Free Bargaining Can Stop Strikes, Republicans Hear

Improved collective bargaining and mediation, while not completely capable of preventing strikes, would involve much smaller social cost than compulsory arbitration, Archibald Cox '34, professor of Labor Law at the Law School, asserted before a meeting of the Republican Open Forum last night in the Winthrop House Junior Common Room.

"Compulsory arbitration in public utilities would be a step towards a rigidly planned economy," Professor Cox maintained, observing that a beginning in this field might lead to demands for similar controls in such basic industries as coal and steel.

Since the adoption of a system of compulsory arbitration would "mean a certain loss of democratic principles and freedom," he felt that the real hope for preventing strikes lay in "more mature" collective bargaining.

Professor Cox pointed out that collective bargaining has had only a brief trial so far. As both sides gain greater experience in the techniques of bargaining, and as the "fire brands" who were driven to the fore by the era of labor turmoil, would give way to more responsible leaders, industrial conflicts would be resolved more easily, he predicted.