The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-01-01
No Fear of Washinuton.

There is feeling that the Washington situation mas been morphined, and that there is no longer any fear of hostile cor poration legislation The stand patters appear to have established control and to have impressed the White House with the futility oI aggressive agitation on the issue for the present. As q. sort of com promise 1t is not improbable that one or more commissions will be formed to do some heavy thinking prior to the assem- bling of the next congress, a year from now, on the need of railroad regulation and also on the question of tariff revi- sion
 Everywhere along the line the bankers and capitalists and financiers who organ ized and took charge of the great indus trial combinations a few years ago and then undertook to run them are giving way to practical men trained to the bus mess. In this country today hundreds of men who sold out to the trusts and re- tired with fortunes intending to devote the remainder of their lives to leisure, are again in harness. They could not stand lives of inactivity and pleasure And, besides, the trusts found they could not get along without them. This put the two clements on common ground and they have not been long in getting to- gether. A case in point Is that of Charles H. Dale president of the Rubber Goods Manufacturing Company. When he sold out four years ago his share was about S10G0,O00 He put in a year and half in travel and enjoyed 1t. Returning to America he tried to settle down to the enjoyment of quiet and dignified exist ence. Six months of this gave him great fatigue, but he was determined to stick it out and accustom himself to leis- ure. One day MT. James R. Keene, the controlling spirit in the rubber trust, sent for him and made him an offer of $50, 900 a year to take the presidency of the corporation and give it the benefit of his experience and energy. Mr. Dale de- clined the tender and said that nothing short of S100,OOO year would induce him to put on the yoke again. He said this because ne believed the figure to be pro- hibitive. Within forty-eight hours, how ever, MT. Keene came up to it and MT. Dale resumed work. Within ninety days he forced one man to disgorge a round $1,000000 unlawfully taken from the company during the process of or ganization. Right there was a ten years salary in one move. He has also put the affairs of the company in first class shape and has made it a big money maker. He has infused his wig orous personality and spirit Into every department of the corporation and brought 1t into the first rank of up-to- date industries. In these days you have got to pay big money to secure the ser vices of pig men, a fact which is becom- ing hourly more apparent.
 Commenting on this phase of affairs the president of one of the mammoth industrials remarked to the writer that there has never been a time in history when the demand was so urgent for first class talent as now. He said he could provide one hundred s1o,Ooo jobs if he could find men to All them. There is no trouble. he added to get men willing to take s10oO9 salaries, but the trouble Is that they can't earn it. They want to spend the money. but they don't want to make 1t for their employers. Capital Is looking for talent Just as hard as talent is looking for capital