bill has been under consideration during 1920 in which it is pro- posed to make recourse to conciliation compulsory and to make the decisions of the conciliation boards obligatory (a)_ in public serv- ices where they are established by law, and (b) in industries where they exist by reason of a collective agreement; in other cases a strike or lockout may be called in spite of a decision, if a ballot is taken and a two-thirds majority is secured in favour of a stoppage. Meanwhile, as the outcome of a strike of electrical workers in Ber- lin, a presidential order was issued in Nov. 1920, relative to strikes and lockouts in establishments supplying the community with gas, water or electricity. Under the order lockouts and strikes in such establishments are permissible only after the lapse of three days from the publication of an award by the competent conciliation committee; persons who incite to a strike or lockout, prohibited under the order, or who, for the purpose of bringing about such a strike, perform acts in regard to a workshop, machinery or equip- ment by which the regular carrying on of the undertaking is ham- pered or rendered impossible, are liable to imprisonment or a fine liability to penalty is also incurred by anyone who proclaims a lockout in the circumstances denned; if establishments of the nature indicated are brought entirely or partially to a standstill as a result of a lockout or strike, the Minister of the Interior is empowered to take emergency measures for the maintenance of supplies, including tRe satisfaction of justifiable demands made by the workers. The cost of putting such measures into operation falls upon the owner of the establishment.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. The principal sources of information are the series of reports and peripdica s issued formerly by the Board of Trade and now by the Ministry of Labour, viz. : Proceedings under the Conciliation Act, including latterly work done under the Muni- tions of War Acts, Wages (Temporary Regulation) Acts and the Industrial Courts Act; Strikes and Lockouts these reports contain some particulars of the work of voluntary conciliation and arbitra- tion boards; second Report on Rules of Voluntary Conciliation and Arbitration Boards and Joint Committees; fourth Abstract of Foreign Labour Statistics. The monthly Labour Gazette continues to give valuable information both as to the position in the United Kingdom and abroad; and the information as to the dominions and foreign countries is now supplemented by a new quarterly periodical en- titled Labour Overseas. Special publications of value are the series of reports of the Committee on the Relations between Employers and Employed better known as the " Whitley Committee " (Cd. 9153, etc.); Memoranda issued by the Board of Trade on Laws in the British Dominions and Foreign Countries affecting strikes and lockouts with special reference to Public Utility Services (Cd. 6081 of 1912); Report of Sir George Askwith on the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act of Canada in Dec. 1912 (Cd. 6603 of 1912); Report of the Indiistrial Council of 1913 on Enquiry into Industrial Agree- ments (Cd. 6952) ; and Reports of the Coal Industry Commission (Cmd. 359, 360 and 361 of 1919) ; see also the reports of the various countries, e.g. New Zealand Official Year Book; Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia; Reports of the United States Department of Labor, etc. See also Articles on INDUSTRIAL COUNCILS. LABOUR REGULATION, STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS, TRADE BOARDS. (H. J. W.)
UNITED STATES
In the United States the movement for state legislation for voluntary arbitration and conciliation progressed steadily, until in 1920 a majority of states had legislation providing for the settlement of industrial disputes. Many of these states have permanent boards of conciliation and arbitration with two to six members, though three is the usual number. In some states the labour commissioner acts as mediator, while in others a chief mediator is appointed by industrial commissions together with temporary boards of arbitration. Twenty states provide for compulsory investigations, and in several others it is permitted under varying conditions. Twelve provide for the enforcement of an arbitration award when arbitration has been agreed upon by both sides. In 17 states the voluntary agreement to arbitrate must contain a promise to abstain from strikes and lockouts during arbitration proceedings, and two states, Colorado and Kansas, make strikes and lockouts unlawful and a ground for fines and imprisonment. The law of 1915 gives to the Industrial Commission of Colorado the power to compel a hearing in the case of an industrial dispute and to deliver an award which is not mandatory. As in the Canadian Industrial Disputes Act, change of terms of employment, strikes and lockouts are pro- hibited until after 30 days' notice and until after a hearing and award, if such hearing is started within the time of notice. Though it does not prohibit the right to strike, it delays the strike. Kansas, an agricultural state, by creating, in 1920, a Court of Industrial Relations, established compulsory arbitra-
tion. The law applies to industries connected with the manu- facture of food products, clothing and wearing apparel in com- mon use; to mining or the production of fuel; to transportation of the above-mentioned articles; and to all public utilities and common carriers, which are declared to be affected with a public interest and subject to supervision by the state. The court, which consists of three judges appointed by the governor for a three-year term, is authorized to summon the parties to a dispute before it, to investigate the conditions of the industry and to make a reasonable award. It may bring suit in the Supreme Court of the state to compel compliance with any of its orders. Either party, if aggrieved by an award, may sue in the state court to compel the Court of Industrial Relations to issue a reasonable order. Though the law recognizes the right of collective bargaining and the right of the individual to quit work, the right of labour to enforce its claims is forbidden. In the case of actual suspension or limitation of the operation of an industry, the court may take it over and operate it during the emergency. Federal Legislation. The Federal legislation on mediation and arbitration of 1888 and 1895 applying to common carriers has been superseded by three Acts: the Act of 1913 (the New- lands Act); section 8 of the Act creating the Department of Labor (1913); and title III. of the Transportation Act of 1920. The Newlands Act provided for the appointment of a Federal board for voluntary mediation and conciliation to consist of three members, a Commissioner and two other Government officials, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. In four years this board functioned in 71 controversies, 14 of which were settled partly or wholly by arbitration and 52 by mediation. Failure of the Act, however, to meet the railway labour crisis in the fall of 1916 and again in March 1917 resulted in the first instance in Congressional action in the shape of the Adamson law granting the basic eight-hour day to trainmen, and in the second instance in the appointment by the President of a committee from the Council of National Defence to mediate. This meant, in effect, the breakdown of the Newlands Act, though it continued on the statute books subject to the limitation imposed on it by the Transportation Act of 1920. When the Government assumed control of the railways in Dec. 1917, a labour policy was immediately agreed upon. A Railway Wage Board was appointed to make recommendations to the Director- General, and a Division of Labor, headed by a brotherhood (union) official, was created to be the connecting link between employees and officials on the one hand and the Railway Boards of Adjustment. Later a permanent Advisory Board on " Rail- way Wages and Working Conditions " was created. Successive orders of the Director-General formulated a liberal labour policy, and machinery for handling disputes under these orders was established in the form of three Boards of Adjustment, composed equally of representatives of the administration and the workers. A similar policy was adopted in the Transportation Act of 1920, which makes it the duty of the railways and their employees to ".exert every reasonable effort and adopt every available means to avoid any interruption to the operation of any carrier " grow- ing out of any dispute involving grievances, rules or working con- ditions. In case a dispute arises, it is to be decided, if possible, in mutual conferences of representatives of each side. Disputes that cannot be settled in this way are to go before Railway Boards of Labor Adjustment which may be established by agreement between any road or group of roads and the workers. Except for a stipulation that these boards must contain representatives of organized labour, their size and composition are left to the dis- cretion of the parties concerned. Matters may come before the Adjustment Boards either upon application by the road or the organized workers affected, or upon written petition of a hundred organized workers, or upon the board's own motion or upon the request of the Railroad Labor Board. This last-mentioned board is set up by the Act as the final tribunal for the settlement of railway labour disputes. It is composed of nine members ap- pointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Sen- ate to represent in equal proportion the workers, the employers and the public. During their five-year term of office, members of
