THE WAR PERIOD—AN INTERREGNUM 43 
Labor Board. The first two agencies were primarily con- 
cerned with policies of control and administration. The 
function of the latter was fundamentally judicial. It had 
to do with the interpretation and application of the prin- 
ciples and standards which had been officially adopted as 
a guide to the adjustment of wages and conditions. The 
principles, which were mandatory upon the War Labor 
Board in making decisions, were originally agreed to by 
labor as represented by the American Federation of Labor, 
and by capital acting through the National Industrial Con- 
ference Board. Afterwards, these principles were officially 
proclaimed by President Wilson on April 8, 1918, and thus 
made binding upon all government departments and pro- 
curement agencies for the duration of the war. 
The general course of procedure which capital and labor 
voluntarily agreed to follow, and which, in principle, was 
adhered to throughout the war period, briefly stated, was 
to maintain the pre-war status as to industrial relations. 
If an industrial plant had been unionized before the war 
it was by agreement to remain unionized during the war; 
but if a plant had not been unionized before the war, it 
was stipulated that advantage should not be taken of the 
wartime emergency to force its management into a recog- 
nition of the union. On the other hand, all industrial 
workers, irrespective of pre-war conditions, were guar- 
anteed the right of organization and collective bargaining. 
Employers also agreed to refrain from any discrimination 
against employees because of affiliation with labor organi- 
zations. 
Cost-oF-LiviNg METHOD OF WAGE ADJUSTMENT 
ADOPTED 
Regarding wage-rates, it was likewise agreed that pre- 
war standards of real wages were to be maintained. Funda-