The Washington herald., 1920-01-09
Criicising the New Industrial Plan.
(From Chicago Daily NewsD

| (From Chicago Daily NewsD
Constructive critics of the pre-
liminary report of the presidents sec
ond industrial conference is helpful
and proper. but in some quarters
there is a disposition to raise doubts.
difficulties and fears without propos-
! ing any Improvement of the tcnta-
tive plan for the prevention of in
dustrial strife. 1t is 10 be hoped that
the members of the conference will
not permit themselves to be discour-
! aged by purely hostile, destructive
and skeptical comments.
Let Congressman find fault, and let
labor leaders pick flaws in the plans
submitted. The conference is building
| for the future. 1t does not seem like
| ly that any wave of enthusiasm will
follow the conclusion of its work and
compel general acceptance of its idess,
But II the ideas are sound and prac-
tical. legislators. employers, labor
leaders and influential citizens will be
driven eventually to recognize the
fact and put the ideas to use.
Truth has a way of impressing IT
| self. even on reluctant and biased
minds. The country urgently needs
plans and machinery to establish and
maintain industrial peace. If oppon-
| ents cannot propose better plans than
those they assail and reject, they
will have to take what is available,
defective as it may seem. This is
I how society advances. The industri-
al conference must be content to make
its contribution, help to educate the
community. and await the result.
Its preliminary report embodies one
| of the most original and sanest pro-
posals thus far offered for the handling
| of the industrial question in the
United States. Within the last twenty
years two industrial commissions au-
thorized by Congress have published
records which rival modern en-
| cyclopedias in bulk Yet never be-
| fore has any public body been able
to devise a program which promises
both justice and uninterrupted pro-
duction and which at the same time
| fits snugly into the American political
| system. \
The task which the Presidents con-
ference undertook was difficult in the
extreme. 1t would have been easy to
bring in a partisan report. No states
manship would have been needed for
that. But what the conference sue
ceeded in doing was to devise a sys-
TEN of industrial boards and tribunals
| which are, wholly public in character
and which in large measure should
overcome the impotence that has been
inherent Tn most governmental agencies
for industrial adjustment The weak
nesses of the plan will be developed
/ by discussion.
| Great skill is shown in obtaining
legal sanction for the work of the
proposed organization. 1t is based on
the power of Congress to pursue pub
lie inquiries. power which may be
delegated. The proposed boards of
adjustment would be able to obtain
jurisdiction because of the almost uni
versal willingness of one party to an
industrial dispute to submit to arbi-
tration. Either party which did SUBJ
init to arbitration would have ade-
quate representation in any inquiry
while the recalcitrant opponent would
lack such representation. That knowl-
edge, coupled with the assurance that
the report would be a public record,
should strongly tend to induce full CO.
operation by both parties to dispute.