agreements or state agencies. This demand finally found expression in Section 8 of the organic act creating the Department of Labor (Act of March 4, 1913; 37 Stat. L., 736), which authorized the Secretary of Labor to act as mediator and to appoint commissioners of conciliation in labor disputes. Consequently, beginning with the enactment of this law the activity of the national government in the maintenance of industrial peace must be considered in two divisions: first mediation, conciliation, and arbitration in controversies between certain carriers in interstate commerce and their employees engaged in train operation or service; second, mediation or conciliation (but not arbitration) in other branches of industry and trade.' This monograph is confined to the developments in the latter field, since the former has been treated in the monograph referred to above.

Creation of the Division of Conciliation. In the act of June 27, 1884 (23 Stat. L., 60), establishing a Bureau of Labor in the Department of the Interior, the Commissioner of Labor was directed to collect information upon the subject of labor and its relation to capital, hours of labor, etc., but no mention was made of industrial disputes. Four years later in the act of June 13, 1888 (25 Stat. L., 182), which established the independent "Department" of Labor to replace the bureau

6 About four months later the Newlands Act was passed (Act of July 15, 1913; 38 Stat. L., 103), providing for the establishment of an independent and permanent board to carry on the work of mediation, conciliation, or arbitration in controversies between interstate carriers and their employees engaged in train service or operation.

7

Including until 1920 all employees of the interstate carriers not engaged in actual train operation or service. Under the Transportation Act, however, all carriers by railroad, express companies, or sleeping car companies subject to the Interstate Commerce Act, were placed under the jurisdiction of a newly created agency, the Railroad Labor Board.

provided for in the preceding law, the Commissioner of Labor was "specially charged to investigate the causes of and facts relating to, all controversies and disputes between employers and employees as they may occur, and which may tend to interfere with the welfare of the people of the different states and report thereon to Congress. As far back as 1894, the House Committee on Labor urged the passage of a bill establishing a national permanent board of arbitration,' but it was not until 1904 that hearings' were held on such a bill. Creation was then proposed of a national arbitration tribunal composed of six members appointed by the President who were to arbitrate controversies concerning wages, hours of labor, or conditions of employment, involving interstate or foreign commerce, upon the filing, by either party to a controversy, of a petition requesting investigation and expressing willingness to abide by a decision on the merits of the dispute. The bill was strongly opposed by representatives of both capital and labor, who feared the possible effect of such a law upon freedom of action in lockouts and strikes, respectively.10

Many bills" were introduced in Congress in the years immediately following, relating, however, mainly to compulsory investigation of industrial disputes involving interstate commerce. Most of these bills failed to

8

53 Cong. 2 sess., H. rep. 1343. A number of bills, dealing with the problem were introduced in Congress during the year because of the Pullman strike which called attention to the need for such legislation.

66

See Hearings on National Arbitration Bill" before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Labor, March 16, 30, April 6, 13, 1904.

10 The representatives of labor were not, however, in accord in their attitude towards the bill, some advocating its passage. See Ibid., pp.17-30. "For an account of the bills introduced, see Fisher, Use of Federal power in settlement of railway labor disputes, Bulletin of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 303, P. 40.

bring forth any report from the committees to which they were referred, although President Roosevelt was in favor of the enactment of such a law." A favorable report" was submitted, however, on February 25, 1907 by the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce on one bill referred to it providing for investigation and publicity in industrial disputes, but no action was taken by Congress. A similar bill, introduced in the House on January 28, 1908, was again reported favorably," but no results followed. Several bills were introduced in the House in the years following, but none progressed beyond the stage of reference to committee. In 1912, however, the threat of a coal strike in Pennsylvania, led to the introduction of a bill in the House which was in essence merely an extension of the Erdman Act. It was aimed to apply its provisions to all coal miners and railroad employees in interstate commerce, instead of to the railroad employees in train service as provided in the Erdman Act. Although reported favorably" by the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, no action was taken, although many features of the bill were subsequently incorporated in the Newlands Act of 1913, which replaced the Erdman law. The Newlands Act of 1913, like its predecessor, made provision only for adjustment of controversies in which employees of interstate common carriers by railroad, engaged in train operation or train service, were involved. The attempt to extend

159 Cong. 2 sess., H. rep. 8077.

13 In his messages to Congress of Dec. 5, 1905, and Dec. 4, 1906, the President suggested the enactment of such a law. See Fisher, as above, P. 41.

the scope of activity of the national government in this field through direct legislation had thus proved abortive.

Meanwhile, however, earnest efforts were being made to broaden the work of the government in the field of industrial relations through creation of a department of labor. In 1908 hearings were held by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Labor on a bill to establish an executive department of labor." The same bill had already been introduced in several preceding sessions of Congress but had not been reported from committee." Section 15 of this bill empowered the Secretary of Labor to appoint boards of arbitration and conciliation whenever the interests of industrial peace so required. It was urged" that since the proposed department would have full information of industrial conditions all over the United States, it would be enabled whenever troubles were pending to have men on the ground who "represented the dignity and authority of the United States to act as mediators and peacemakers."

19

The same bill was introduced in subsequent years, but it was not until 1913 that the law was passed establishing the present Department of Labor, (Act of March 4, 1913; 37 Stat. L., 736), Section 8 of which gave the Secretary of Labor power to act as mediator and to appoint commissioners of conciliation in labor disputes whenever in his judgment the interests of industrial peace required it. There was no reference to

16 Hearings before Subcommittee No. 1, House Committee on Labor, 1908, on a bill to create a Department of Labor.

19 See the Hearings before subcommittee No. 2, House Committee on Labor, 1910, and Hearings before House Committee on Labor, 1912.

arbitration boards as in the early bills, due undoubtedly to the strong opposition on the part of labor to anything which hinted at compulsion in settlement of labor disputes.

Although the law provided for mediation by the Secretary of Labor himself, as well as for the appointment of commissioners of conciliation, it was obvious that most of the work would devolve upon the latter. No appropriation was made, however, for the appointment of such officers, nor, in fact, was any provision made for the enforcement of this section of the organic act until October 22, 1913 (38 Stat. L., 225), when a deficiency bill appropriated $5000 for the purpose. This small sum was limited, however, to payment of expenses of the commissioners and no compensation for their services was available until April 6, 1914, (38 Stat. L., 325), when for the fiscal year 1914 the sum of $20,000 was appropriated for compensation and expenses. Until this second appropriation was made, over a year after the creation of the department, only employees of the government detailed from their ordinary duties. could be utilized for purposes of conciliation. Furthermore, no provision was made in the original law for the supervisory work, and it was only after passage of the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act for the fiscal year 1915," which authorized appointment of an executive clerk, that it was possible to begin systematic performance of the function required by the law. Inasmuch as there was no statutory authority for the creation of an administrative organization to give ini

20 The same act authorized the Commissioners of Conciliation to serve in the District of Columbia, as well as elsewhere, which a restrictive statute with reference to appropriations had hitherto prevented, and permitted payment of these commissioners for services as well as for per diem.