| Show arbitration association settles disputes SU off I 1 out of court to save time and money mo ney I 1 af pf by WARREN r ine blead nl ead leased by western newspaper union NEW YORK working quietly and without profit a roup group 9 of men little known to the average citizen Is enabling the nations rint ions business to avoid a serious bottleneck in the national defense program that of commercial disputes which bog down industry and tie 1 rp p the flow of capital if allowed to pursue their normal course through the courts t these hese disputes might t seriously slow the march of americas rearmament program by a stifling mass of legal red tape disheartening enin 9 expense and growing ill III will the men nrc members of the national panel of arbitrators of the american arbitration association for 14 years their network of tribunals throughout the united states has been helping business men settle their grievances out of court now launching a major expansion of their efforts in the light of the defense emergency they have be hind them a record of satisfactory settlements which might be viewed with envy by any system tem of courts in the world yet their methods are so simple na an to seem searn too aas easy y to be true in a time when business has hag been finding its life more complicated than ever before idea in operation one can see how the arbitration idea operates fundamentally by taking some such hypothetical situation as this one that might arise in your own home town almost any day lot let us say otto schultz your neighborhood butcher orders a consignment sign ment of homemade sausages from fred perkins a farmer on the edge of town otto keeps the sausages in his icebox for a few days holding them for a big saturday sale when he opens them he finds they are spoiled he claims that they must have been delivered in that condition and refuses to pay his bill of some twenty odd dollars farmer perkins insists that the goods were delivered in perfect condition and wants to collect his bill there are a lot of harsh words but boehmen both men would like to iron out the difficulty di in a hurry because they know probably have to get along with each other for years to come they decide to arbitrate otto and farmer perkins sign an agreement to put thor their case up to the association and to abide by its decision within 10 days three men are selected as arbitrators from the immediate vicinity of the town bill jones jone 8 cashier of the farmers and merchants bank george smith the hardware store owner and mark daniels milk and eggs dealer meeting Is held them the five men meet in bill jon jones office since the cashier is the moet mo active designated arbitrator for that area and knows the procedure in less than three hours the three ahree or have settled the case a at t a cost of a few dollars it is brought out in the course of the hearing that farmer perkins sold several other batches of sausages to customers during the 48 hours preceding his sale to otto and that these people had no complaint the hardware store man remembers that otto has had some trouble F 1 i 1 t W 2 M 1 1 i I 1 A I 1 i 1 4 i I 1 li t it t V 1 1 0 11 1 e k fsr i 1 i i I 1 twi e i I 1 I 1 I 1 W M I 1 SA I 1 4 t v g I 1 11 i 1 1 I 1 1 Z 7 I 1 aa 1 4 7 11 r i 0 1 7 I 1 I 1 1 P J ft r A W 1 1 s I 1 0 i i n IV of a J i V 4 t 4 I 1 I 1 1 I 1 N I 1 I 1 q vy I 1 1 I 1 ar 7 rr I 1 1 I 1 I 1 1 I W 1 14 I 1 A 1 I 1 J 6 aj ab k 4 II 11 I 1 va i I 1 t i 11 I 1 I 1 aim 1 only one hour was required by I 1 t 11 this mis new york h arbitrator tented seated I 1 L I 1 I 1 P al 1 91 1 Z Z 1 in tin the center above to settle a I 1 V 1 1 y k I 1 akl ad A I 1 1 t case car involving claims for property I 1 1 s I 7 i 11 0 4 1 11 damage cf mf causes of thu the accident 1 I 1 4 1 s were discussed informally by fh un witnesses stated seated about him thi the arbitrator is a member 01 j the th american irner arbitration association which maintains mainwal its nationwide nation wide ac cili ili tiei ties for settling disputes out of court with his refrigerator in the past year and the bank cashier points out that the butcher already has ordered a new motor foe ora the machine farmer perkins is paid in full for or his sausages and the case is ended quickly except that otto and his wife are invited to a special sausage dinner at the perkins home on the following evening in just as simple a manner as that the association a private nonprofit organization has handled cases involving sums ranging from 3 5 to some disputes have been submitted for arbitration in the tribunals of the association since 1920 about of these were set tied before reaching the cheari hearing ng stage this indicates according to the association that the mere will dingness to arbitrate Is a long step toward forgiving and forgetting of the awards made 6 per cent have been appealed to the courts and not more than halt half a dozen have been sent back by the judges tor for rehearing other larger cases the case of butcher otto and farmer perkins of course does not affect the national defense program except that enmity is stopped at its source but it is a simple illustration of how flow the bigger cases are being settled without fanfare or embarrassing barr assing publicity and at an aver age cost of only 1 per cent of the a mount amount involved behind the associations plan tor for encouraging business to avoid the delays of litigation is cornelius V whitney Whit ncy newly elected president of the organization and former chief of the board of