Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-09-11


dealt with as the employer may please.
The question sometimes asked, Can |
not conduct my business to suit myselff
: plausible one. but when man in con
! Quoting his business attempts to arbitrarily
! nix the conditions under which hundreds of
/ employees are TO live, and to determine the
! future of thousands of human beings,
answer without hesitation that he has
| right TO conduct his own business in such
way as to deprive his employees of their
! rights TO life, liberty and the pursuit Of hap
1 pineSs.
TO support this position | need only refer
| 70 the laws regulating the safety of mines,
! the factory laws fixing the age at which
children can be employed and usury laws
establishing the rate of interest The eff
fort of the employer TO settle differences
| without arbitration has done much TO en-
bitter him against those who work for him
anu TO eStrange them from him-a deplora-
Die condition, from my standpoint
but il il is unwise to make the EN-
| plOyer the sole custodian of the rights and
! interests of the employees. it IS equally UNI
| wise to give the employees uncontrolled au-
| thority over the rights and interests of the
employer. The employees are no more TO be
| trusted TO act unselfishy and dsinterested-
/ ~ than the employers. In their zeal to
| secure present advantage they may not
only do injustice but even forfeit a larger
| future gain.
The strike, the only weapon of the en-
| ploye at present, is two edged sword and
may in1ure the workman as much as the
employer. and. even when wholly success
/ ful. II Is apt to leave ranking in the
| bosom of the wage Garner that should not
| be there.
Society, moreover. has something at stake.
| as well as the employer and employees, for
! there can be no considerable strike without
| considerable loss TO the public. Society.
! therefore, is justified in demanding that the
! dlnerences between capital and labor shall
| be settled by peaceful means If a perma-
| nent. impartial board is created. to which
either party of an industrial dispute may
I nn0A- ha lid 70
| force the finding, if there Is compulsory
| submission TO investigation, it is not nee
| eSsary that there shall be compulsory ae-
! ceptance of the decision. for Il full and fair
| investigation will in almost every case
| bring about a settlement
No reference to the labor question is com
! plete that does not include some mention
| or what Is known as government by in
! junction. AS the main purpose of the writ
| is TO evaqe trial by jury. it is really an
| attack upon the jury system and ought to
! arouse unanimous protest. So long as the
| meanest thief is guaranteed trial by jury
| jury ought not to be denied to wage
| earners. However as the writ is usually
| invoked in case of strike, the Importance
| of the subject would be very much reduced
/ by the adoption of system of arbitra-
| ton, because arbitration would very much
reduce, even if it did not entirely relieve,
| the probability of a strike.
Just another word in regard to the labor
| ing man. The struggle for an eight hour
| day is an international struggle and 1t is
sure to be settled in favor of the working
| mems contention. The benefits of the labor
! saving machine have not been distributed
| with equity. The producer has enormously
multiplied his capacity, but so far the own
| er of the machine has received too much
| of the increase and the laborer too little
Those who oppose the eight-hour day do
ii, | am convinced, more because of ignor-
| ance of conditions than because of lack of
| sympathy with those who toll The re-
moval of work from the house to the fac
| tory has separated the husband from his
wife. and the father from his children,
| while the growth of our cities has put an
| increasing distance between the home and
the Workshop
Then, too, more is demanded of the la
boring man now than formerly; he is a
! citizen as well as a laborer and must have
time for the study of public questions If
| he is to be an intelligent sovereign To
| drive him from his bed to his task and
from his task back to his bed is to de-
| prive the family of his cOmpaniShip So
ciety of his services and politics of his in
| fluence.
Says Party Is Now United
On the Money Question.
| Thus far, | have dwelt upon subjects
! which may not be regarded as strictly par
! tisan but | am sure that you will pardon
lne If in this presence | betray my inter
est in those policies for which the Demo
| cratic party stands. | have not had an
| opportunity to make Democratic speech
for almost year, and no one--not even
| il political enemy--could be so cruel as to
forbid me to speak of those policies on this
| occasion
Our opponents have derived not only par
tiSan pleasure, but also partisan advantage
| from the division caused in our party by
the money question. fhey ought not, there
| fore. begrudge MS the satisfaction that we
| find in the fact that unexpected conditions
| have removed the cause Of our differences
/ and permitted us to present Il united front
on present issues.
The unlocked for and unprecedented in
| in tln uatt Of ,ynT1 hue hpnn gk
| a victory to both the advocates of gold and
the advocate of bimetalism-the former
keeping the gold standard, which they want
ed, and the latter securing the larger vol
ume of money, for which they contended.
| We who favor bimetallism are satisfied with
| our victory if the friends of recommendation
| are satisfied with theirs, and we can invite
them to a contest of zeal and endurance in
the effort to restore to the people the rights
which have been gradually taken from them
| by the trusts.
Campaign Contributions
from Trusts Are Scored.
The Investigations which have been in
| progress during the past year have disclosed
! the business methods of those who few
! years ago resented any inspection of their
| schemes and hid their rascality under high
| sounding phrases These Investigations have
| also disclosed the source of the enormous
| campaign funds which have been used to
| debauch elections and corrupt the ballot.
| The people see now what they should
| have seen before, namely, that no party
| can eXtefmlnate the trusts so long as 1t
| owes its political success to campaign con
| tributions secured from the trusts The
| great corporations do not contribute their
| money TO any party except for immunity
| expressly promised or clearly implied.
| No important advance can be made I'M
| til this baneful influence is eliminated, and
| / hope that the Democratic party will not
only challenge the Republican party to bring
! forward effective Legislation on this sub
| ject but will set an example by refusing to
receive campaign contributions from cor
Contributions should be individual. not
corporate, and no party can afford to re
ceive contributions even from individuals
! when the acceptance of these contributions
| secretly pledges the party to a course which
! it cannot openly avow.
In other words. politics should be honest,
and ! mistake political conditions in Amer-
/ lea il they do not presage Improvement in
/ the conduct of campaigns.
| TRUSTS 4 re Paramount
| Issue in Next Campaign.
While men may differ as to the relative
Importance of issues, and while the next
/ Congress will largely shape the lines upon
which the coming Presidential campaign
/ will be fought. | think it is safe to say
! that at present the paramount issue in the
! minds of large majority OF the people Is
/ the Trust issue.
/ congratulate President Roosevelt upon
/ the steps which he has taken to enforce
! the antitrust law, and my qualification is
| not lessened by the fact that he has fol
! lowed the Democratic rather than the Re
| publican platform in every advance he has
made.
The trouble is that the Republican party
! is not in a position to apply effective and
| rhorough-going reforms because il he's bu
/ up through special legislation the very
abuses which need TO be eradieated.
/ Trust, az an Institution,
Has Few Open Def. .4ders.
There must be no mistaking Of the issue
and no confusing Of the line of battle
Our motto must be "A private mo-
/ nopOly is indefensib'e and intolerabe. and
our plan OF attack must contemplate the
4 total and complete overthrow Of the
/ nopoly principle in industry.
We need not quarrel over remedies. We
must show ourselves willing to support any
/ remedy which promises substantial advan-
| tase 10 the people in their warfare against
monopoly.
Something Is TO he expected from the
/ enforcement of the criminal clause Of the
Sherman antitrust law. but this law must
! he enforced, not against a few trusts, as at
present. but against all trusts. and the aim