The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-09-14
CONGRESSMAN HocH,s PLAN.

Congressman Homer Hoch's bill
board and set up in its stead a board
composed of disinterested persons.
should receive the thoughtful consid-
Grafton of congress. Clearly, 1t was a
mistake to give the railroads and their
employees representation on the board.
1t was equivalent to permitting the
families OF both sides In lawsuit to
sit on the Jury.
It is not at all certain that Mr.
Hoch,s plan will work any better than
the one in existence but it could hard
ly do worse. It seems certain that the
award of the board could not be en-
forced If either party should be IN
willing TO accept it. Men cannot be
made 20 work against their will except
with guns as It is done in Russia. This
country is not ready for that and
probably never will be.
There are many who advocate arbi-
tration laws with teeth" meaning
the compulsory submission of all dis
putes to official boards with power to
As against this proposition is the fact
that it has been tried out in ali of its
phases in other countries and found
absolutly wanting. for the same reason
in each instance-that is, men cannot
be made to work against their will.
True, they can be fined for not obey
ing an award handed down by a COM
NJ hut
to pay the fine, there are no jails
large enough to accommodate such
large numbers of men.
In Australia, the home of compul-
sorry arbitration, the first case was that
Of twelve thousand abatto;r workers
who refused to accept the award or to
pay the fine. There was no place in
Australia to lpck UP twelve thousand
workers and there was no government
that dared even to try it. The same
thing happened in Canada when the
fifteen thousand mine workers refused
to obey the award of the conciliaticn
board. They went through the same
procedure and, for the same reason,
were not imprisoned. How could the
to work in this country? 1t Is a ply
steal impossibility, to say nothing of
the political side. The attempt to in
Icarcerate 1000 miners would meet
with even greater obstacles, while the
10000 shopmen and the $4,000 coal
1 miners combined would increase the
difficulty to the range of absurdity.
Besides, If men be successfully re-
strained from striking in a body, they
will find a way to quit individually
and nothing could stop them.
If the government shall make II
possible for any man who is willing to
i work, to take the place vacated by a
striker and retain~it, secure from mo.
lestation, Interference and intimida.
ton, it probably will have done its ut.
most unless it would assume operation
of the industry involved in a ytrike
The trouble with the latter solution
is that it would not take over the
coal miners nor the sh6pmen, and the
government would thus be confronted
with identicany the same propositions
as are faced by the private operators
As we must have coal and as the rail.
roads must run, the government
would naturally yield to the demand.
of the workers.
There are other objections-for ex
ample, the enormous cost of bureau.
cracy and the question of political fav.
oritism, to say nothing of the graf
which goes with all government ep.
| GRAFTON of all large enterprises. Blu
it may come to this. Government may
be forced temporarily to take ovel
j.. and operate these industries, Just as +
did during the war, whatever the cos
and however bunglingly and ineffi
GENTLY the thing may be done. AS be
/ tween freezing and starving and gov
-ternment operation the public would
choose government operation.
1t is no convincing objection that
If this should be done in the cas-,
) of coal mining and of transportation
, it would open the door to the inclu
} SION OF farm products, of cotton, O.
) building, of clothing and<aIl the othel
: necessaries of life. If the time eve
COMES when any of these industries il
| IN peril the intervention of the GOV
: sFninent must be invoked.
, -
The opinion seems to prevail, gen