The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-04-06
LABOR AND
M0NOP OLlES
Second Lecture Of DR.. Clark III
the Thomas Course at Rich
lnond College.
A HEART TO HEART TALK
"The Problem OF Monopoly
Grows in lntcrcst-Pron1lncnt
Men Listening TO Wlsdon'

Men Listening TO Wisdom.
Before another aprrecatlre and cul-
tured audience at Richmond College last
evening, DR.. John b Clark, of Columbia
IA University. delivered the second of the
twentieth course of Thomas lectures
rho theme Of tho course, as al
ready announced is ".rhc Problem of
Monopoly" aud the direct subject of the
second lecture of the course was or
& Eanized Labor and Monopolics
X In the audience last night were n num-
bar of prominent bankers and business
(, men of The city and the active members
OF large Industrial and commercial estab-
n Ishments. as well as a number of repro
3 scntatlves OF labor organizations. These
Representatives Of the business world had
i been specially invited by President Boat
wright Of the college, to hear this course
or lectures by one Of the aDlest and most
prominent professors Of economics in the
country. DR.. Clark's reputation as
writer and thinker had preceded him,
Z and to say that last night and too night
before he maintained that reputation IS
A but to state Il fact that was manifested
by the close attention given every ut
ierance of the speaker and the fire.
quen outbursts of applause which greet
cd his we'll rounded sentences.
INTENSELY INSTRUCTIVE.
DR.. Clark makes no pretense as an
7 orator. He is an instructor. His manner is
simple; his language plain, comprehensive
H5nnd intensely instructive, and he goes
q right to tho core Of an argument IN such
i II convincing way as to make his lofty
and patriotic positions well night i'm
4 lregnible. liesappaIently does not attempt
sEtIE convert anybody TO his way OF think
s ing and uses none Of the arts OF the
orator. lie simply states facts, from which
he draws conclusions and leaves them. as
10 accuracy and righteousness, with the
inteihGence and righteousness Of the
thinking mind. He Is certain TO leave his
nearer a the end OF every .parugrapb
with something tothink about,
THE LECTURE
The whole industrial revolution. Dr.
+ clark SAID, may be traced TO q mcchan-
i ses cause Machinery has done ii. And
IN a way it was by brewing in the tea
kettle that, according TO tradition the
boy Wait sat watching almost one hun
a IRE and H., it Z Years ago. As he watched
me steam lifting the lid and letting il
fall. he got the idea of a new motive
power that should drive the rude ma
chfnery OF that day. But what he did
net see was the multiplvinc of ,naohinns
the concentration of ca pita the organi-
cation OF labor, the extension Of the sim
PIE producer, the struggles OF social class
cS. and the dangers TO free government
therein contained
n one way the lannon's kettle was tai
lslnanici 1t let loose the host of genii
VINO now do our work TOR us and the
and more like the simple process of
touching button and letting the ma
chine DO The rest. IN another way It
was a veriiabe witches caldrou
"double-double ioil-toLi" has suddenly
come out OF 1t. for it has meant not only
the consolidation of labor and capital
that mean efficiency. but those that mean
strife and corruption and travail TO de-
mocracy, which, might conceivabiy mean
the extinction of genuine selt-government.
CAUSE AND EFFECT.
The organization of labor is a neces-
sary cause Of the organization Of CAPT
tai. for without it. the single worker
would be helpless: he could make no
1air bargain with his employer. But
trade unions in the simple days of small
shops were of a ,;d.fferent thing from
trade unions in the time 'of great trusts.
able TO concede much to them. for lie had
no power to raise the prices Of his goods
and tax the public. On the other hand.
lie had no power effectively to resist
them when they made reasonable de-
mands. 1t would not do to allow him to
close his shop, for his customers would
slip away from him. and 1t would be long
before he could win them back
A TVO-EDCilID SWORD.
The trust. on the other hand. has
great power Of resisting trade union II
II chooses TO use 1t. has moreover,
the power TO make large concessions to-
The trade unions If IT chooses that alter
native. 1t can raise the, price Of its
products and TAX The public, who share
benefits with its workmen II often has
Il small motive for resisting strikes, II
may wish to have its mills temporarily
closed as a means of producing scare
jty OF goods and n rise in prices,
For the public u strike Is FAR more dis
pstrous than /, once was, TO shut up y
single mill under the old regime meant
no great hardship 10 consume" !"
shut up hundred mills under the pres.
Ont regime may mean complete want OF
some article, famine prices Tor wnal
little supply there is, aud suffering for
lack OF more There Is, therefore n very
powerful Incentive TO strike, since the
Worker has much TO gain by II, and there
Is very great evil resulting from y strike
when II comes,
There Is a terrible temptation 10 yio.
hence in connection with ~" modern
strike The worker is demanding eNcep-
tional wages, often far moro man men
az his grade can be hired for, HIS place
can ne filled If the employer has a free
Rand Ia I'm Ten thousand men are ~
need. fifty thousand can ollell y. Eali-
cred 10 set running an lnauSlrF tnat -
r,aralyled 10y a strike. Il ihe% are al /
ss"r,cd Ia work the strike will be iall-
we So long as labor is incompleelS
,rganlzad II viii rely upou its own Pc,
guitar Kind Of ''persuaslon 10 P ,inb n
men from ,aSElns me yad mI.,s'o''' "''' =
rnnlplete organizations may afford "a
remedy for the violence whlch h'toItnhs
tI,ikes ( the trade unions menus VIZ. ~.
h their membership all men available LOT
3 "a. saFT urD