The Press MONDAY, JULY 12, 1920. A Labour Conference.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16884, 12 July 1920, Page 6

The Press MONDAY, JULY 12, 1920. A Labour Conference.

Since we wrote last week on the subjoct of a national industrial conference, have seen the comments of Mr Bloodworth, of the Federation of Labour, on the refusal of the Employers' Federation to agree to the holding of such' a . gathering. He describes as flimsy the reason given by the Employers' Federation for its attitude, and proceeds to attack the positive recommendations of that body. Profit-sharing, piecework, payment by results, bonus systems, and , superannuation funds are .contemptuously dismissed by Mr Bloodworth as schemes for the undermining of labour organisation. They "aro not steps "forward into the era of hope . and " progress," he declares, "but steps " backward into the industrial era v " when the individual worker was entirely at the mercy of the competitive " system, with no organisation to spoak "for him or to protect him from the "■worst evils of that system." The fact is, he says, that while the Labour Federation does indeed aim at overthrowing the capitalist system, and setting up. in, its place "a co-operative " commonwealth, based on industrial /. " democracy," the Employers' Federation merely topes to pregervo the capitalist system. "Until we aban- " don our" or tliey abandon "theirs, no compromise is possible so "far as ultimate aims are concerned." Finally, he reproaches the employers that "they do not seek to convince us " that we are wrong, and they oifer no " defence of the present system." This of Mr Bloodworth's statement may appear to supply a justification of ? the attitude of the Employers' Federation. But the appearance is deceptive. The deadlock is complete only if the conference should be expected to cffect some kind of settlement regarding "ultimate aims." We. do not think anybody has expected anything liko that. All the advocates of a confer- { encc have been well aware of the conflict between the ultimate aims of the two parties, but they have felt —we, at any rate, have felt —that it is a very long journey to any goal at . which men will arrive in ultimate harand that in the meantime wo must all go along togethor, and that we shall all benefit from any understanding that will lessen hatreds and injuries on tho way. It is certainly discouraging that Mr Bloodworth should speak as he doea of profit-sharing and payment by results, but the Employers' Federation ought to welcome an opportunity of defending its proposals against the attacks of the extremists on the other side. If it is possible to lead trade unionists to take a rational view of the problems of industry—and the case of tho Employers' Federation is that this is possible—we can think of no better means of assisting them than an exposure of the unsoundness of the theories of the extremists. A conference would let the "workers see that -what the extremist asks is that they should wreck the peace and comfort of /their generation in tho doubtful hope -that ages hence some new industrial ' order will prevail.