134
The Green Bag
people will remember with wonder and disgust the chains which they wore so long under the present system."
tension of the Erdman act to include all interstate public utilities, especially telegraph and telephone companies, and
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION
advocating extended powers to all state departments of labor so that compulsory
The afternoon was devoted to a dis cussion of workmen's compensation acts.
"Nine-tenths of the strikes are mainly the result of employers' systems and
do not arise through differences in money matters," said Andrew Carnegie,
who advocated the passage of a work
arbitration might be brought about. Seth Low was re-elected president and all the other officers were re-elected, with the exception of Mrs. Horace Brock, who was succeeded as chairman of the woman's department by Mrs. John Hays Hammond.
men's compensation act. COMPULSORY
ARBITRATION
Scotland has outstripped the United States in its protection for workingmen, he said. He thought, however, that the
Workmen's Compensation Act was a step in the right direction. "I believe that here on this
earth,”
said
Mr.
Carnegie, tapping the stand beside him to emphasize his remark, “people will
live who have attained perfection." Col. Theodore Roosevelt said that he believed in a square deal for both the employer and employee.
He said he
had come to realize that it was now necessary to increase the collective against the individual action in the con trol of corporations. He gave credit to Dr.
Eliot,
President Emeritus of
Harvard, for expressing this idea more concisely than himself. He declared that this country had lagged behind every other civilized industrial country in this matter of workmen's compensa
President Low advocated an amend ment to the New York state labor law, suitable for all states, providing for the
appointment of an arbitration committee by the Governor in case of labor troubles. James Duncan of Quincy, Mass, at
tacked the idea on the ground that such summary power in the hands of Gov ernors gave them too great an oppor
tunity of appointing mediation boards of their own selection. The resolution was practically lost by being sent to the executive council for future action. The closing session was devoted entirely to consideration of practical methods for the prevention of strikes, especially in public utilities, and a
majority of the speakers agreed the Canadian law on this subject might be advantageously copied. The principal address on the subject was delivered by
tion. Other speakers were P. Tecumseh
Marcus M. Marks.
Sherman, chairman of the committee
of the Erdman act, which had worked well, would be somewhat difiicult in the
which has been at work on the proposed uniform workmen's compensation act, Alton B. Parker, R. W. Breckenridge of Nebraska, Amasa M. Eaton, Provi dence, R. 1., Robert Lynn Cox, William
J. Schiefielin, Martin S. Decker, and Thomas W. Shelton of Virginia. On the third and closing day, resolu tions were adopted advocating the ex
Mr. Marks thought the application
case of such occupations as do not in volve the convenience of a large section of the public.
Compulsory arbitration
he held to be very distasteful to the American spirit if the principle were generally applied. The speaker was more inclined to favor features of the Canadian, or Lemieux, act, which re
