The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1922-07-13
By GEORGE z. ROBERTS

permanently maintain superfluous
force. If there were too many shoe.
factories and too many shoe-makers
it would not follow that the public
should pay enough for shoes tc
allow all the factories to be main.
tanned on half time operations, al
double the normal cost for shoes
Questions of this kind must be
settled with view to the econom.
ical operation of the industries, for
the good of the greatest number
Everybody wears shoes and uses
coal; of the two, coal is the more
important, for it enters into the cost
of everything else. 1t is no kind
ness to the laboring people of this
country to maintain artificial con-
ditions which increase the cost OF
coal. They bear more heavily upon
people of small incomes than upon
others. Every wage-earner pays
more because of them not only tc
heat his home and cook his meals,
but upon every purchase he makes
The improved conditions in the
steel and other industries, with wage
advances indicat ting a shortage OF
common labor in many localities,
give reason to believe that the
superfluous labor in the coal in
dustry would be quickly absorbed
if the industries ali received the
stimulus which cheaper coal and
cheaper transportation together
would give. Indeed, with a general
revival Of industry it probably would
be found that there were not so
many supcrhuous men in the coal
industry as now thought. If the
natural economic laws were allowed
to have full play the whole situation
would clear itself rapidly.
The Rights of the Public
The matter of fuel supply so
deeply concerns the public, that the
latter unqucstionably has rights to
be protected in the controversy be-
tween employers and employees. If
the latter fail to reach an agreement,
and a fuel famine develops which
threatens to prevent the operation
of the railroads and close down the
industries generally, the government
will be obliged to take the settle
ment into its own hands. When
individual rights or the interests of
groups come in conflict, the govern
ment, representing the entire body
of people, has right to determine
and enforce policies that in its judy
ment will best serve the interests of
society as whole. This is not
capitalistic doctrine; it is the essence
of democracy. The principle that
the government has the right to
safeguard the common interests and
maintain policies that are essential
to social progress is fundamental;
it is paramount in all disputes, be-
cause it is more important to every
body than any dispute over his own
wages or his own property rights
possibly can be. 1t is the principle
upon which orderly society is based.
The question of compulsory ar
bitration has been much discussed
in an abstract way, and tried in
Australia without on the whole very
satisfactory results. Few people be-
1ieve in it as a method of settling
ordinary disputes. So far as the
interests of the immediate dis
putants are concerned, it is better
that they have the opportunity to
fight it out and reach their own set
Element; but where the interests of
the public are vitality involved there
must be way of protecting it. The
interests of the many cannot be SUBJ
ordinated to the interests of the
few, no matter whether the few are
rich, or powerful for some other
reason.
So long as the theory is main
tanned that any relatively small
group, like the coal miners or the
railroad employees, has right to
take advantage of its relation to
vital public service, to shut off that
service by agreement among them.
selves, regardless of the damage or
suffering caused to the great public
which sustains the service, just so
long there will be danger of an
attempt to put the theory into effect.
It is to be hoped that such IN
attempt never will be made, but
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