The Savannah morning news., 1901-08-11
DANGEROUS TRUSTS
THOSE OF LABOR AS WELL AS
THOSE OF CAPITAL.
QUESTION NOT POLITICAL.
CONGRESSMAN LIVINGSTON TALKS
ON THE NATTER.

TO Congress.-Livingsto Favors
More Power for the General Gov
ernment - Strikes Disturb the
Country and the People Suffer.
Washington, Aug. 10.--"There is one
subject the Industrial Commission pro-
poses to handle without gloves in its
forthcoming report to Congress-" said
Representative Livingston of Georgia
to-day in discussing the nearly COM
pleted work of the commission, "and
that is the trust question. and how 1T
affects both capital and labor"
The Industrial Commission has been
daily engaged for the past two weeks
in reviewing the volumes of testimony
taken since It was created, and the
report will be ready for submission to
Congress at the beginning of the ses-
sion neZt December. A summary of the
testimony on each subject is now pre-
pared, and it will be given to the press
in a few days. The commission will
meet again Sept. /. to take final action
upon it's report.
hS SA0cA AoOoNASAAt ooA0 AsSRA OoSA
tative Livingston. "is the most i'm
portant problem we have to consider,
and 1t will be disposed of first In view
Of the pending conflict between capital
important subject will naturally call
together a full attendance of the mem
bers of the commission. During the
two weeks occupied in reviewing the
testimony Representative Livingston
was the only Democratic member of
the commission presently No one can
now suggest what the recommended
tions of the commission to Congress
will be-" continued Representative
Livingston, but trust and believe it
will be independent of political bias
and free from partisanship. The COM
mission has taken an immense amount
of testimony on this great subject, and
in giving it to the public will enable
conservative people to pass judgment
upon the question for themselves. The
two great trusts that are in shape to
hold up business or to control business
to a large extent, are the combinations
of manufacturers and labor. The
masses of the people who are the direct
sufferers by the maneuvers of these
combinations will demand some perma-
nent relief or basis of settlement
lodged in their hands, and under the
direct control of the United States gov
ernment. This will be the great issue
before the country eventually and it
must be met"
Individually Representative Living
ston is in favor of investing the gov
ernment with power to take drastic
measures If necessary to arbitrate or
regulate the continual disputes be-
tween organized capital and organized
labor. One, he declares, is as danger
Gus trust as the other. Having been,
perhaps, the most regular attendant at
all of the meetings of the commission
since it was created, Mr.. Livingston
is competent to comment upon the dis
closures which have been brought out
in the testimony.
1T is not a political question" con-
tinued Mr.. Livingston, 'for both Re-
publicans and Democrats are directly
or indirectly associated with the va
rious trusts. The people of this coun-
try can hardly realize the intense feel
ing which exists between the represent
tatives of capital on the one side and
organized labor on the other. AS
things are going now, it will require
prompt methods by the government
and extremely delicate handling of the
subject to prevent a revolutionary con-
test between capital and labor. So
desperate are some of the contending
forces, that suffering, destruction of
property and even bloodshed cannot be
averted unless the strong hand inter-
poses to prevent these constant distur-
Dances of the business of the country"
Without attempting to defend or ex-
cuse the position assumed by the rep
resentatives of capital in the pending
for supremacy, Mr.. Living
ston is inclined to believe that they
would submit to governmental control
without serious opposition. On the other
hand, organized labor, especially in the
North and the West, has a membership
which embraces a large foreign ele-
ment. In Pennsylvania and in other
states, labor organiza-
tions contain thousands of members
who cannot speak the English lam
guage. In some sections of the coun-
try these labor organizations have al
ready formed military companies, are
equipped with Winchester rifles and at
regular intervals drill and otherwise
prepare to defend themselves and their
rights, should an emergency arise.
This state of affairs cannot go on
much longer" continued Mr.. Living
ston,. without serious consequences.
The tension is so strong and the feel
ing so intense that, without being an
alarmist. a revolution between capital
and labor can only be averted by the
most cautious, conservative and at the
same time, positive interference by the
government. The interest of
the trusts and the labor organizations
should not be permitted to have full
sway and jeapordize the interests of the
great mass of the people who are not
directly interested in either of these
two warning combinations. The mid
dleman, that is, the man who is neither
a member of the trusts or a labor or
ganization, will be the principal suf-
ferer in the case of strife between capt.
tai and labor, and as that class far
those engaged in the war
Of the trusts, in all justice and fair
ness and in the interests of good gov
ernment, they should receive prompt
and successful protection under the
laws of the United States"
The Number Uncertain.
Pittsburg Aug TO- The men