Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-15
THE WAR OF WAGES
Gives Matthew Marshall Another Text
for an Everyday Sermon
ON A TOPIC OF GREAT INTEREST.
No Way Yet Discovered or Suggested
Whereby Such Conflicts
CAN BE MADE UTTERLY IMPOSSIBLE
ESPECIAL TELIGRAM TO THE DISPATCH


Narshall's article for to-morrow's Sun
which reads as follows:
, To a benevolent mind there is something
exceedingly painful in the frequent con.
Iilcts between employers and employed
which disfgure the chronicles of our daily
! history, and which often, like that which is
: now going on at Homestead are made
F.. especially repulsive by the violence and
b!oodshed with which they are accom-.
panied. Strikes ana lockouts involve. at
best. much loss of wages on one side and OF
profits on the other not to mention the in.
> convenience to which they put numbers OF
people who have no direct interest in the
disputes which occasion them.
Thus far, it is conceded, the search for
remedies has been fruitless. Arbitration,
: which has been urgently recommended in
s Zhe case of the Homestead lockout, pre-
supposes willingness on both sides to come
to an amicable settlement which, of itself
renders arbitration only a form of mutual
= agreement. Compulsory arbitration is a
contradiction in terms, since, If it be made
against the consent of either one of the
parties, it is not arbitration at all, but a
{ mere suit at law. Pront-sharing is only a
one-siGed partnership, in which the little
partners pocket their profits when there
: are any, but cannot contribute to losses
! - hen losses occur. Consequently, it sue
ceeds only so long as the business to which
i IS applied is prosperous and breaks down
{ IN seasons of adversely.
One of the Pending Proba biIities.
perfection and extension of trades
unionism, w ich think is impending and
which will make of the entire body of work
: crs for wages a disciplined army, will pre-
I vent petty scattering conflicts, and will to
, that extent be an improvement upon the
present state OF things, but it will be
0nlpanied by corresponding complete Or
-an. cation of employers, and render COL
isiop between the two, whenever one hap
pens. lar more mischieyous than those
which happen now. ANY solution of the
2, problem which proposes either to give to
{ employers the unchecked control of the EN-
Il nOyed. or on the other hand, to put the
: United body Of the employed into the po-
=ition of dictators OF wages and conditions
. OF labor, is manifestly unreasonable and i'm
: possible.
The root of the whole trouble, it is obyi-
: Gus, lies in the natural disposition of the
employed to get as much for their services
As they can, and the CORES ponding desire of
Employers to pay as little for them as posi-
g. This trait OF human character has been
1h he subject Of observation and comment
rom the earliest ages of the world, and the
NioNerb, There is no friendship in trade" is
- old as trade itself. The best OF men,
= u said. cannot resist the temptation to
cheat and tell lies when he has a horse to
dispose Of and dealings on the stock eX-
mango have L am credibly informed.
-aV even does not attempt to prohibit more
.'-an downright fraud in trading, and it lays
down the maxim that the buyer in making
IS bargain must look out for himself The
-T"rkingman, therefore, when he undertakes
10 sell hls skill and strength, encounters in
ne puYer OF it a natural enemy. and there is
FL % way that can see of neutralizing the an
fagonism between the two
An Illusion of the Enthusiasts.
some enthusiasts indulge In the illusion
Is a
osts can be obviated by organizing society
,gto one great manufacturing corporation,
5 it were, in which all workers shall be
stockholders. and therefore their own en-
nIOyers. This scheme, under the name of
s-tate socialism, is popular in Germany and
- France. but has as yet only a few friends
1n Great Britain, and fewer still in this coun-
try. The principle that underlies it is simi-
Jar to that which is involved in proflt-shar-
-nG, and like it, is incapable, at present, SO
1:lr as can see, of successful applica ton. As
2 man cannot serve two masters, can he
not be master and servant at the same time,
hut must be distinc city either the one or the
other. Sociallstlc organization on small
Ecale has frequently been tried, and has,
nus far as often failed. This augurs i'll for
- success when applied to the business of
There remains still the hope that under
-He genial influence of religion and civiliza-
lion human nature may be so far modified
ana improved that not only will wars cease
between nations, but that the warfare be-
tween employers and employed will be sup
anted by just regard FOR mutual rights,
which will make the bargaining of the two
2 peaceful matter and erase strikes and lock-
uts from the cs tegory of possibilities.
A hat the future may have in store for ms no
Cne can with certainty predict, but down to
tie present time. we see, the golden age
universal peace and brotherhood has not
'0l. not arrived, but there are no signs OF
immediate coming. We must, therefore,
Ise men as they are and deal with them ac-
Cordlngly.
Propensity Not to b, overc m.
After all, there is reason for doubling
- neither, in the hrst place, it is possible
C'.upletely to eradicate from among us this
= ropensity to do the best we can for our
selves when We are making a bargain, and
ext, supposing IL were possible, whether it
would he on all accounts desirable. The
cry life OF man consists as the philosopher
~Chopenhauer has demonstrated in his de-
sire for things which he does not possess,
nd the effort by the various individuals of
he race to crafty this desire gives rise to a
conflict which, in recent times, has received
'ue name of the struggle tor existence, and
"a which nearly always the stronger and
lest equipped survive, while the weaker
;ld less fitted perish
D The process is cruel and painful, but it
Vas produced all the Improvement which
~ . could. anu if it ceased we should obtain
eace at the expense of progress, and of the
i G1StltutlOn OF stagnatiOn for activity. If
! example, Wa3eS ana cOnQltl0ns OF labor
y ere regulated by some omn1potent author
against which rebellion was impossible
vorkmen would have no incentive to strive
.or the OetteIing of their condition. If, in
Ee manner, the profits of industrial enter
1,rlses were arbitrarily limited, employers
would not vie with one another in increas-
ilg their products and cheapening their
cost.
Already the complaint is made that the
trades unions, by destroying competition
s-nOng wOrkmen, have DESTROYED their am
tlon and deteIiorated their skill, while the
-eat comDlnes going on among manuiac-
tErerS are increasing the cost Of their goods
rhe public and lowering their standard of
excellence. What the result would be if all
yalIy were eXtirpated is easy to imagine.
2 ne reply to this objection is, of course, that
j the better era toward which the world is
: owly tending the purer and loftier desire
OF promoting the well being of ones fellow
7 en- or of collective society will have taken
tie place of the purely selfish impulses
Y hich now actuate the mass of men, and
y FL furnish them with motives for exertion
and enterprise which will be quite eff
4 cious. This is easy to say but hard to
] rove.
Unse- -fishness Not Found Every DAY.
UnquestionablF the annals of history furn-
! numerous instances in which men have
]. ..Iored long and earnestly for the benefit of
I reir fellow men, without receiving and ap-
7 srently without expecting any greater re-
Y ard than tile success of their efforts. Nor
can it be denied that by those who
3 o capable of such disinterested efforts a
kseaer pleasure is enjoyed in Witnessing
ed feeling the result of their labors than
y guld be derived from ministering to per-
.Hsal enjoyment in the first instance. These |
2 E.gpri.ns, however, are nossible only AS
T. eption-. II Unsel1ishness, or NJ the |
D .a.rru phrase j., all truism, were pre- |
: lent as the disposition to look out Tor |
o - own interest exclusively, no oppor- |
/ nifty would be afforded for its exercise. |