Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-10-21
KANSAS INDUSTRIAL
COURT FUNCTON|NC
To AVERT WALKOUTS
BY DAVID LAWRENCE
LEASED Wire Service to The Journal.)
(Copyright 1927


her experiment in state adjudication
Of Ia Dor disputes to make the idea
worthy Of examination for nation
wide use. The American Bar asso.
citation has a committee at work
which will recommend to the vari-
Gus states of the nation, q model
law patterned after the Kansas for
mula.
Labor and capital have had their
say about the Kansas court and
there has been a noticeable mis-
conception of some of the purposes
Of the court. First of all, let it be
said that nothing so far-reaching
can be worked out in a year, but
Kansas has ironed out many of the
defects and has by actual expert
ence developed a code of morals
which, taken. with the phraseology
Of the law itself, is gradually get
ting results, by which one means,
is preventing distress to the public.
L AAC LA1Ilodo law NOCS 1lOI dIlSIIlDL
to prevent all strikes. Nor is it in
voked in all cases where employees
may shut down their plants and
cause lockouts. The law received a
black eye in many parts of the
country because of the anti-picket-
ing feature which was literally en-.
forced against William Allen White
but that's after all collateral is
sue, and tn ecourts will, by their de.
cisions set forth the limitations of
the futuce
Principles of Court
To understand the Kansas law and
it's application one should study
carefully the set of principles which
Governor Allen, father of the meas
ure, has written as his interpreta
ton of the industrial act.
The right to abandon job in
dividually or collectively is unques
toned. 1t can never be abridged.
1.-THE right to quit work in
dividually for the purpose of secur.
ing higher wages or better working
conditions is unquestioned.
1.-THE right to agree with others
to quit work for the purpose of de,
manding better wages or working
conditions may be admitted as long
as the public welfare is not threat
ened.
1.-THE right to agree with a large
body Of others TO quit work, and to
hinder or stop the production of es
Spntl91S in fin0a of nnn1 iy cs11hinot
to very serious question, and calls
for the intervention of government
because:
''The right to agree with all 9th
ers to quit work until any and all
demands, economic or political, are
met, regardless Of the suffering OF
deaths of the population, is a thing
that is always in the realm of pos
sibility as a, logical sequence, anG
in such a case the existing govern
ment would be in effect overthrow
IN favor Of an economic oligarchy.'
The foregoing principles are ap
parent because they are directly
involved in the federal governments
effort to deal with strikes on trans
portation systems and in the pro
duction of fuel. There is little doubt
| |I%cC N4AC ulSCOSSlOI JUST USSuH
Secretary of Labor Davis to amend
the transportation act and to abol
| ish ethe labor board, will revive the
anti-strike clauses which were frs
| proposed for the Esch- Cummins
law.
Defining the Terms
Whatever evolution the debate
may develop in the next severa
months it is probable that the basic
ideas applied by Governor Aller
will play vital part in the pre-
| and con of the congressional discus
sion.
| Governor Allen argues, for in
stance, that "the right to quit work
is entirely different from the right
to strike and that ''even if the Kan
sas laws were primarily an anti
! strike law, which is not the case, il
would still be untruthful to say the
law would deprive a man Of the
right to quit work"
The Kansas governor differs tt
some extent with the view recently
adopted by the railroad executive:
and some members of the United
States railroad labor board, who con
| tended that the strikers had in eff
feet quit their employment.
| Striking" says Governor Allen
I'm the meaning universally acceptct
| by all organized labor is included
carries with it the very necessary
| and apparent implication of resum
| ing work after the demands are
granted. Striking, therefore, is no
abandoning the job. On the Other
hand, it implies the opposite idea
a rather marked desire to keep the
| job so as to get higher wages"
! The Kansas governor is of the
opinion that legislation could be en-
acted which would sharply differ
entiate betneen striking and the
mere quitting Of work.
"a law against abandoning job,
| he adds, would be obviously in con
| flict with the thirteenth amendmen
| fCrbidding involuntary servitude. NJ
one would be so stupid or short-s1ght
ed as to propose any such law. Ant
for that matter, perhaps, there Is M
Lressing need for any law to proven
striking except where such striking
threatens the lives and welfare d
the public"
For Public Welfare
| Under the present law OIL hdHS
the intervention Of the industrial
court occurs only when essential pro
duction of direct relation to the pub
lie welfare is affected.
Thousands of strikes could go OF
in candy plants or in piano-makln&
factories and the public welfare
would not be disturbed, and the cour
Of Kansas would ignore the trouble
but should a strike in the mining o.
coal or some other necessity of life
develop, the court takes jurisdiction
| at once.
The Kansas court of three judge:
is not board of arbitration. /
doesn't consist of a representative
of labor, a representative of capital
and a neutral. 1t consists of three