ion, if all are compelled to
pay the same wage rates for the same work.[85]

The weight of this contention must be decided in each case by the facts
which support it. In some instances it may be clear that the vigorous
and summary application of wage standardization would cause men to be
thrown out of work, who could not easily find work elsewhere, and would
make a considerable amount of fixed capital valueless or almost so. In
those instances there would be reason for considering the extent to
which the standardization should be carried out, and also what
variations should be introduced into its application. That such cases
are not infrequent is borne out by the Australasian experience of which
Mr. Collier writes, "In regard to the practicability of the common rule,
opinion differs. In some staple industries such as coal mining, it has
been said to operate fairly. But its application to small industries and
retail stores, where conditions vary more widely, is fraught with
considerable risk and is proceeded with slowly.... While the power to
enforce industrial conditions throughout a state or given territory is
of unquestionable value, experience shows it must be exercised with
caution."[86]

The test to be applied in each instance should be the balance of
interest involved, including a strong public interest in standardization
as one of the elements in a policy of wage settlement. When weighing the
facts for or against the limitation or variation for the reason under
discussion, several distinctions should be made. Firstly, in regard to
the nature of the difference in advantage possessed by the various units
of the industry in question. Secondly, in regard to the way in which the
differences in advantage are distributed among the various units of the
industry.

The case for limitation or variation is apt to be stronger when the
difference in advantage is a natural difference than when it is an
acquired difference. In either case, the decision must rest upon the
balance of good and harm to be anticipated from a straightforward and
unmodified application of the principle. But when the difference in
advantage is a natural difference, such as exists between different
mining areas, there is greater reason for deliberate procedure than
otherwise. For the possibility that an abrupt suspension of certain
enterprises be caused without compensating extension of other
enterprises, is the more genuine. Such a situation was reco