF
the United States. Despite all precautions
there is always danger of them becoming
political boards"