New-York tribune., 1922-03-05
The Party of the Third Part

Governor Allen dismissed as "mere ges-
ture'' the proposal of Senator Kenyon to es-
tablish a court of advocates with DEGREES en-
forced by public opinion, and not through
penal statutes.
"Under the working of the Court Of Indus
trial Relations," continued the Governor,
."something has been done for the social bet
terment of the foreign born among the miners.
Nothing Of that sort ever has been done by
the unions in all the years they have been
operating.
"Also stop has been put to common abuses
of the coal camps, such as charging the men
exorbitant rates for wages advanced For
twenty-five years the companies had been in
the habit of charging miner 10 per cent
month when he could not wait for payday
and found it necessary to get some cash. The
operators were getting usurers' interest out
of the men. Palpably it was outrage, but
the unions had not stopped it. Yet the Court
of Industrial Relations stopped such charges
in just eighteen minutes, for somebody timed
the court when the matter came up for con-
sideration. Now, when a miner wants cash
that he has earned the only charge for an ad-
vance is something like Is cents to cover
bookkeeping costs.
Gree employment service is provided under
the Court of Industrial Relations Also the
court has taken definite action looking toward
the equalization of the wages of women and
men, In the case of the Wolff Packing Com
pany the court decided that where women were
working with men and we're doing the same
class of work equally we'll there should be no
discrimination in pay One of the officials of
the company told me that this had been con-
sdered for a. long time-but it was one of
those things that never was done.
"When we first organized the court it took
over the work of the Public Utilities Commits
son But that commission considering
upward of six hundred or seven hundred cases
a year, and it's work interfered with the larger
work for which the court was organized. So
the added burden was taken from the court
"The Court of Industrial Relations consists
of three members, appointed by the Governor
of the state. The terms are overlapping, so
no one Governor will have the appointing of
the entire court. The law creating the court
was passed as result of the coal strike, but
it was carefully prepared that there has
been no reaction Of public anger against labor
or against capital. The law holds beth sides
responsible. 1t merely gives the state power
to interfere in industrial quarrels as we'll as in
private quarrels You and could not start
fight in any public place without the inter-
ference of the law, because we would be tres
passing upon the rights Of the public. Why
may not the government exercise the same re-
sponsibility in industrial quarrels which af
feet public INTEREST,""
Speaking of arbitration, the Kansas Gov
error s~iu:
'We have tried arbitration in this country
for fifty years. 1t is the Gompers remedy.
choose capital and you choose labor, vice
versa. A third represents compromise
But the principle Of compromise, with no
means of enforcement becomes abortive.
"The Court of Industrial Relations is not
empowered to intervene in any cases except
SNom A:,.,eS <~r r,~n> Oh