liaison officers whitney who Is also board chairman of the pan american airways air ways worked out the I 1 program in cooperation with 3 such prominent r of 11 V business figures wa X as P M haight I 1 I 1 E t secretary treasurer I 1 IX of the international it general ay iy electric company 1 james F hughes former C V whitney r president of the american society of certified public accountants and evan E young vice president of pon pan american airways seven thousand business and professional fess ional leaders iq in 1700 cities and towns are being enlisted as industrial minute men in the groups nationwide nation wide program tor for keeping peace in business and commerce accor according ding to whitney the members of the local tribunals because of their background prestige and experience per peri lence ence will form the backbone in this plan to smooth the flow of trade tr ade through the increased use of arbitha arbitration tion with the aim ot of elaml eliminating not long court delays and costly fees that bog down industry local r functions primary functions of their efforts locally will be to survey the vital industries of their areas and urge business me men n to join the other trade groups using the arbitration method as a standard means for settling bu business siness disputes how important the government regards the need for a swift and effective alternative to cou court t action in times of emergency can x c e gauged from the tact fact that army contracts of or less now contain provisions for three man arbitration boards to decide questions of material whenever a disagreement arises between a business firm and military purchasing agencies the ne british purchasing commission which spent more than for aeronautical products alone in this country during 1910 1940 has been using a similar arbitration clause in its contracts with many american firms commenting on these measures whitney said such forethought on the part ot of both government and private indus try Is symbolic of a desire to avoid any of the situations of the world war when millions of dollars worth ot of vital contracts became tied up in lengthy court suits in the fjeld field of commercial peace the association this year has come upon even greener pastures it has been named as administrator of all disputes in the motion picture industry by the federal government and the department of justice this la Is at jf the first time that an independent T agency ling has ever been selected by the government to settle disagreements in a large industry 31 special tribunals As a result of this arrangement the association is establishing 31 special tribunals in major cities where motion picture producers and distributors will have their trade disputes settled by lay arbitrators the committee and the associations six year old inter american commercial arbitration commission led by thomas J watson international ter business machines president have reported virtual perfection I 1 of a method to settle commercial I 1 disputes anywhere in the western hemisphere and portions of the I 1 far east entirely by mall mail through this arbitration machin ery cry the disputants receive the 1 ices of topflight top flight authorities on their problem without ever seeing one another with the cementing of inter american relations as its primary aim the association has launched this mail arbitration campaign to help avoid costly delays in handling of merchandise or in the release of funds involved in trade the smallest claim adjudicated by the association was for 5 for a s spot pot a cleaning concern left on 1 a I I 1 parlor rug the arbitrator and all concerned visited th the rug owners home held the hearing on the spot and agreed on as damages the largest amount involved was sought by an agent as commission on a fur contract the case had been tried in a state court and the jury after listening and pondering tor for six weeks had disagreed having spent a little over in litigation without getting anywhere the principals tried arbitration tra tion this time before three arbitrators the case was settled in nine days at a cost of not counting stenographic charges oddest dispute what is perhaps the oddest dispute and the swiftest settlement in recent records Is told in the story of a con tro troverse versy which arose concerning a broadway theater hit on the afternoon of the opening the lead leading fing man according to the case report found that his name was not in lights on the theater marquee he threatened a walkout the producers gave way but almost immediately the leading lady threatened a walkout of her own under their actors equity contracts both stars were bound to arbitrate it was nearly 5 p m when the association was called an hour and a half later three arbitrators appeared and by 8 p m the leading mans name went up in lights the curtain rose on time the A A A is supported by membership fees and small contributions graduated up to paid in by odd corporations organizations and individuals I 1 new york started it congress and many state legislatures have followed the lead of new york which 20 years ago granted legal standing to private arbitration courts and bar associations have voiced approval of it for it helps keep clogged calendars clear the I 1 new york law was the first of its 1 kind in america J in recent years the arbitration network branching out of the organizations main offices in new york city has spread over all the I 1 americas Amerl cas from canada to argentina following britie routes |
