Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-09
A COMPETITIVE MILLENNIUM.
WRITTEN ron THE p1srArcH.1

printed pamphlet con tanning she report OF
committee on competition. The reports OF
committees are generally as uninterestfng
as the table of logarfthms, but competition
is always Interesting. Composition, accord
ing to this report is one Of the most ben
Efficient influences that has ever entered
into the life of man. The committee are at
loss for words to express their sense of its
mighty achievements. The report opens
with page of epic poetry in praise of COM
petition. 1t is competition that has
prompted men 'to delve deeper into the
bowels of the earth, to peer further beyond
the stars, to dive to greater depth beneath
the sea, or to experiment more and more
with the subtle influences of chemistry,
that the riddle of the rocks may be read, or
| another constellation added to the starry
hosts of the heavens, or other pathways
marked upon the trackless seas, or another
yoke fastened to the lightning, which man
has bitted and bridled and tanned for his
| use." 1t reads like a sermon.
| All this fine writing, however, we discover
on the next page, is only the delusive court
esy of the pugilist, who greets his antaeon-
| ist with loving grip of the hand and then
proceeds (if he can) to pound the life out of
him. Competition, it seems, is like the IA
| nous little girl who had q curl in the middle
of her forehead-"when she was good she
| was very, very good; but when she was bad
| she was horrid."
| Code of Ethics Needed.
The subject assigned this committee for
| their consideration turned their attention
| to the "horrid" side of competition, with
| which they henceforth deal to the end of
the chaptet. The subject was this: "To take
| up the evils that result from competitive
bidding, and prepare such code of ethics
| as will tend to elevate the dignity of the
n. .-1,4 :I~y- -, Alxn
| wording of this statement. 1t might be OBJ
| jected by fauIt-inder that "a code of
| ethics for the elevation of dignity" would
| be like ponderous complication of block
| and tackle set to pick up pins. "Be good
| and you will be-dignified,' is not particu-
| larly soulstirring incentive. However, the
| intention was all right. Language has al
ways been an obstacle across the path of
| thought.
"The evils OF competitive bidding" then,
were to be dwelt upon by this committee,
and some remedy for them, If possible, dis
| covered. That set the committee q two
fold task, of diagnosis and of description.
The diagnosis is recorded under nine
heads There are nine evils of competitive
bidding The first is moral weakness" the
bidder not having the courage to ask an
honest price for his work. The second is
"morti1cation and chagrin;'' modification
when our next door neighbor gets the job,
op6 rnon ro,-iov;,o orr ao,res vial, NE
nadn,t Ths third e,-iI ia .s,ooIorsv enyy
and botred of o,,r neigbbor" The fourth
ov;I 20 .gnodo,n.+e connensot;on for oil
classes of work" Number five in the list Of
the nine deadly sins is corruption and de-
moralizauion of the customer" !" who plays us
one against another, to our loss financial
and his loss spiritual
.T.,..+; g.. D,..
c.n, III.
+a+;on ~ dishanast,. No co., tha ordor ~ :.
low hid and NUT in moor work To keen on the
RIGHT side of the hooks The seventh evil ia
the o1oss of renntat tion ), the moor work com.
ing to the hrht. "I,oss of self.resnect,, ia
eighth in tbi. list NJ calamities Of competi
tion. "for oIthnugb the iynoranca or cra-
dD,i.y of the customer nav enable ths charm
bidder TO impose unon him goods or work
which are not nm to the standard agreed
unon. the bidder. who does know better.
cannot oniet the still email voice of con.
scienc, which 10 continnaIIv remindino him
thai aItbougb he bears a fair renuto tfon in
the Community. he knows himself to be like
a ubited sennlohren - FINALLY the wbole
hed hus,ness winds nm in "noor credit hank.
rnntcv and rnin ,,
Coleridoe sold ono dav to Tanb. nI.mb
did vo, aver hear mo nreachem To which
Tomb onsvered. mJ n-pevar beard you DIDO
anytbino elsarn
Then comes the "code Of ethfcsn These
excelIent nr,ncinIee that follow were re-
norted bv this committees tn the convention
of emn,overs of labor which annonted then,
and by that convention .donted Tbey ara
recommended nv that bodv to all the em.
nlovers of that sort of labor in this country
They are in the hands of n considerable
nrm,,er of suoh an,nloyare in this c;ey
r,,.c,,. ,,;,,.,,;
This code OF ethics touches, among
other matters. "our duty to ourselves" "our
duty to each other" ana our duty to our
workmen. Inc frolessof OF Ihings In
General looks IN vain along tne pages OF the
code for any lndlcation OF date. Ihe year
1871 Is not printed IN tnls document The
year 1000 is the GATE which one naturally
looks for This is the way In which employ
ers will behave IN the millennium!
We must use every eHort 10 develop
hoiai "nu a,"I I"AIoo' se 'oue
go tr,nsoction hr tho a.. t.nd.rd ,f tr,th
-; ;r,.+;o. Toro odyon+ona ~ NJ n,.n,,
;annronce o,d COO tb,t en n1or..s ors
ts,,thfuI o,5 straiobt- bt-forward and do not
,nisr.nresent nor oyercborge the con eninan
We nnst he stas honorabie in every ner-
ticnIar as we would have our comneti.ors ,,
"When a vonno comnetitor enters tho
renLs welcome him new soldier to tho
saId .nd heI,, hin, IN arv An forr,o tfo, 90
.ssistance Which vii, enable hin, ~ o1orl
come the dificnItie, we had so Tnucb aim
cnltv In surmountinp. 1t should he n fIuty
and Measure to imnsrt tn our Iess e,neri-
enced comnetitors the knowIedue we nos.
Sesa so lonr az we are satisfied that the in.