to whatever extent may have been agreed upon by the parties in making the submiss on. These local arbitrators are paid by the town or county $3 per day, not exceeding 10 days for any one arbitration. 2. Work of Wisconsin State board.-The Wisconsin State board of arbitration and conciliation was organized in July, 1895. During the first 18 months of its work, covered by the first biennial report, the board was comparatively inactive. It reported only 3 cases of any importance in which it had intervened, in 2 of which its efforts at mediation were unsuccessful. By a recommendation of the board the law was amended so as to give it added powers of investigation and mediation on its own initiative, and so as to provide that requests for the services of the board should be addressed to the governor of the State. Doubtless, owing in part to these changes and in part to greater familiarity of the board with its duties, the report for the years 1897 and 1898 shows more accomplished than in the preceding period. There are 22 cases described in which the board mediated. In 17 of these its efforts appear to have been instrumental in bringing about an agreement or in hastening an agreement. It is noteworthy that no cases of formal arbitration and decision by the board are reported, although in one instance the board made a formal investigation at the instance of one of the parties and reported its findings and recommendation. 3. Opinion of Wisconsin board concerning its work.—“In our report of January 2, 1897, the board recommended that certain changes in the law creating and governing this board be made. In compliance with such recommendations the legislature of 1897 amended the law by making it the duty of this board to take cognizance of any threatened labor trouble. By so doing, the board were enabled in many instances to bring about a settlement between employer and employee before their differences had reached the serious culmination of a strike or lockout. * * "Since the date of our last report the board have been successful in a great many instances in preventing strikes, by inducing employees to defer or modify their demands for increase of wages or changes in conditions governing their employment. In several disagreements the services of the board have been requested by one or both parties to the controversy, or, as provided by law, by some civil official resident in that locality. However, this has not been done in as many instances as the board could have desired. By far the great majority of cases in which the board have interested themselves have been taken up through information received from the daily press. In such cases the board have promptly proceeded to the place where the trouble existed and tendered their services to both parties in controversy. While in some cases its friendly offices have been accepted, it has been necessary in others to bring about the desired result by persistent effort on our part to induce the persons most interested to meet and in a friendly manner attempt by mediation to adjust their differences. In many such cases, even though the board has not been called in by either party, after an explanation of the position of the board in these matters, one or both have been willing to submit the points in dispute for arbitration. "The controversies of which the board has had cognizance during the 2 years included in this report involve more or less directly employees whose yearly earnings are estimated at $2,779,500. The total amount of earnings under ordinary conditions of the corporations, factories, etc., involved, it is estimated, would amount to about $9,500,000. The total expenses incurred by the State board of arbitration from September 30, 1896, to September 30, 1898, covering the ? fiscal years, are $1,578.27."1 WYOMING. Constitutional provisions. The constitution of Wyoming provides that the legislature shall establish boards of arbitration, whose duty it shall be to hear and determine all differences between employers and their workmen. Appeals from the decisions of such " compulsory boards of arbitration" may be taken to the supreme court. The legislature of Wyoming has as yet not carried out this provision of the constitution. 1 Biennial Report Wisconsin State Board of Arbitration and Conciliation, 1897-1898, pp. 3-5. CHAPTER IV. CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION IN GREAT BRITAIN. I. GENERAL SUMMARY. Probably in no other country, excepting New Zealand, has so great progress been made in the direction of securing peaceful relations between employers and employees as in Great Britain. This is doubtless largely due to the fact that the workingmen in that country are so thoroughly organized, as has already been brought out in the summary. The organizations of workingmen, moreover, find themselves confronted in many trades by strong organizations of employers. Owing to the strength of organization on each side industrial disputes, when they occur, are likely to be more prolonged and serious than elsewhere, and they are accordingly avoided so far as possible by each side. The respective organizations are well fitted, also, through their experienced officers, for conducting negotiations, while their strength also increases the responsibility of both sides and makes the decisions of arbitrators, or the mutual agreements reached, more binding. The efforts at peaceful adjustment of labor difficulties in Great Britain have been mainly confined to private agencies. While there has been for many years legal provision for arbitration, comparatively little has been accomplished through public intervention, although the new act of 1896 has had some measure of usefulness. It can not be said that Great Britain has worked out a single system for regulating the relations between employers and employees which is to be considered as the typical or the best system. In different trades widely different methods have been resorted to with success, while methods which have proved satisfactory in some trades have failed when the attempt was made to apply them in others. The character of the system adopted and the success of its working depends upon the strength of the respective organizations of workingmen and of employers, upon their spirit toward one another, upon outside influences, such as foreign competition, affecting the trade, and upon many other circumstances. In addition to the trade systems of conciliation and arbitration in Great Britain there have been established in various cities what are known as district boards of conciliation, often under the auspices of the municipal council or of the board of trade. Their work has proved hitherto of relatively