THE KANSAS INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COURT.

The recent visit of Governor Allen to Boston has been instrumental in directing attention to the methods used in his native state to settle industrial disputes. Largely through the influence of Governor Allen, Kansas has established an Industrial Relations Court, having jurisdiction over all labor disputes, with power to initiate proceedings on its own motion, or on the complaint of either party, of the Prosecuting Attorney, or of any other citizen. The court conducts an investigation, and makes its findings in the usual manner; and it has authority to decree conditions of living or housing, or hours of employment, or scales of wages, retroactive to the beginning of the inquiry.

The general public has been taxed beyond endurance by industrial quarrels which have been unnecessarily begun, unduly protracted, and settled only in a way which leaves an open road for future trouble. If some impartial authority can be created to end this state of affairs, the country will be only too ready to resort to it. The difficulty, however, lies in the word "impartial." Both Capital and Labor, by reason of their long sojourn in an atmosphere of bitterness and antagonism, have come to distrust one another in an unreasoning way which is hard to remove. There will be great difficulty in persuading either party that any given tribunal (especially one possessing extensive powers) will not be under the control of their opponents, and inimical to ther own interests. The Kansas court, however, does not deny to Labor the right of collective bargaining, or to Capital the right to order its own house. It is not of necessity an arbitrary or tyrannical body. If once both sides can be persuaded to agree to the establishment of a tribunal with power not only to make decisions, but to have them enforced, much can be expected. Kansas has led the way in what promises to be an experiment of great importance. If her plan succeeds in winning the confidence of both parties, the rest of the country will soon follow.