the government, is as feasible, and will prove to be as beneficial, as the present post-office system, which, perfect as it is, needs enlargement in the direction of making them safe deposits, as is the system in England.

In addition to the demands made upon the State and National governments, hereinbefore enumerated, this organization proposes to its members to associate their own labors for the establishment of co-operative institutions, believing that through experiments in this direction, and that by reduced profits upon labor and increased remuneration to labor, consequent upon advancing civilization, that the cooperative system will supersede the wage-system. They also pledge themselves to secure for both sexes equal pay for equal work, and supplement their demand for legislation in the direction of less hours of labor by instructing their members to prepare for a general refusal to work for more than eight hours per day.

This preamble, which commences with the warning-cry against the power for evil of great corporations and capitalists, concludes by holding out the olive branch of peace, desiring that no unnecessary antagonisms may be created, — using the power of organization not to force, but to persuade employers to agree to arbitrate all differences. which may arise between them and their employees, in order that the bonds of sympathy between them may be strengthened, and strikes may be unnecessary."

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CHAPTER XX.

ARBITRATION.

DISASTROUS STRIKES LOSSES AND CONSEQUENCES THEREOF DEALING WITH HUMAN BEINGS — WORKMEN FAVORING ARBITRATION - EMPLOYERS IGNORING THE HUMANITIES OF LIFE - DISCUSSING DIFFERENCES OPINIONS OF GEORGE ODGER, PROFESSOR S. WATERHOUSE, PROFESSOR J. B. CLARK, PROFESSOR HENRY C. ADAMS, PROFESSOR E. J. JAMES, JOHN JARRETT, D. H. DONELLY, CONSEILS DES PRUD'HOMMES- ArbiTRATION IN BELGIUM, AUSTRIA, AND GREAT BRITAIN, AND IN THE UNITED STATES — ARBITRATION LAW OF THE LAST CONGRESS — THE LABOR PARLIAMENT — ORGANIZATION ESSENTIAL TO ARBITRATION.

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"Come now, let us reason together."— Isa. 1: 18.

FEW months ago, dense clouds lowered upon the fields of industry. Disastrous strikes then prevailed throughout the South-west, threatening at one time to involve the entire railroad system of the United States, -a misfortune which was alone prevented by the good judgment and firmness of the leaders of the Knights of Labor and Locomotive Engineers; while, during the same period, other strikes were pending, involving thousands and thousands of workingmen in various factories and workshops. These have all passed away, and to-day witnesses comparative peace throughout the length and breadth of the land. At such a time, it is peculiarly opportune to appeal to the intelligence of the country,-workingmen and employers alike,-to devise some better plan of adjusting differences than by strikes on the one hand and lockouts on the other, with their concomitant train of disaster, ruin, and frequently crime.

The losses sustained by workmen and employers, together with incidental injuries to the people at large, in the disastrous conflicts of the last few years, would present a frightful spectacle of the absolute waste of hundreds of millions of dollars. For while the loss of the strikers from their enforced idleness, (497) (32)

and the loss to employers from injury to property and the unproductiveness of their investments, amounts to millions. of dollars, the greater loss is borne by the entire country from the loss of the wealth produced by employed labor, from the increased cost of all articles involved in the controversy, and, in case of a railroad strike, from the increased cost of fuel and food to the people, from the difficulty and delay in obtaining supplies; resulting, also, in the enforced closing of workshops and factories, through the inability of employers to obtain necessary materials, thus swelling the ranks of those thrown out of employment by additional thousands, who are in such cases the unfortunate victims of a controversy in which they are not directly interested.

These reasons justify every citizen in carefully studying the question of the relations of capital and labor, and endeavoring to bring them together as friends and allies by guaranteeing that peace and prosperity which flows from continued industry. Is it not the part of every good citizen in all disputes to advise their fellow-men, whether workmen or capitalists, to come together and reason like men?—to meet at the same table for a mutual interchange of views, an honest and frank statement of his grievances by the workman, and an equally manly and honorable consideration, and, when necessary, concession by the capitalist ?