little importance. In a number of instances, moreover, trade disputes in Great Britain, especially those of a prolonged character, have been settled through the intervention of some outside person. Although no formal previous agreement with reference to arbitrators may exist in a trade, the parties to a prolonged dispute may of their own initiative agree to refer it to some prominent man as arbitrator. In other instances such a man takes the initiative himself, invites the parties to a conference, and mediates between them, probably more often bringing about a mutual agreement than himself prescribing the terms of settlement. Below is presented a table showing what has been accomplished in recent years in the settling of strikes and lockouts by means of arbitration and conciliation in Great Britain. It must be borne in mind that this table refers only to the settlement of disputes which have actually resulted in cessation of work. Further on is given a statement of the work of joint boards and other agencies in settling disputes which do not reach the point of causing the stopping of work. The latter phase of the working of these systems is beyond question by far the more important. Settlement of disputes by conciliation and arbitration-Great Britain.1 This table shows that the total number of strikes settled by means of arbitration and conciliation during the 6 years from 1894 to 1899 has been 253. The average number yearly was, thus, 42, and in fact the actual number for each year has been very near that figure. The number of cases settled by conciliation during this period has been 142, and the number settled by arbitration 111. It is noteworthy, however, that the proportion of cases settled by conciliation has generally increased from year to year. The total number of strikes which occurred in Great Britain during the 6 years in question was 4,884, so that a trifle over one-twentieth of the number have been settled by arbitration and conciliation. It is noticeable, however, that the proportion of persons affected by strikes and lockouts which have been settled by these peaceful means is 10.9 per cent of the number affected by all strikes. The proportion of persons affected by strikes settled in this manner, as compared with the persons affected by all strikes, has varied from 5.6 per cent in 1894 to 22.5 per cent in 1895. The large number in the latter year is explainable chiefly by the settlement of the great boot and shoe workers' strike through the intervention of Sir Courtenay Boyle. If we compare the results brought about by the work of the joint trade boards of conciliation and arbitration with those secured by the intervention of individuals, we find an apparent superiority in the results accomplished by individual action. The total number of strikes settled by arbitration and conciliation under trade boards during the 6 years from 1894 to 1899 was 73, and the number of persons affected, 29,337. The total number of strikes settled by individuals was 154, and the persons affected, 108,929. It must be remembered, however, that the chief work of the trade boards is in preventing strikes rather than in settling them. There are few occasions for appeal by such boards to outside arbitrators; indeed, in only one-fifth of all the strikes settled by them during this period was formal arbitration resorted to. It is because these boards settle by conciliatory means so many disputes which do not amount to strikes that they are in a position 1 Compiled from Reports of Chief Labor Correspondent on Strikes and Lockouts, 1894-1899. I C-VOL XVII-01 -30 to settle by this method, rather than by arbitration, strikes which actually do occur. On the other hand, of the strikes which have been settled by individuals the larger proportion have been the subject of formal arbitration rather than of conciliation or mediation. The large number of persons affected by strikes settled by individuals is partly explained by the fact that in 1895 one strike in which 46,000 persons were involved was ended in this way. The table shows that comparatively little has been effected in the settlement of disputes by the various federated labor bodies, although these frequently provide machinery for arbitration, so far as the side of the employees is concerned. Only 6 strikes, affecting 838 persons, are reported to have been settled through conciliation or arbitration under the auspices of trades councils and federations during 1894 to 1899. Similarly unimportant as yet has been the work of district and municipal boards of conciliation, which have settled only 6 disputes, affecting 604 persons. II. STATE ARBITRATION IN GREAT BRITAIN. 1. Early acts and their working.'-At the time of the investigation of the Royal Commission on Labor (1894) there were several acts of Parliament providing for arbitration of labor disputes, all of which have since been repealed and a new act, differing greatly in nature, adopted. The first of these older acts, passed in 1824, provided for the settlement of labor disputes by 4 or 6 arbitrators, half representing the employers and half the workmen, all nominated by a magistrate of the district when both parties should apply therefor. Disputes as to the general rate of wages were expressly excluded from the jurisdiction of these boards. If the arbitrators could not agree they must refer the points of difference to the magistrate appointing them. The arbitration might be invoked on the application of either party, and the decision might be enforced by distress or by imprisonment. In view of the increased practice of voluntary arbitration and conciliation a new act was passed in 1867, permitting masters and workmen to form councils of conciliation and arbitration, these boards, on being licensed by the Government, to have the same power of enforcing awards as the boards provided for in the act of 1824. The councils should be composed of an equal number of masters and workmen-not less than 2 nor more than 10 of each. These councils, like those provided for in the earlier act, had no power to establish a rate of wages. An act of 1872 provided that masters and workmen might choose either members of a council or standing arbitrators and give them all the powers belonging to arbitrators under the act of 1824, their jurisdiction including, as the other acts did not, questions relating to wages. This appears to have been intended chiefly as an extension of the act of 1867 to include questions of wages. The Royal Commission states that all the machinery provided by these acts, in spite of the frequent desire expressed for arbitration with enforceable decisions, seems seldom, if ever, to have been put in motion. Very few people were even aware of the existence of these acts. It does not appear that there had been a single application for the licensing of a council of arbitration or conciliation under the act of 1872. 