The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-04-14
INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION
Asks For and Receives the Advice
Of Ex-Congressman Hewitt.
HE OPPOSES LABOR LEGISLATION.

THINKS Individual interests Are Best
Safeguardsd by Compelling the Par
ties Concerned to Settle Their Own
Observation-Disclosures of Population.
Washington, April Nv. G. Pearce,
miner of Is years experience, now
secretary and treasurer of the United
Mine Workers association, was the
only witness before the Industrial COM
mission yesterday. Ten years expert
ence as an official OF the association,
he said, enabled him to declare that
the organization never attempted to
force men to strike. They influenced
miners only through missionary
work. Mr.. Pearce criticized the use of
screens in mining as causing consider
able friction between men and oper-
ators. His organization favored con-
citation and arbitration wherever pos
slble, and denounced the injunction as
a breeder of violence nd strike Com
pany stores and company shoes, he
said, tended to prevent strikes, because
they helped to make the miners de-
pendent upon the company. The ten
dency of wages was down, and this
decline was checked only partially by
the efforts of labor organizations. He
thought there should be strenuous
laws against the employment Of child
labor in mines. The eight hour labor
law was a great boon to the miners
The industrial commission recently
requested eX-Mayor Abram S. Hewitt,
OF New York, to appear before it and
give ms views on industrial questions
In letter OF response Mr.. Hewitt says
in part:
Il am an old man, practically re-
tired from public affairs and striving
to close up such private interests as
still require attention. The condition
OF my health does not admit OF alb
sence from home.
You reler In your letter to the tes-
timony which was taken by a con-
gressional committee in 1873, of which
l was the chairman. You doubtless are
aware that no report was ever made
by the committee The failure to make
report was due to the conclusion |
reached by all the members of the COM
mlttee that no report of any value |
could possibly be made from the tssti-
mony which was given before the |
committee. This testimony disclosed |
concluSively the fact that the witness
es, when cross examined, invariably |
contradlcted themselves. leaving the
testimony which they had given as
that Of men who had no clear convic- |
lions upon the subject. No human |
being could possibly evolve from this
mass OF contradictory evidence any
definite conclusions whatever as to
legislation in reference to the rela.
tions of capital and labor, except pos
sibly the one conclusion that legisla-
ton could do no good and would prob
ably be mischievous.
Corporations have continued to
grow, and at the present moment they
threaten to absorb the entire Industrial
business of the country which is Ca
pablo of being administered by cen
tralized management This is pre-
cisely the direction which l antici-
pated. My own view is that when in
dustry has been sufficiently central
lied, and the ownership widely diff
fused through the distribution of
shares, the workmen will gradually
acquire these shares and control the
property which they represent. In
fact, | cannot see any other outcome for
the present movement towards the
consolidation of industrial enterprises
than the transfer of the control to
those who are actually engaged in the
work of operation.
AS general proposition l regard
legislative interference with capital
and labor as pernicious. Women and
children may properly be protected
from abuse, but | think individual in
terests are best safeguarded by COM
polling the parties concerned to settle
their own differences and decide upon
their own interests. The corporate
movement, however, seems to me to
be altogether advantageous to society.
There is one question, however, with
which society will probably have to
deal, and that is the increase of pop
ulation. In France the standard OF
comfort has been raised by the con-
troll which the people seem voluntarily
to have exercised in regard to the in
crease of population. Whether the
moral standard in France has been de-
graded by this or any other cause do
not pretend to judge. This is ques-
ton for moralists, and 1t may become
q qU@ ton tor legislators"