Evening star., 1922-08-20
AMERICAN PEOPLE TIRED :
OF HOLDING STRIKE BAG
Nationwide Demand That Public's
Rights to Fuel and Transportation
Shall Be Protected.

and have been on strike for nearly
two months.
The railroad executives have not
yet struck" against a decision of the
Labor Board, but they have sought
to evade decisions. It might be more
dimcult for them to strike than for
the unions. But still, they might.
Railroad owners have been moro
amenable to the force of public opin.
lon since the enactment of the.
interstate commerce and transporta-'
ton acts. which provide a commiss
sion to pass upon their rates, theirS
issues OF securities. etc.
SO the machinery for dealing with
wages-the fundamental difference In
most employer and labor contro-
versies-has been set UP for the rail-
roads. AS yet. there has been no
commission established to deal with
the coal Industry. But the belief is
growing that such a commission ia
coming, and coming soon.
See No Other Remedy.
Conservative members of the Sem
ate, who have shuddered at the idea
OF the governments fixing prices of
commodities. say frankly now that
they have reached the conclusion the
only way out of the difficult coal Sit
uation Is to treat coal Just as trans
poreatlon mas been treated as a pub
Tic utility. This means price fixing.
But they are insistent that if the
prices of transportation and fuel are
to be fixed by impartial tribunals.
then the wages-constituting the
greatest element of cost in produc-
tion-must be determined also by
impartial tribunals. They see no
other solution.
Legislation to bring about this gov
ernmental control to prevent the tie
up OF transportation and fuel cannot
be written overnight 1t must be
handled with the greatest care, so as
to safeguard the interests of the pub
lie, the workers and the owners of
the properties. 1t is not expected
1t will be attempted at the present
session of Congress. When it is un-
dertaken, it will be fought tooth and
nail by the unions and by the coal
OR>H eAsoA q. hC idlii OddS, dlTedOs
being regulated as to their charges
for transportation not unnaturally
may be expected to approve any plan
that Will give them protection from
strikes. which tie up their lines and
fix their labor charges. There is
growing feeling in this country
that these labor disputes on road and
in mine must be settled, and settled
finally, through an impartial tribunal,
just as disputes between individuals
are settled in the courts, and by
force.
Two schools of thought already
have developed. and probably many
more, in regard to dealing with the
railroad and mine workers One
school would have the law impose
financial penalties. fines and the like
if an attempt were made by a union
to interfere with interstate trans
Dortation and the operation of the
mines. The other would go further
and provide Jail sentences for men
who conspired to interfere with these
public utilities. as well as fines
The publie-the American people as
a whole-today is very impatient at
1.-The public be damned" attitude when
it is assumed either by capital or
labor. 1t is the growth of this public
spirit that is tending to force Con-
gress to legislate in regard to this
matter. The legislation may not
come this session. or even the next.
But it will come, senators predict
For Inquiry Commission.
Senator Borah of Idaho, chairman of
the committee on education and labor,
has offered resolution providing for
searching investigation to deter
mine whether the coal industry shall
be subject to government regulation.
He has not been able to get this reso-
luton out of committee vet. The
excuse has been put forward that
nothing should be done at this time
that might rock the boat"-prevent
adjustment of the coal strike. But
when the coal strike is at an end. a
showdown is expected.
The President, addressing Congress.
also urged the appointment of an i'm
partial commission, with full author
ity to investigate every phase of the
coal industry and to make recommen-
dations regarding legislation.
Kansas has been pioneer state.
The establishment of its industrial
court to settle industrial contro-
versies is one of the most radical in
novations the state has ever under
taken. President Harding. in his mes
70 of nnpninp
cember 6, 1921. proposed the estab-
lishment of judicial tribunals to deal
with Industrial cases.