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It will be noted that the Administrative Code directs the Depart- 
ment to select the chairman of an arbitration board, if such request is 
made to the Department by both parties to the dispute. It is not the 
desire of the Department that this duty shall be forced upon it if it is 
possible for the parties to the dispute to agree upon a chairman of the 
arbitration board. When strikes or labor disputes are settled by agree- 
ment between the parties to the dispute, through their own chosen 
representatives, experience has proved beyond any question that the 
relationship between the parties to the settlement is far more harmoni- 
ous and lasting than when the dispute is settled by a decision of an 
arbitrator. The Department, therefore, urges the settlement of labor 
disputes through mediation and conciliation and only advises arbitra- 
tion when every effort at conciliation has failed. 
It is the desire of the Department to assist in keeping the industries 
continually in operation without interference occasioned by industrial 
disputes. Any and all legitimate means to promote harmony and 
understanding between the employer and employe, and to bring about 
this condition are part of the duties of the Bureau of Industrial Rela- 
tions and its representatives in the field.