450 History of Inland Transport 



discipline, without as shown by the experiences of the 

 North-Eastern Railway, where " recognition " had not pre- 

 vented the occurrence of repeated disputes offering any 

 guarantee for peace, while a partial strike on certain of the 

 Irish lines during the sittings of the Royal Commission was 

 pointed to as showing that the union officials were unable to 

 control their members ; (3) that the allegations as to railway- 

 men being unable or afraid to present their case to their own 

 companies were unfounded, and that the real object aimed 

 at in demanding " recognition " of the union officials was 

 to coerce non-unionists into joining the unions which, with 

 their increased membership, would then be in a better position 

 to force the railways to agree to all demands ; (4) that if the 

 companies were compelled to accept " recognition," with all 

 the risks it would involve, they should, at the same time, be 

 relieved of their present responsibilities in respect to the 

 public safety and public interests ; and (5) that no analogy, 

 in regard to " recognition," could be drawn between the 

 railways, the continuous operation of which was essential 

 to the wellbeing of the community, and ordinary commercial 

 undertakings, which could suspend their working with only 

 a limited degree of inconvenience to the public, or none at all. 

 The Commissioners, in their report, issued October 20, 

 1911, declared that in their opinion it was of the utmost 

 importance that the initial stage of conference between the 

 men and the companies apt to be regarded as simply a pre- 

 liminary to the later stages under the settlement scheme 

 should not only be maintained but facilitated. They recom- 

 mended the abolition, as " redundant," of the central boards 

 and the reference to the sectional boards of " any matter 

 dealing with hours, wages, or conditions of service, except 

 questions of, or bearing upon, discipline and management." 

 Each sectional board should have a chairman selected from 

 a panel to be constituted by the Board of Trade, but such 

 chairman should be called on to act (virtually as arbitrator) 

 only in the event of the sectional board being unable to agree. 

 The men should be free to combine in the same person the 

 duties of men's secretary and advocate at all meetings of the 

 Board, and be at liberty to appoint to such post " any suitable 

 person, whether an employee of the company or a person 

 from outside " ; though this arrangement was " not intended 