Employers must understand by this time that, in dealing with human beings, they cannot successfully apply the rule that the only thing necessary to be considered, when engaging in any enterprise, is to ascertain how great they can make their profits, and how low they can make the wages. If the promptings of humanity will not induce them to act fairly and honorably by their workmen, the disastrous experiences of strikes should by this time, at least, have been sufficient to convince them that from a purely selfish standpoint they can accomplish far more and achieve greater success by pursuing such a course as will prevent strikes, and enlist the sympathy of the workman in the success of his employer, — adopting the humane maxim, to "live and let live."

ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION.

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Workmen, as a rule, have always favored arbitration, and the submission of their differences to an impartial tribunal; and history shows that, in almost every instance where they have succeeded in obtaining an impartial hearing of their grievances, they have loyally and honorably abided by the result. Employers, as a rule, have been slow in recognizing the right of workingmen to even a hearing,-ignoring the humanities of life, and placing workmen on the same footing with their merchandise. Such a position, whenever a dispute occurs, has invariably resulted in a conflict, for the reason that workingmen will not submit to being ignored by an enterprise in which they believe that their labor and genius are as much the mainsprings of its success as the capital invested.

It is the same old story, repeated with slight variations, since civilization began, of the weak fighting the strong. In many cases, the weak may win by persistence in suffering; but, in the meantime, men and women will go hungry, and children will cry for bread. This continual clashing, involving so much suffering and loss of money, is unavoidable, unless both parties seek for and adopt a better system of adjusting differences. That such a system can be found in arbitration, based on principles of equity between employer and workman, has been amply shown in individual shops, and in whole communities in the Old World. So far as it has been tried in this country, it has proved far superior to any other method of settling differences. In no other way can the correlative interests of both labor and capital be so effectively guarded.

The principle of appealing to facts and reason, instead of to brute force, is rational, and at once commends itself to the judgment of every right-minded man. When workmen and employers meet together and discuss their differences and try to adjust them, they give evidence of the nobler qualities of their manhood.

Strikes and lockouts are characteristics of the Feudal Age, when might was right, and every dispute was settled by a resort to force. Arbitration will be characteristic of the age of reason and law.

George Odger, in 1866, at a large meeting in Sheffield, England, expressed the opinion "that strikes were in the social world what wars were to the political world: they became crimes, unless they were prompted by absolute necessity." When men of labor and capital meet together as men of business should meet, and discuss their differences in a friendly spirit, the chances are that they will reach an amicable settlement. Their success runs in parallel lines. Their interests are identical. Labor is capital, and capital is labor. They suggest the remedy for the conflict,-the remedy that civilized nations are now substituting for war; the influence of reason and voluntary arbitration of labor's troubles and capital's claims trusting to the enlightened public opinion to sustain their awards. Arbitration means education, and education means a proper maintenance of just principles. Education, arbitration and humanity are the triple link which will unite labor and capital.

The utterances of prominent men on the subject of arbitration, which I append, are evidence that the demand for arbitration must be conceded.

Professor S. Waterhouse, of the Washington University, St. Louis, says of arbitration, that

It would settle disputes by the awards of reason, allay the unfriendly feelings which now exist between workmen and their employers, save the time and money which are now wasted by the arbitrary closing of manufactories or the ill-advised withdrawal of operatives, and prevent the scenes of violence and outrage which so often disgrace strikes.

Professor J. B. Clark, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.,

says:

Arbitration is, in itself, an appeal to equity, and a departure from the competitive principle.

Professor Henry C. Adams, Lecturer on Political Economy in the University of Michigan and Cornell University, says:

Arbitration is not the missing coupling between labor and capital, but it is the thing for which, at the present time, it is practical that workingmen should strive. Its establishment is the first step towards the overthrow of the wages system.