The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1901-05-25
CAPITAL AND LABOR ORGANIZATION.

CAPITAL AND LABOR REORGANIZATION.
Mr.. Charles M. Schwab. president Of
the United States Steel Corporation,
presented some original views on the
subject of labor unions in his testi-
mony before the Industrial Commission
last Saturday. Mr.. Schwab was once q
Tailoring man." as he stated, but now
his salary is reputed to be twenty times
as large as that Of the president OF the
United States. Probably the head of no
other corporation in the world IL as
highly paid as the president Of the steel
trust. Once ''laboring man." he is
now a magnate with the prospect of be-
coming a multi-millionaire. His know
ledge of the iron and steel business is
eminently practical, acquired by labor
ious toll as a worker in steel manufac-
turing plants.
Mr.. Schwab declares that the policy
Of labor organizations Is not in the in
terest of the individual workingman.
If I were now a laboring man, as I
once was," he said, II should not want
to belong to labor organization, If en-
ployed by properly managed corpor-
alton like the steel company, for I
would now want to be put on a level
with the poorest laboring man in the
establishment. The tendency is to give
the highest possible price for proper
service, and no member Of a labor Or
ganizationis in position to avail him.
self Of such disposition" Mr.. Schwab's
logic is simply that Of the old saw
Every man for himself and the del
take the hindmost." From the stand
point of individualfsm his views are
unquestionably sound. The man who
believes that he may one day, by his
own exertions, become manager, presi-
dent or even owner of an immense cor
poration like that of which Mr.. Cchwab
IS the president may find himself in
better position to realize his ambition
If he is a free lance, unfettered by any
obligations to his fellows and free to
work for his own advancement alone.
Still, there are millions Of men in the
United States who do not expect for
tune to be as kind to them as it has
been to Mr.. Schwab. Theoretically,
every American boy is eligible to the
Presidency Of the United States, but
few American youths go thru life un-
der the delusion that they may some
TIMES of this republic. Taking Mr..
Schwab's career as a precedent, every
competent worker in the iron and steel
industry is eligible to the presidency
of the United States Steel Corporation,
but the hundreds of thousands Of men
employed in that industry do not spent
their time or their energies in trying
to secure appointment to this post. On
the contrary, most Of them realize that
their lives will be spent as Tailoring
men," and the question: which most
concerns them is how their labor can
be>made most profitable to them, not as
captains of industry but as toilers in
the ranks. The conclusion which they
have reached is that they will be strong
in exact proportion to the Organization
which they maintain. The theory up
on which they organize is Numerically
opposed to that upon which Mr.. Cchwab
acts. They assert that an injury to
one Is an injury to all. Mr.. Schwab
holds inferentially that no man is inter-
ested in promoting anybodys fortune
except his own; as long as he is not in
jured, other peoples grievances are no
concern Of his. The man who allows
himself to be worried over the condi-
tions under which other men work. and
indentfies himself with his fellows in a
movement to improve the condition Of
ALL sacrifices his own interests to that
of the common veal. Evidently, in Mr..
Schwab's opinion, this is sheer Quixot-
ism. Every tub should stand on it's
own bottom.
The relations beween gigantic COM
binations of capital anr combinations
of laobr cannot be adjusted satisfactor-
lily to laboring men upon Mr.. Schwab's
theory Of individualism. IF that theory
was unassialable it would apply equal
ly to industrial enterprises. Instead Of
one gigantic steel corporation there
would be dozen enterprises, each
working in it's own way and ech pros
pering. But consolidation Of capital
has already made it almost impossible
for Independent industries to exist, and
consequently the workingman has con-
cluded that his only hope of meeting
new industrial conditions is to organize
in the same way in which capital has
! organized. Recently the most promi-
nent leabor leaders have been discuss
ing plan for the consolidation of all
existing labor organizations into one
body. Whether a consolidation of all
trade unions is practicable the future
will show. It is evident however, that
the abandonment of the principle .o1
individualism by the captains Of in
dustry" is likely to be followed by SINH
lar action by Tailoring men," Such q
consolidation may have far reaching
effect upon industrial conditions: II
would be interesting to observe what la.
Dor organizations could accomplish 81
they were directed by man Of Mr.. J
P. Morgan's ability and energy. It i,
conceivable that under such Leadership
they would be able to hold their owl
in a contest even with the nightly con.
solicitations of capital which have take1
shape in the steel trust and kindred
corporations. Possibly such a leader
and organizer OF the bone and sinew O.
the country NAV ono dav arr;1yo 49,