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Show Settled! - THE PACIFIC coast, strike affecting 40,000 workers directly, no one knows how many workers indirectly, travelers and shippers by ether thousands, shipowners, ship builders, exporters, ex-porters, importers and a host of others in a variety of enterprises, has been settled or, at least, is settled until next September 30. That is what the news front the west says. As a matter of fact, nothing is settled. Figures have been compiled to show how much the strikers lost in wages and how many years it will take them to recoup what they lost in the 99 days of the tieup. The losses to business busi-ness have been tallied. Individual victims not in either classification may foot up their losses. If it is thought that these figure will have such sobering effect that future occurences of the sort ire less llkelyTThe notion tt rooted IrT deepest error. . Bystanders may say, "Good gracious!" The figures do amaze by their size, but that is all they do because, again, nothing has been settled. The employer clsss adds up the losses of the strikers and says, "Look what the poor workers have lost!" The union chiefs add up the losses of the employers and voice their sympathy with just about as much real feeling. Each thinks it is appesling to the reason rea-son of the opposite side. The sorry thing is that reason take a vacation vaca-tion during labor troubles. Both sides rely on force. If there is too much of it. then the government gov-ernment resorts to force. If governor is pro-Isbor, pro-Isbor, the force is exerted to favor labor. If he Is pro-industry, it is exerted in the opposite direction. di-rection. In either case the proclamation declares " It necessary to protect life and property and enforce en-force the law. Even before that, officials fall to do their part In executing the law and the reason is that they 4o not want to risk losing votes from those on either side of the controversy. contro-versy. So, instesd of reason and the orderly approach, ap-proach, force and politics fight it out until exhaustion ex-haustion overtakes one side or the other. Each side, in elaborate statements, trie to prove the other' act lllegaL It should not be hard for both sides to be successful In this attempt But If both are, what progress towsrd settlement is made. In fewer words, both sides still cling to the law of the Jungle. When peece finally arrive ar-rive tt U, in reality, only a truce. No effort Is made by employers, workers or government to discover What are the basic causes of industrial indus-trial warfare and to move peaceably to remove them. No governmental machinery i et up to go intowperatlon et itk approach of trouble, define the issues and reconcile them before warfare war-fare break out Even the Wagner act, of doubtful- constitutionality, fall in this respect One side or the other must ask for governmental Intervention. That involves "losing face," a the Chinese say. That must be a terrible thing if the extreme resorted to to avoid it mean anything. any-thing. The whole Pacific coast may well rejoice that , the waterfront strike i over. Inland dweller who have suffered from it may rejoice also. No real rejoicing is possible, though, because the fundamental problem has not been attacked and not even beginning has been made to discover remedies. |