Evening star., 1898-08-31
The Industrial Commission.
ditor Of The Evening Star:

10 the Editor OF The Evening Star:
The wise selection of The members of the
peace commission makes almost a certainty
| of the hope that an equal amount of wis
| dom and prudence will be shown by the
President when he appoints the nine addi-
| tional members who, with the five sena-
tors and representatives already named by
the Senate and the House, will constitute
the industrial commission created by the
last Congress.
While the pressure upon him is very
great, it is not possible that he will know
ingly appoint men who are simply politi-
Clans, or who depend solely upon their past
political activity. 1t was not the intention
OF Congress to provide for junkeung
trip, but that the commission should be
composed of thoroughly representative
business men. What does the machine
politician know about questions affecting
the welfare of the masses, except where
he can find men weak enough to do his bid
ding? What does the political ''hench-
man or 'whipper-in'' know about indus
trial conditions, excepting they may af-
feet his pocket?
This is not the time to experiment The
appointments should not be made on the
score of politics. The baleful influence of
men who are placed in positions requiring
accurate knowledge of the duties thereof
has repeatedly brought the movement with
which they were connected down from a
high plane of usefulness to the low level
of mere political nakeshift. How many
commissions have failed because the
members thereof used-as second nature
dct2fed-thelr influence for political ends,
thus denying themselves any. respectful
treatment that honest people would be dis
posed to accord them?
AT a time like the present, when there is
so much mystery to the laboring man in
the relations between capital and labor"
it would be the height of folly for any one
but an expert to be trusted with the solu-
ton. The laboring man is no fool" and
he can see beneath the surface of things
at times, as well the trained expert and
while he may not be able to express him
self in such choice language, yet his rea-
soning may be the sounder, for all that
No; the country does not want a commits
sion of politicians, nor commission of
fat things, in reward for past political
activity; nor a commission composed of
men who don't know thing about what
they are TO do
What is wanted is a corps OF men who
are truly single in their purpose; accurate
in their knowledge of business conditions:
men who have a comprehensive grasp of
matters affecting the welfare of those upon
whom we must all depend for our peace
and Quietude; men of tactful resource in
dealing with perplexing questions; men of
education and bread commercial knowI-
edge: men who are aware that the sections
may differ radically in their conditions;
men of accurate judgment, who possess
the ability to plough their way through
the mass of fiction and Misrepresentation
that viii surely surI Cund them, and be able
to pick out the true rejecting the false
And, last, but most important of all, men
of sterling worth and above reproach, in
that they will not permit themselves to be
swallowed up in the fatally attractive po-
litical maeistrom almost as soon they
are chosen; but having the stamina of
business men and gentlemen, borrowing
no false light or reflected radiance from
others, but chosen because their past rec
ortis indicate their ability to SUCCESSFULLY
grapple with the conditions they must con-
front. ID. H. DELOE.
Berwyn, Nd, August %, 1898.