Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-10-24
THE STRIKE AND THE PUBLIC.

there is a contest between the hundreds Of thousands
OF persons who, upon = given signal, cease their la:
bors for the purpose Of enforcing demands which
may be warranted or unwarranted, and the great
body OF the people.
Just now there is in progress activity Of every
kind to provide transportation by extraordinary
means. The governor of New York state has just
announced that steps will be taken to keep open the
Erie Canal until long after the period when naviga-
ton ordinarily closes in order to facilitate the move
alelling the Atlantic seaboard are being fitted for
an unusual amount of traffic. Merchants, individu-
ais, public bodies, are putting forth every effort to
accumulate stocks Of food, fuel, and other necessar-
les, far in advance of their usual requirements. Ev-
erywhere throughout the country there is a ~feverish
activity directed toward the accumulation Of goods
for the facilitation of transportation by unusual
methods. Thousands Of trucks are being equipped
to perform a service which is ordinarily performed
by the railroads, and innumerable instances could be
given of similar activities directed toward the same
end.
What is the purpose of all this? Simply to make
the threatened railroad strike Ineffective. or as near
ly Ineffective as possible, in achieving one of the
purposes which must be achieved in. order to make
it a success. The purpose of a strike is usually to
exact from the employers certain conditions which
cannot be obtained in ordinary ways. In such cases
as the present the strike would be utterly f~ruitless
if as a means toward its success it did not inflict
upon the public Inconvenience and injury. If it
~ pooSlplC y II SIlINC Il Ce up railroads COM
pletely and if no substitutes or partial substitutes for
that transportation, could be found, the country
would speedily be reduced to dire straits. There
would be a shortage of provisions, of fuel, and Of
commodities of all kinds all over the country, and
in this case as in all similar cases, those who engage
IN the strike rely on the pressure which will be
brought to bear by the public because Of these con-
ditions to bring about cessation of the strike on any
terms that can be reached.
The strike in such an industry would be inef-
fective if only the employers and employees were
concerned. The great factory could be shut down
tor a long period pending the settlement of the
strike. There would be Inconvenience to the own
.ers, but they would be not more greatly inconven-
fenced than the strikers themselves. In the present
instance the railroad managers could we'll afford to
let their roads lie idle for weeks or perhaps months.
There would be some n jury and considerable loss
OF revenue, but it might be an economy to endure
these things rather than to yield to demands which
the railroad owners might consider excessive. But
the essential features Of SUCH a strike is that the
public must have service. 1t must insist that every
'instrumentality of transportation be employed in or
der to provide it service, and the hope of success in
such a strike lies in wearing out the patience and
endurance of the public so that a demand will be
made for settlement regardless of terms.
This is one of the features involved in every sit
uation of like character. The general public is real
ly the party chiefly interested. The loss to either
employer or employe, either from the strike itself or
through the maintenance of conditions which to
eltner party are undesirable are 1ntlnteSlrnal as COM
pared with the loss inflicted on the general public,
and for that reason it is clear that in a society prop
erly constituted the strike will not occur, and can
not be permitted to occur:> What the means shall
be to avoid it is a matter Of discussion and specula-
ton. Kansas has undertaken to eliminate the strike
through legislation which is now the subject of Bit
ter conferences. Whether or not the plan proves
successful, or some other plan is to be- devised, re-
mains to be seen, but the concurrence of conditions
which are inseparable from strikes and upon which
the success Of a strike depends, which involve such
injury to the public as results from the modern
strike, is inconsistent with progress, and must by
some means be prevented by adequate legislation.