New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-12-28
PROBLEMS OF THE TIMES.
DrsCIySsIONS OF THE AMERICAN ECO
NOMIC ASSOCIATION
c,ppo,I y WRIGHT on THE EFFECTS OF THE

The American Economic Association held the sec
onl session Of H. seventh annual meeting yesterday
.; Columbia College. Notwithstanding the incemeht
roath,r the room was well filled, many women BE-
inc ., In. audience The session was devoted 10
the readns Of six papers. which were discussed
f,crward bv the members OF the society III general
The first paper read by Carol! II. Wright n'ed
states Commissioner of Labor MAS on The en-
,ro strike" Mr. Wright said IN substance that the
,,ii,acc strike was an epoch making event because
s It's vast proportions and the powerful influences
o,s clements contributing TO q. 1t demonstrated
"a the satisfaction of The public at large me rlShl
md the power OF the Federal Government. wElle
no. interfering with the operation OF cOhiroi 81
strikes themselves: 80 send its troops INTO state
er In. purpose OF protecting Federal interests
whether that protection was or Was not asked 10y
,h. ct,+e Government. II had empha s.2"i the
,o,,,r % thc Fedora! Government 10 project us
cr,a. interests in the transportation o. the mans
ana had made the country thoroughly recognize the
bs lutte necessity OF considering railroads as rep
,esen,ng not only their own interests. bat the in
forests Of tho pubic also; and that. as they obaned
their charters by public consent and were by nature
,.,as-pubic corporations, their employees were 10
q. degree quas public servants and must nave
status under the law independent Of their status
"a nployes OF individual corpora tions. But greater
cha, ~ these the reason for considering Il IN
,.,o.h-making occurrence VAS that /. constituted
subordinate element IN revolution wnlch was
iuctly takins; place in this country IL Was SUD-
AZ DhaSp
,r,i,hiv in the interest o. public welfare. be-
cause fl emphasized the cain, that there mast be
sor, legislation which shall pace railroad employees
AN 4 mar with the railroad employers IN conducting
he business Of transportation SO far as terms ana
conditions % employment were concerned; because
III. incidents Of mat strike logically demanded that
another declaration OF law ana Of the principles
If tho Federal Government sinai. be made. dec
,,,afion that all wages paid well as all charges
for any service rendered in the transportation ~
nroDertv messengers. etc. shall be rcdsonabe ana
;,s. This coald be accomplished through some such
roach;nerv Of law that provided in the present
a,t IN regulate commerce. The prosperity OF me
railroads was a necessity upon which depended
largely business stability and every reasonable
means which can prevent disaster should be con-
sidered.
80 closing. Mr. Wright said that he had little
fear that laws would be made too radica
THE UNEMPLOYED
After HE discussions on Mr.. Wright's paper. Pres
dent john T. Clark INTRODUCED Professor Davis T.
Dewey If the Massachusetts, Institute OF Technoi-
OK. who read paper on The Unemployed Inc
principal point taken up by the speaker was whether
the unemployed to-day were new class or com
pr;sei different Clements from those which had char-
actcrized i a generation or century ago Inc
question was raised whether the term unemployed"
vas simply another name 70. the term the poor
Attention was cai.cd the fact that many work
men in certain sense voluntarily uleh-
p1D because
WAGES in their own trade. when they were, how
ever. willing TO accept much lower wage IN some
,,oo-sanizci trade loyalty trades onism pre-
venting them from abatng the standard wage. ne
forces recognized contrihutory causes OF nom
environment were enumerated. and the position o.
conservative economic literature that on the whole
Inconsistency Of employ ment was not increasing as
represented by Professor Marshall. was taken M
The result OF the modern Introduction OF machinery
on large scale treated both as relating TO the
mobility of labor and enlargns the ambition 81
the workman The introduction of juvenile. female
or foreign labor. and the increasing opportunity
for a rasjfiing and resortng of the labOrers and
constant re.egatioE the OF the incompetents
WAS a.so treated al length. In closing Mr.. Dewey
touched on the remedies for the relief Of the nnem-
ployed follows
THOSE are Of two kinds temporary-in cases OF
,nierEency-and permanent measures 10y which
irfegiiiarty Of employment may be reduced OF
NAY be more easily borne The temporary meas
ares OF last year were grouped int0 nNe 'IasSeSc
First; the permanently established relief agency OIL
'own ana State. such the poor department;
second. other city departments as those OF rnD 1
form of wages: third. private charities; fourth.
special relief committees; NTH labor ors"nlza-
John Graham Brooks of Cambridge, Mass, read
mis- PAPER on The Pope and the Encyclical on
Labor" Mr. Brooks said in part
Upon the whole this document takes sides with
yet il has introduced greater unity oi OPINION
no ,,d praeicay All accep, H. There is far
less nsistence that only Joint trades-unions should
be encouraged. Instead of much abuse OF mere
interest rent receivers we hear far NOR ,n OF
cety Some corresponding service must De r"'l-
dcIeI for what they take.
POPULATION AND CAPITAL
In the afternoon session Professor arthur J.
Hadley. Yale University. read the frs, paper on
Population and Capital" Professor Iiahl"y
pointed out how the Of sociological methods
Of inquiry has enabled students 20 connect the
discussion Of the causes affecting the growth Of
capital with the study Of the Malthusian theory
The effect that the struggle for capital has had in
restricting population was discussed AZ lehsth'
After presenting the essential truths OF 'he
Maithusian theory he said
The socalistic criticism upon the Maithus'ah
theory may be fairy summed az III two n"a aresep;
~ ..n,euiaTg U 2ood enough 10 go
around. if II were only distributed. , If sucn
distribution were made there Is no Ilkeiihood OF
future of regulation on by
lover birth rate instead of a higher one. 49,. go.
society exists at present. high comfort and low
birth rate usually so together. because conilort -
S aq made to qSsepa SpSn % prGcnc as in the
Of the English poor law a, me beYns o. her
lhan diminish: 1t may not be equally , Tae' S Ss
low birth rate is the cause Of me comlor, Dut h ~
is much further from the truth TO assert that de
comfort is the cause Of the low birth rate BON
are the results Of a common cause.-The eAe'c'Se VI
prudence.
Professor IIadley followed By professor
David Kinley, OF the University OF lllinois' VINO
read a paper me Credit Instruments III i'-
tail Trade" The paper rife with interest
ing statistics obtained from 246j National banks
the amounts which the statistics cover being near
ly sgD0;Oy Of retail payments or ms - per ceIt
vas paved in checks ana DINER h's''" "i'"'' "
credit u
The last paper OF the session was on our an, "a,
with the East" by Worthlngton {. fofd' chiel vi
Bureau OF Statistics. 49,. ,.s,..
goods valued AT e. II gJ2: from India goods valued
At sljSO7e and from japan, In ,s5l less r tnam
China 81, SIS 595; from India s25s6s,JJ; from Japan
G14d 30 80, ,ho
After the paper OF Mr.. Ford had been rean ue
r,as' ned until to-day al ~ a. w.