Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-09
.LABORq]Vs, CAPITAL
A Timely Interview With
se as Hanna
SIGNS M TIE TIMES
F1HANc1AL. pEpRFss1oHs AND
How THEY ARE CAUSED.
An Age of organization-Labor Unions
and Strikes-The Poor
Public.
SIGNS M THE TIMES

Copyright. 1904, by Frank G. Carpenter)
Written for The Evening Star.
us the country going to the dogs in the
present struggle between capital and
la;bor?'
l. asked this question of Senator Mark
Hanna as We chatted together in his room
at the Arlington Hotel a day or two ago.
No" was the reply. There is only q
halt in our march of unbounded prosperity.
We shall have a limited period in which
business must run at slower pace. Many
factories will cut down their forces, and In
some wages Mill be, necessarily reduced.
AS to the country, it is in healthy condi-
ton. The crops are good, the people are
well off and the outlook Is not serious"
What is. the cause of the halt senator?
Does 1t not come from the increased wages
demanded by and the other exactiOns of or
ganzed labor?''
Il do not think So replied Senator
Hanna. I'm New York and Chicago and
one or two other places a depression has
been, created by the troubles in the build
ing trades. These have been nearly settled.
and look for better times there
What Causes the Hard Times.
Then 1 suppose it comes from organized
capital?" u
No; it does not. The chief reasons are
the natural ones of oversupply and under
demand. You remember the business stu
alton of from 1893 to 1898. We had been
over-producing and the market was glutted
BUSINESS came almost to a standstill and
the people lost confidence in everything.
Every one bought as little as he could and
the factories did little more than manufac-
ture to order. while all enterprises. includ-
ing the railroads, cut their purchases to
the minimum"
AT the same time capital became timid,
and the savings were stored away in the
safe deposits and in low interest bearing
securities. Then in 1888 woke up to the
fact that we had excellent crops, vast ma
teriai resources and at the same time a
market which was out of everything. The
financial sky frightened The demands
came IN ike deluge Money crept out of
the banks, the factories and mills went to
work and prosperity like a SNOWFALL run
ming down hnl, ga thered at every turn, I'M
til it seemed that the powers of adversely
would be crushed by it. The great demand
brought about combinations of capital to
supply it. New inventions created to save
labor in the 1hardht times increased the ca
pacity of the factories, and the new forces
of modern Industry produced in quantities
unknown in the past. AT the same time
the confidence OF the people ran neck and
neck with the times. The home market
sprang into. sucks enormous proportions
that raw materials and manufactures were
brought in from abroad in vast quantities
This was especially so of iron and steel,
the supplies of which, then ordered, are
still being delivered. Gs
..Then all at once it was found that the
home demando was satisfied. The more con-
sentative business men, including small
merchants alhoverthe country, saw there
must. be a turning of the tide, confidence
wayered. and ishe result is the condition of
today a5idt al y. S.. s--s-. :.
: e..-ssxs 4 The4Euture.
How about the fat,fre?"
Il have no fear Of that replied Senator
Hanna Our normal condition is one of
good times, and the PRESENT depression will
soon pass away We always move more
slowly during the year of the presidential
elections AS to the country, we have the
same muscle and brains that have succeed
ed in the past, and we are as good as ever
In times like these, however, the sensible
man trims his sails and keeps close to the
shore. 1 began to do so more than three
months ago"
nations of organized capital are good for
the country?
Eyes. The great industries of the world
can be carried on in no other way. This IS
an age of organization. Such combinauohs
are among the evolutions of our Industrial
DEVELOPMENT and they are to the interest
of both laboring man and capitalist Trey
have increased trade and increased wages.
"A few years ago the balance OF trace
Industrial lines. 1t is largely owing to Or
ganized capital that we are now not o1ly
able 10 manufacture for ourselves, but to
export to all parts of the world. This ex-
port trade will increase and we sfail hold
our own as the greatest industrial nation on
earth by our combination of capital and
labor.
Not Afraid of Trusts.
II am not afraid of such combinations.
the senator went on. 'If they abuse their
privileges competition will regulate them.
Every field of industry in this country is
open to all and extraordinary profits Will
lead to new organizations Our only monop-
olies are those protected by the patent
laws"
You occupy a peculiar position on the
labor question SENATOR, said l. You are
capital and labor. What do you know about
working men,?
Il have been associated with them all
my life. 1 have been large employer OF
labor for more than thirty years, and am
now interested in enterprises which give
work to many"
"What kind of enterprises" I asked.
Various kinds, was the reply. Coal
mines in Ohio, iron mines in Michigan, YES
sells and shipbuiding works on the lakes.
street railroads and various factories and
foundries."
The Question Of Strikes.
..How about strikes, senator, have you
had many?"
None of Importance, and none which
were not amicably settled" was the reply
1.-The first strike of which l had any ex-