The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-01-03
AZ FRANK a. CARPENTER.

' q ~. r.
IF WASHINGTON, D. G., Jan. al have
been asked to make an interview lnVes'
tiRntlof, OF some Of the great bread-and
butter questions which arc now agitating
the minds OF most OF tho men and women
OF the United States. These questions
are those relating to tho now conditions
Of capital ana labor; the question OF the
big dealer swallowing up the little one.
Of high wages and high prices OF long
4 or short hours, OF union and non union.
and especially whether tho consumer Is
70 DO ground tetweon the upper and
neither mill -stones OF employer and en-
vloyc. These arc problems which affect
every mans pocket book. his chance to
work for whom he pleases. his wages II
( he is n laborcr and his profits It he Is q
capitalist, and. in fact. the comfort ana
success or failure OF everyone In the
country
A FREE FoR-ALL.
Tho interviews will be with representa-
1.-Two mon OF all clnsses. shall have talks
with some OF our chief capitalists, In
GLIDING now and then millionaire or
trust mngnnte, who will give us the ben
elts OF organized capital; and shall have
expressions OF opinion from tho leaders
Of tho trade unions. who in their mig ht5
hands WELD the millions OF organized
labor. The non-union mass Will 30 re-
PRESENTED by other thinkers, as Will also
tho unorganizcd and long suffering pub
lie. which pays NIL the bills and forms
the very foundation OF the existence OF
4 lnborer and capitalist.
8 wish to say ut tho start that these
Interviews are not tho expression OF my
opinion or that OF this paper In them
the man who talks may say what he
pleasest and the moro forcibly the better
My only aim Is to give n fair show TO oil
SIDES without fear or favor. Il labor IS
denounced this week. capital may have
lie Remuneration next. Tho unionist and
ron .unonist Is her. on an equal footing,
and the Individual establishment and the
g1eat trust stand side by side. AS for
Inc am only the telephone connection
8 between the men interviewed and my
rcuders-a mere receiver and transmit.
tcr--.ny chief ambition bein. to distinct
g ~ convey the sound.
,rhe present lctter gives some idea OF
tho situation and the parties at issue.
I The interviews will begin publication
next Sunday. n
Il LAND OF GOLDEN GIANTS.
In the past the United States has been
great through Its individual citizen. 1t
las been the land OF all others where
the single man could stand alone and
fnme and fortune. This condition Is
rupidly changing. We arc doing things
III the large. Men work in bands, and
dollars in millions. Tho land is one OF
golden giants. OF mighty masses Of or
Es.nized capital and herculean armies Of
OF ganized labor.
5 First look at our combinations OF capt.
tel. They surpass in their accummula-
lions the widest dreams OF q Croesus. an
Aladdin or Monte Cristo. It is not long
since tho millionaircs Of the United
States could be counted on your fingers
and toes. Now they are numbered by
thousands. and we have individuals worth
more than the aggregate wealth Of some
y OF the smaller European states.
Take Carncgie! No one knows Just
what he has. but hla three hundred mil
lion dollars OF steel securities bring him
q In an income Of more than dftean million
dollars year. or more than forty.ono
thousand dollars for every day Of the
week, including holidays and Sundays.
John D. Rockefeller scoops In something
like two thousand an hour all the year
through from his stocks. real estate and
mines. and the vanderbilts, Astors and
Gou.ds have proportionately large In
comes. There are to-day number OF
men in tho United States worth nifty
million dollars and upward. and the or
ganizations OF capital whose stock runs
" FIFTEEN BILLIONS IN TRUSTS.
Wenow have. In addition toe billion
dollar steel trust. which, by " way, is
a little shrunken at the waist, and fn,
addition to the gigantic Pennsylvania
Railroad, about eight hundred and fifty
Industrial combinations. which command.
all told fifteen thousand millions OF dol
lars. We havo two hundred and thirteen
Industrial trusts capitalized at seven
thousand millions. and more than five
thousand other corporations. These trusts
are swallowing their smaller competitors.
They are branching out to include all
businesses OF profit, and In many cases
are binding the hands Of Industry With
trade regulations. Indeed, we are fast
becoming nation OF pool-makers, rate
fIxers, and proft-sharcrs. and new ques-
lions Of enormous Importance stare Us
In the face.
THE HERCULES OF ORGANIZED
LABOR.
At the same time our working men are
organizing on a gigantic scale. The
trades unions are growing az mover be-
fore, and they are combining into assor
Citations OF enormous proportions We
have more than twenty thousand unions
in ono federation. and these unions cover
every trade and hope to control every
wage Garner. John Mitchell estimates
that there are from two and one-half
rous unions; and Samuel Gompers tells
mo there are more than two millions
associated together In the American Fed
Grafton Of Labo This federation has
national, international. central. State and
local unions which 1t hopes to WELD as
one man on. all great labor questions.
Some of the unions are very strong,
and some are pillng up funds In their
treasures to use In the strikes and strug-
giles which may arise between capital
and labor. The United Mine Workers,
has ono million dollars saved UP. The
Cigarmakers' Union has 10000 members
and II annually handles, all told, more
than million dollars. giving death bsn-