The Dominion. THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1920. A WAY OUT

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 183, 29 April 1920, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 1920. A WAY OUT

Now. that the North Island members of the Amalgamated Socicty of Railway Servants have joined the men of the locomotive branch', the railway strike assumes a more serious aspect, but the essential issues at stake are not altered. The strikers themselves, if they consider the position fairly, are bound to recognise that in view of the cffcct of their action on the preparations for the public welcoming of the Prince ok Wales they have placed themselves in a false position. They must be fully aware of the discredit, they ar.q bringing upon their country, They must realise also that; their action threatens to subject the whole community to some of the worst hardships experienced in this country _ for generations—hardships in which they and their families would share to the full. The whole prospect is so uninviting to all concerned that there olighfc to be little difficulty in inducing the railwaymen to recognise that the only wise and worthy course is to concentrate on reaching an immediate settlement _by negotiation. In any efforts in this direction they should be met fully half-way by the Government. If tho strike were carried to its practicable limits and led to unemployment and distress all over the Dominion, it would still become necessary in the end to open up negotiations with a view to a settlement. It must already bo apparent to the men on strike that any hopes they entertained at the outset of being enabled to dictate their own terms to the Government are doomed to disappointment. On the other hand there is a perfectly open road to a fair and equitable settlement which if- speedily arrived at would be to the advantage of all concerned. The harm done is not yet beyond repair if common senso and reason prevail. While a policy of weak concession is out of the question, the Government certainly ought to open every reasonable door to a just settlement, and it may be hoped that the Prime Minister, who js now on his way to Wellington, will be able when he arrives to frame such proposals as will induce tho men on strike to resume duty forthwith in anticipation of the full consideration and equitable adjustment of their claims. The detail merits of the dispute which led up to tho strike cannot be determined offhand, and while the hold-up continues the men involved discredit their own case by disregarding their obligations to the public. A fair compromise is possible, however, on the basis of their returning to work in consideration of a guarantee that their demands will be promptly and exhaustively reviewed by a tribunal commanding their approval and that of the Railways Department. We have already endorsed the suggestion of the Welfare League that; such a tribunal might be eonstituted under the provisions of the Labour D'isputes Investigation Act. If there is any legal obstacle to applying this Act to a dispute between a State Department and its employees, such a dispute committee as the Act contemplates might still be consituted informally. While action on these lines clearly ought to be taken without delay, approval must bo given to a particularly timely and helpful suggestion put forward by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. It is that a committee of experienced business men should be set up to investigate the railwaymen's claims and recommend a fair basis of settlement. Although such a committee would be without official status, its findings would carry great weight With the public. The railwaymen ought' the more readily to welcome an impartial investigation on these lines since their case, though it has been reported at great, length in the newspapers, has usually been presented by their representatives in sucfi a mass of technical detail that it has conveyed little to the- ordinary reader. They are offered, in fact, an exceptional opportunity of getting into effective touch with the general public and securing public support for whatever is found to be just and reasonable in their claims. The essential demand of the existing situation is a readiness on either side to enter into a fair compromise. As a first step towards putting themselves right with the public the railwaymen are bound to return to work, and this they should be quite willing to do if the Government guarantees them a full and fair hearing of their demands before a satisfactory tribunal and such concessions as are found in this way to be warranted. Should they refuse an offer of this nature then the.public can fairly assume that their claims will not bear public investigation.