Evening star., 1925-04-05
BY WILLIAM c. REDFIELD.
Former Secretary of Commerce.


Arbitration is as old as the stone
age and as new as the days morn.
1t has long heen the practice, and
one may say the increasing practice.
of many leading business and trade
organizations. 1t has work ed so well
as to have become standardized pro-
cedure in prominent exchanges and
chambers of commerce all over our
! land. Ii has become as common as
helpful in the field of foreign trad 2
and is definite objective of the In
ternational Chamber of Commerce
and of many bodies of more re-
tricted scope that cooperate with it
Arbitration has taken the air" and
speaks through efficient announcers
| throughout the land and across the
seas Old 1t is it is also the most
recent illuminaRt of the shadows of
modern trade.
EMciency In Justice.
Modern arbitra ton, however, diff
ters from that which until recently
has prevailed both in what 1t is and
in. what 1t does. 1t is not conciliation,
it is not mediation. 1t contains ele-
ments of both and applies success
fully the considerate spirit of each.
but 1t goes far beyond them. 1t is
now, under recent State and national
statutes, an effective means of doing
justice. simply, cheaply, quickly
clearly and finally. One of its most
attractive elements is that, because
of its simplicity and clearness
promptly applied, il succeeds, upon
the whole. In doing justice in such a
way as to satisfy all the parties con-
cerned that real justice has been
done. Another essential feature is
that it permits the settlement of dis
putes by men specially qualified to
pass upon the matters concerned.
The State of New York has the
honor of having enacted the first mod
ern arbitration law, followed a year
later by New Jersey, and in the pres
ent year not only by Oregon, but by
a Federal statute of prime impor-
tance. These laws concur in the fea-
ture that. when an agreement to ar
bitrate has been made part of vol
untary contract, the courts shall en-
force that agreement. Having volun-
tarily agreed to arbitrate, the parties
cannot refuse to do so. An arbitra-
tion clause has, therefore, under these
laws the same binding effect as any
other contractual agreement. 1t has
not been so hitherto; it is so now. This
| constitutes the great advance which
these statutes provide. The decision
of arbitrators acting under these
statutes becomes a decision of high
er court and is not in practice open to
appeal save for fraud and other evil
dent causes. Lists of official arbitra-
tors are provided by various recog-
nized incorporated bodies, and even
courtrooms are furnished for hearings
at a nominal price.
Promoted In New York.
The Chamber of Commerce of the
State of New York has long held an
honorable primacy in promoting the
modern development of commercial
arbitration. Quite recently a number
of powerful bodies have been created
to educate the general public on the
application of the new laws and to
promote the enactment of similar
statutes throughout the country.
Among these are the Arbitration So
ciety of America, the Arbitration
Foundation and the Arbitration Con-
ference Board. These organizations
cooperate In q harmonious effort to
forward one OF the greatest modern