Evening star., 1938-12-27

ernment must enter the field O
labor relations, not to curb the vi
ciouS employer and the dangerou
labor agitator but to speedily fore,
all industrial workers into the kline
OF an organization some individual.
thought they ought to join-indi.
vlduals, few of whom had ever me-
a pay roll or faced the problem.
of the daily workers. Fortunately
the men who work are themselve.
coming to see, in increasing mum.
ber, that If today unionization /.
encouraged and sponsored under
Government patronage tomorrow
Government may assert the right
to discourage or prohibit unioniza.
ton altogether. That very thing
has happened elsewhere. 1t might
happen here. A much better pro-
gram is for the Government to keer
hands off, to abstain from taking
sides, to leave the individual work.
ers entirely free to settle for them
selves the question Of union mem.
bership. The act should be Sc
amended that no labor board, what
ever its bias, would any longer have
it within its power to put the Gov
ernment in the business Of foster
ing, promoting, compelling union
ization of workers.
British System Voluntary.
In that manner only can the way
be opened for voluntary collective
bargaining. The great benefits OF
such a system have been admirably
set forth by the able commission
which studied labor relations In
Great Britain this past summer as
the result of the wise direction of
the President of the United States.
The entire system of collective bar
gaining in that country is volun-
tary. Governmental controls are
held to minimum. The result has
been, as compared with the United
States, an era of industrial peace.
Good will prevails in general be-
tween employers and employed.
There is recognition of the truth
that all parties in the industrial
organization are engaged in COM
mon task, and that each must do
his full part if there is to be any
chance for permanently higher
wages. shorter hours, better work.
ing conditions, or larger profits. In
the negotiations, carried on in an
atmosphere of friendly cooperation,
the representatives of industry act
on the belief that labor is never
cheap to an employer, no matter
how small the pay envelope, if be-
cause Of a low standard of living
that labor is inefficient. The worker,
on the other hand, bargains in the
certain knowledge that industry
can never maintain a satisfactory
standard of living for labor if the
cost Of that labor per unit of prod
uct Is so high as to make the prod
uct not readily salable in the mar
kets of the world.
1t peace in industry is our goal
we should strive through a con-
stantly lessened governmental con-
troll to reach state of complete
voluntary collective bargaining. To
make progress along that line, all
employers should scrupulously alb
stain from every course of conduct
that could in anywise be construed
as an attempted interference with
the right of employees to organize
for such purposes in any manner
they see fit. There should be dis
played throughout industry cheer
full willingness to bargain openly
and fairly with the duly accredited
representatives of workers. On the
part Of labor, radical and self seek
ing leadership should be renounced.
Weapons of violence and intimida-
ton should be discarded. Repre-
sentatives selected to bargain for la
Dor should have the knowledge, the
skill and the ability to properly
represent those for whom they
speak.
Judge Must Be Disinterested.
Since we have elected to proceed
under law and an enforcing agen-
cy. our immediate task should be to
make such changes as will remove
the most serious evils. The board
acts at one and the same time as in
vestigator, complainant, prosecutor
and judge. 1t represents one party
to the action, the labor union which
Is the accuser. Even-handed justice
is not a possibility under such a sys-
tenn In dealing with the highly per-
sonal subject of labor relations,
where feelings run high and parti-
sanship is hard to keep in control.
The American citizen will never be
satisfied that he has had his day in
court unless he has been able to look
into the face of the Judge whom he
knows to be disinterested, who seeks
only to act justly, and with scrupu-
lous regard for the rights of all
The functions of the board should
be restricted to investigation and
prosecution of complaints. Judg-
ment should be rendered either in
the regular courts or in a special
tribunal corresponding to the Board
of Tax Appeals. I know that the
board claims, to use the words of one
Of its members, that it is "judicially
insulated" A thousand defendants,
who have suffered grievous wrongs,
rise with proof that the insulation
is lamentably defective.
But, it will be said, that even now
the courts have the power of ju-
dicial review and that justice is
safeguarded by the necessity of the
enforcement of Labor Board orders
through the Circuit Courts. Under
the act, review is rigidly limited.
The findings of the board as to the
facts, if supported by evidence, are
conclusive. Keep these points in
mind. The act permits the board
to disregard the rules of evidence
that prevail in courts of law and
equity.
This discretionary power in the
hands of an impartial Judge might
be useful. AS used by the Labor
Board, it is the means of filing the
record with surmise, hearsay, sus-
picion and personal opinion as the
basis for findings Of fact upon which
to render the desired judgment