New-York tribune., 1920-06-07

Federal arbitration machinery to settle
disputes between railroad workers and
their employees. President Wilson's
two industrial conferences sought an
answer to the problem, and the Presi-
dent himself in indorsing the political
platform of the Virginia Democrats
went on record as favoring some ma
chinery for public protection.
Points in His Statement
Mr.. Gompers' answer follows in part:
'In the first place the language of
the question is improper, as I statcr
on the platform in Carnegie Hall. To
describe a strike as private war be-
tween capital and labor is to come
perilously near applying the language
of either thoughtlessness or ridicule TO
struggle of human mankind toward
the attainment of an ideal.
employment, as employers would
have it, is something offered by them to
workers, an impersonal thing.
Employment, to workers. has been
and is, vastly different. Employment,
to workers, is the means of sustaining
life
The strike is the only effective
weapon by which the workers may COM
pei consideration of just demands. It
is a weapon, the use of which entails
serious consequences, but the question
of life, which is the question at issue,
is a serious question. It is much more
serious to strikers than it is to Gov
ernor Allen or members of employers
associations.
The freedom of workmen in enjoy
ment of the right to strike means the
freedom of men to make life better,
safer, happier-the right of men to
elevate the whole tone of society and
to force abolition of abuse, injustice
and oppression.
Cites Asiatic Countries
"Workmen grow less oppressed and
more free as they increase their or
ganized power When few workmen
were organized their grievances were
tries offer to workmen the least of
life where workmen are most poorly
organized. China. India, Japan-thesc
are glorious havens of Governor AL
lens kind of liberty. but workmen
there must accept what is given them.
There is no denial that strikes of
magnitude temporarily affect the gen.
eral public. Governor Aliens public
seems to be for the most part an en-
ploying and non-union public. The
real public includes all union men and
women and is in fact fully one-fourth
union.
"The question propounded by Cover
nor Allen is an inquiry as to whether
the public has any rights when strikes
affect production or distribution Of
the necessaries of life In such cases
the public, including union men, has
rights and the striking union usually
is first to recognize these rights. Few
strikes affecting production or distri-
button actually threaten the public
peace and fever become menace to
the public health.
Labor has no desire to cause incon-
venience to the public, of which it is a
part. The public has no rights which
are superior to the toiler's right to live
and to his rights to defend himself
against oppression.
Charges Critics Are Insincere.
GAS to the third section of Governor
Aliens question, relating to the
switchmen, it is absurd. Labor is
damned if it does and damned If it
does not, which reveals the insincerity
of the critics. Labor believes in and
practices majority rule-democracy.
In the case of the switchmen minor
ity, goaded by employers beyond en-
all there is to that
right he leaves the issue and resorts
to incorsequentials. Strikes are or
dered by the majority vote of union
M embe berships; they are not ordered by
officials at will. When officials issue
strike orders they do so as the result
of a vote of the membership authoriz-
ing such an order"