Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-08-08
Tolerance Needed in Labor D sputesBy Frederic j. Haskn
Copyright, 1929

piled: 1.-THE only good Indian is dead In
dian!"
On the other hand, a man who has been
at the head of one Of the largest of the labor
unions declared within the last few days
that the newspapers and press associations
of the country were in virtual conspiracy
to misrepresent labors cause to the public
and were constantly distorting the news in
order to create popular sentiment adverse
to labor and to the unions.
eff anything happens that Is favorable to
us you never see word about it in the
papers," he said. "The press associations
won't carry the story and the papers won't
print it."
All employers and all leaders of labor are
not so blindly prejudiced as these two men,
otherwise the only way capital and labor
would ever be brought together would be In
head-on collision. Unfortunately, however,
these two men are multiplied many times
in the industrial world, thereby adding i'm
measurably to the difficulties Of those who
seek to preserve peace or to reconcile dill
ferences once open conflict has been precip-
itated.
Everyone who has undertaken the role OF
mediator or arbitrator in labor dispute
knows only too we'll that there are too sides
to every case, and that neither side has a
monopoly of right or of virtue. In the pres
ent railroad controversy for instance, en-
phasis is frequently laid on the fact that
the shopmen refused to abide by decision
of the railroad labor board and went on
strike in violation of that decision. Those
who make point of that should be informed
that the first refusal to abide by decision
or order of the board came from the man
agerial side when certain railroads under
took arbitrarily to put wage decreases into
effect while the board had ruled that such
action should not be taken pending its near
ing and determination Of the question. Later
ut roads ignored or violated other rulings
or decisions Of the board.
All who discuss this rupture In the re-
lations of railroad management and workers
should also know that there is nothing In
the law that requires either side to accept
or t. abide by decisions of the labor board.
Again, in the case of the coal strike, those
who criticise the miners for not accepting
President Harding's peace proposal should
understand that as matters stood the miners
had practically won their strike and had good
reasons for not wanting to take the chance
of having the fruits of victory taken away
from them by an arbitration commission.
They had fought a long and trying fight and
surely were entitled to all of whatever sue
cess it had brought to them.
At the same time, the friends Of the min
ers should understand that if the workers
had been conceded everything they were
striking fora national agreement, the old
wage scale, and the old working rules-they
would be no better off than they were prior
to April 1, for nothing would have been done
to cure the uneconomic conditions in the coal
industry. Without sterilization of the in
dustry and without some solution of the
problem of the non-union districts, the lot
of the union miner will never be satisfac-
tory one.
Thus the case is made for tolerance of
the rights and opinions Of others in times
of open conflict between workers and their
employers, and for the development Of an
intelligent public opinion that can be
brought to bear when needed.