2. Recommendations of Royal Labor Commission.-The Royal Labor Commission investigated very thoroughly the subject of concilation and arbitration, and entered into an elaborate discussion of it in its final report, but was unable to agree in any important recommendations. The chief opinions expressed by the commission merit quotation: ? "We find from the evidence that the effect of the existing trade and district boards is highly beneficial in averting conflicts, but they are far as yet from covering the whole field of industry. We have thus been led to consider whether it would be possible by any legislation either to increase the efficiency of these institutions, or their number, or to supplement them by the creation under act of Parliament of boards of a similar character. "In the first place, we have discussed the question whether it would be expedient to establish or to give to town and county councils power to establish industrial tribunals throughout the country with legal powers to hear cases arising out of existing and implied agreements, or depending upon the interpretation of trade customs, and to make enforceable decisions. * * * "Much of the evidence which was brought before us by witnesses from the less 1 Final Report, Royal Commission on Labor, p. 56; also Appendix 3, by Sir Frederick Pollock, p. 3. 2 Final Report, Royal Commission on Labor, secs. 291-307. * * * organized trades consisted of complaints of grievances of a highly technical character. It was difficult to ascertain in all cases how far these witnesses were really representative, but the prevalence of allegations of this kind leads us to believe that there does exist among those employed in many industries much discontent and dissatisfaction with the means which they possess of obtaining redress for real or supposed injustice. * * * Upon this ground, therefore, there might be a plea for the establishment of special industrial tribunals qualified by the greater technical knowledge of those who should compose them to deal with questions arising out of particular conditions and trade customs. "On the other hand, we have had to weigh the arguments (1) that in large and well-organized trades the workmen have already quite sufficient means of obtaining a remedy for grievances connected with existing or implied agreements or trade customs; (2) that in unorganized occupations, especially in the case of unskilled labor, a dispute on questions of this kind is more likely to be terminated by cessation of the engagement between an employer and workman than by a resort to any tribunal, however constituted; (3) that in the most important unorganized occupation, that of agriculture, such courts would not be useful unless they were very numerous; (4) that several previous acts, passed with a view to establishing industrial tribunals, with legal powers of trying cases arising out of existing contracts, have proved complete failures; (5) that in this country the only disputes which lead to serious actual conflict are those relating to the terms, not of existing, but of future agreements. "Upon the whole we do not find ourselves able to recommend the systematic and general establishment of special industrial tribunals (in addition to the existing legal methods) for deciding the question arising upon existing agreements. "We think, however, that though it would be unwise to institute any general system of industrial tribunals, there might be some advantage in an experiment of a tentative and permissive character in this direction. Local representative bodies have now been constituted in every part of the country, and it would be possible to give to town and county councils a power of taking the initiative in the creation of special tribunals for defined districts or trades, more or less after the pattern of the French conseils de prud'hommes. We do not contemplate the direct appointment of members of such courts by local authorities, and certain general statutory conditions would have to be laid down directed toward securing an equal representation in such courts of the various interests concerned and providing for a chief and summary method of procedure. * * * "A proposal has been made to confer upon the voluntary trade or district boards of conciliation powers similar to those possessed by ordinary courts of law in rela tion to disputes arising out of existing agreements. This course appears to us to be undesirable. Such success as these boards have achieved (and their success has been considerable) has, in our opinion, been mainly due to their purely voluntary character and to the fact that they have possessed no legal cohesive powers. * * * "In the case of the larger and more serious disputes arising with regard to the terms of future agreements, frequently between large bodies of workmen on one side and employers on the other, we have had to consider, in the first place, suggestions for the compulsory reference of such disputes to state or other boards of arbitration, whose awards should be legally enforceable. No such proposal, however, appeared to us to be definite or practical enough to bear serious examination. "We have, in the next place, discussed a proposal to establish under act of Parliament district boards of conciliation and arbitration, the chief object of which would be to bring about the settlement of questions relating to future agreements. These boards might, it was suggested, be established either by a Government department or, as some think would be a better plan, by town and county councils, subject, perhaps, in that case to confirmation by some central authority. They would have statutory powers of intervening in trade disputes, in the interest of the public as well as that of the parties, of holding inquiries, and using necessary means of procuring information, and in cases where their intervention should fail to avert a conflict would publish reports which should serve to guide public opinion as to the merits of the contest. It was represented that such boards need not displace existing or future voluntary boards of conciliation, but would fill up the void space not covered by those voluntary boards, and would be especially useful in the case of small trades or unorganized workmen. 66 On the other hand, we have had to consider that such boards, by whatever public authority they were established, would have an official character, and might, for that reason, be less popular and less resorted to than the present volun |