Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-12-05
THELABoR PROBLEM.
Unioninm Contains Much That La Good
and Some Bad.


How to, secure fair treatment alike for
labor and for capital, how to hold in
check the INSCRIPTIONS. man, whether
employer, or employe, without weakening
and cralnping the industrial development
o. the country, is problem Iraught with
great difficulties and one which 1t is OF
the highest Importance to solve on lines
OF sanity and far-s.ghted common sense
as we'll as of devotion to the right. This
is an era of federation and combination.
often work through corporations. and as
1t is a constant tendency of these corr
porations to grow larger, SO it is often
declarations. and these. have become im-
portant factors of modern industrial life.
Both kinds OF federation. capitalistic and
labor. can do much good, and as nee
!. raailary they can both do evil.
Opposition to each kind of organization
should take the form of opposition to
whatever is bad in the conduct of any
given corporation or union-not of at
tacks upon corporations as such nor upon
unions as such; for some of the most
pie has been accomplished through both
corporations and unions. Each must re-
fra.n rom arbitrary or tyrannous inter-
Tasiied capital and riga labor alike
shoylt' remember that in the long run
the interest of each must be brought
pube and the ne eonane Of
must conform to the fundamental rules
Of obedience to the law, of Individual
freedom and OF 1ussise and fair dealing
In addition to power it must strive after
the realization of healthy. lofty and gen.
ero US Ideals; Every emplover ever, try
liberty and his ri.ht to do as he liFes
viii HIS property or his labor, so long
Of ot>e-s. i, is of the highest :mpor-
tares that employer and emp'oye al Ike
shonlS endeavor to. appreciate each the
viewro.nt of the other and the sure dis
lor~ RIM If either grows to take as habit
nal an attitude Of sour hostility and dis
trust toward the other. Few people. de-
serve better of the country than those
Representatives both Of capital and labor
and there are many such--who work
continually to bring about good under
and upon broad and kindly sympathy be-
tween EMPLOYERS and employed. Above
/. all. we need to remember that any kind
is n posc'hle. even more wicked. even
more destructive to national welfare.
than sectional. race or religious animos-
rpon condition that we keep true to the
pr.nr'nles vnon which this nation was
founded. and Judge each man not as a
nnrt ef -1a~s hut "pon his individual
merits All that we have rseht to ask
NJ INV man. rich o. poor. whatever his
creed. his occupation. his birthplace, or
and honorshlw by his ne'~hbor and by
/, his country We are neither for the rich
man as such nor for the poor man as
such: we are for the upright man. rich
or poor. SO far as the constitutional
powers of the national government touch
rnent TO the nation. they should be exer-
cised in conformity with the principles
above set forth.
Recommend. Dep~rtnent Of Com
merce.
1t is earnestly hoped;that o secretary. Of
!. commerce may be created, with seat in
! the cabinet. The rapid multiplication of
questions affecting labor and capital, the
/; growth ard complexity of the organizations
| through which both labor and capital now
find expression, the steady tendency to-
ward the employment of capital in, huge
corporations. and the wonderful strides OF
this country toward leadership in the in
ternational business world Justify an ur-
gent demand for the crea ton Of such a po-
sition. Substantially all the leading COM
mercial bodies in this country have united
in. requesting its creation. It is desirable
that some such measure as that which has
already passed the senate be enacted into
law, The. creation of such a department
would in itself be an advance toward DEAL
ing with anG exercising supervision over
the whole subject of the great corporations
doing an interstate business; and with this
emo in view. the congress should endow
the department with large powers, which
could be increased as experience might
show the need.