Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-05-12
The HQSkin Letter 81 r.
LABOR BOARD FOR COAL INDUSTRY.
By FREDERICK
J.

/ directly interested In the dispute in
question; or, third, the board may act
on it's own initiative if it is Of the
opinion that the dispute sis likely sub
stantially to interrupt commerce" The
board may thus act in any dispute with
respect to wages, hours of labor and
other working conditions.
The board, once it has taken juris-
diction in a case, must render it's de-
cision within go days, unless this
period is extended by agreement of the
parties, and there can be no decision
by the board except by the concurrence
of at least five of the nine members,
and at least n member of the pub
lie group must join in the decision.
No Penalty to Enforce Decisions
No penalties are provided for viola
tions Of the decisions Of the labor
board. When the transportation act
was under consideration in congress
this question of creating a board with
out giving it power ~ enforce it's de-
crees was debated at length, but in the
end 1t was decided wisest to leave such
persons as would not abide by the de-
cisions of such q tribunal subject only
to the condemnation and o%pprobrium
that would be visited upon them by
public opinion. In the experience Of
the railroad labor board only one or
two of its DEGREES have been evaded
or defied, and it is believed that public
opinion can be as efficacious In en-
forcing a labor boards decision as any
penalties in the form of fines that
might be provided.
The board, however, does hove au-
thority to compel the appearance Of
witnesses and the production of papers
and documents. Any member may re-
Quire by subpoena the attendance of
any witness and the production Of any
book, paper, document or other evil
dence from any place In the United
States at any designated place of hear
ing, and in case Of failure of comply
with any subpoena, or in case Of the
before it, the board may invoke the aid
of any United States district court.
Such court may thereupon order the
witness to comply with the require
ments of the subpoena, or to testify,
and any failure to obey such an order
may be punished as contempt of court
in the usual Inc Witnesses are
also liable to prosecution and punish
ment for perjury committed in testify
ing before the board.
Any person who upon demand of
any member or duly authorized repre-
sentative Of the board shall refuse ac-
cess to and the right to copy any book,
account, record, paper or correspond
ence relating to any matter which the
board is investigating is subject to a
penalty of $500 fine for each such Of
Tense.
In addition to the settling of dis
putes the Kenyon bill gives the pro-
| nnCaH 1uhCr hnard fho foIIn,,i,x oJI.-
tional broad functions:
"Shal investigate and study the re-
lations between operators and their
employees particularly questions re-
lating to wages, hours Of labor, and
conditions and regularity of employ
ment; shall gather, compile, digest,
and publish, from time to time, data
and information relating to such ques-
tons to the end that the labor board
may be properly equipped to perform
it's duties under this act and that the
public may be properly informed; and
shall institute measures to stabilize
the industry and regularize employ
ment.'
If the bill should become a law with
this provision in it, the national coal
mining board would have a bigger job
on It's hands thar has ever been turned
over to any similar tribunal. and more
power and latitude to act than has ever
been entrusted to any group of men
dealing with industrial relations. 1t
would be possible for the board to
make a complete survey of the coal
industry and give the public all the
facts that are so essential to the for
nation of an intelligent public opinion
as to what should be done in crises
like the one precipitated by the strike
on April i.
1t would also be possible for the
board to institute measures that would
revolutionize the entire industry which
is admittedly in a bad way as a re-
suit of being over-manned and over
mined, and in Il constant state of tur-
MOL over the unionization nrohlon