Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1902-12-12
LABOR AND CAPITAL,
Federation Of One Is Just as Federation Of
the Other.

TeOerAtiOn OF One Is JUST aS Te0erati0n OF
the Other.
How to secure fair treatment alike
for labor and capital, how to hold in
check the INSCRIPTIONS man, wheth.
er employer or employe, without
weakening individual initiative, with
out hampering and cramping the in
dustrial development of the country,
is problem fraught with great diff.
culties aud one which it is of the
highest Importance to solve on lines
Cf sanity and far-sighted common
sense as we'll as of devotion to the
right. This is an era of federation
and combination. Exactly as business
men find they must often work
through corporations, and as it is a
constant tendency of these corpora.
tions to grow larger, SO it is often ne.
cessary for laboring men to work in
federatiOns, and these have become
important factors OF modern industrial
life. Both kinds OF federation, CAPT.
talistic and labor, can do much good,
and as a necessary corollary 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 attacks upon corpora
ti0ns as such nor upon unions as such ;
for some of the most far.reaching be.
ne6cent work for our people has been
accomplished through both corpora.
tinne and s,usono Eaol, .,,r.N -of.c; -,
from arbitrary or tyrannous interior
ence with the rights Of others.
Organized capital and organized
labor alike should remember that in
the long run the interest OF each must
be brought into harmony with the
interest Of the general public; and the
conduct of each must conform to the
fundamental rules of obedience to the
law, of individual freedom and OF JUS
tice and fair dealing toward all. Each
should remember that in addition 70
power it must strive after the realiza.
tion Of healthy, lofty and generous
ideals. Every employer, every wage
worker, must be guaranteed his liberty
and his right TO do ~ he likes with his
property or his labor 90 long as he
does not infringe upon the rights Of
others. 1t is OF the highest import
ance that employer and employe alike
should endeavor to appreciate each
the viewpoint of the other and the
sure disaster that will come upon both
in the long run if either grows to take
as habitual an attitude of sour hostil-
ity and distrust toward the other.
Few people deserve better of the coun-
try than those representative both of
capital and labor-and there are many
such-who work continually to bring
about good understanding of this
kind, based upon wisdom and upon
broad and kindly sympathy between
employers and employed. Above all,
We need to remember that any kind OF
class animosity in the political world
is, If possible, even more wicked, even
more destructive to national welfare,
than sectional, race or religious aui-
mostly. We can get good government
only upon condition that we keep true
to the principles upon which this Ma
tion was founded, and judge each man
not as . part OF a class but upon his
individual merits. All that we have q
right TO ask of any man, rich or poor,
whatever his creed, his occupation, his
birthplace or his residence, is that he
shall act we'll and honorably by his
country, We are neither for the rich
man a. such nor for the poor man as
such; we are for the upright man, rich
or poor. So far a. the constitutional
powers Of the National Government
touch these matters of general and
vital moment to the Nation, they
should be exercised in conformity with
the principles above set forth.
Secretary Of Commerce Needed.
1t is earnestly hoped that the Secre.
tary of Commerce may be created,
with seat in the cabinet. The rapid
multiplication of questions affecting
labor and capital, the growth and com.
plexity of the organizations through
which both labor and capital now find
expression. tile steady tendency toward
the employment of capital in huge
corporations, and the wonderful strides
OF this country toward leadership in the
international business world justify an
urgent demand for the creation Of
such . position. Substantially all the
leading commercial bodies in this
country have united in requesting its
creation. 1t 10 desirable that some
such measure as that which has already
passed the Senate be enacted into law.
The creation OF such department
would in itself be an advance toward
dealing with and exercising supervision