New-York tribune., 1922-03-05

~ ub;ncton where he had come to talk on
..a,,,d rates and to debate with Governor
g;lsr Of New York on the st. Lawrence
~..,ruav. But, interested as he is in other
s.,slems of the day, the theme that gets the
'..ost Of his enthusiasm is the Kansas Court
:, Industrial Relations which he was respon-
;gs for creating in 1919, and which has be-
,ne center Of controversy
AZ am glad New York is seeking to adopt
/ 8. nr;ncipes of the Kansas law establishing
rm+ of Industrial Relations" said Governor
,rsn ~ believe there is greater need in New
yot for the establishment of these principles
~, IN other states that have fewer industrial
..,yoms ! have not looked thoroughly into
~ nntents of the proposed New York law,
s.t 4 must be remembered that the law itself
oDlv a beginning, and that future legisla-
fra sessions will make any remedies necessary
\ .ba measure is not we'll balanced. Every
sdy is watching New York right now. If
ysx York establishes an industrial court, it
will rot be ten years until similar courts are
established in majority of the states. In
fact from the communications / get, it looks
as Il the rest of the country is going ahead
and establishing such courts, anyway. Texas
has organized an industrial equity league, and
Nebraska. Iowa, Oklahoma, Minnesota and
Colorado are among the states that have made
definite moves looking to industrial courts
Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Washington and Ore
gon are considering the pian.
"In Kansas" continued Governor Allen, "the
r...4 - Iud,.rtr;o1 poJof;opc boH cCOSi0eraH
and passed judgment upon thirty-four inn
portant cases. in thirty three of which the de-
cisions Of the court have been accepted as SAT
isfsctory Ninety-five per cent of these cases
have been brought in behalf of labor.
Many varieties Of cases have come up for
settlement by the court, including four street
car cases, affecting companies that have had
many strikes in previous years. Probably
the most important of these is the case Of the
Joplin G. Pittsburg Railway Company, oper-
atng in the zinc and coal mining district IN
the southeast corner of the state, where there
is population of perhaps 100000. This COM
pany had two strikes during the war In
these strikes the men had not gained dol
lar. When the court was set up the men
brought a petition and asked for a living
wage The court said the Legislature had not
endowed it with the right to establish 'llv-
ing wage but could determine what was a
fair and just wage-which meant a living
wage plus. The carmen accepted the result
ng award and so did the railroad company.
one year ago the company asked for a re-
adjustment. The court, after due considera-
uon OF the situation, reduced wages. The
men accepted the new figure as equitable, and
so did the company. Thus we have the fair
working of the Industrial Court in behalf of
oo'n sides to a controversy--one decision
against and one for"
Governor Allen submitted the following let
YER from John A. Prescott, vice president Of
me Joplin & Pittsburgh company, which he
nad received under date of February "a, 1922:
Vur company was one of the first to have
laoOr cases tried before the Court of Indus
"'al relations of the State of Kansas. We
lase Tor long time been in favor of the prin-
spes OF such law, properly framed and
n0nestly administered
while the decisions in our cases before the
"''snt nave been IN some respects more
ss''Siactory to us than they were, still we feel
way 'ne Judges made sincere effort to ar
"' ae justice and fairness to all concerned.
AZ any rate, the decisions so far have been
S'Ned and complied with by our company
w our employees, and the operation of the
s.'pefty has not been interrupted on account
asputes between our employees and the
= xsupahy since the Court of Industrial Rela-
"as was established"
Employers : Find That Lnw