Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-27
LEARNED MEN GATHER
important Meeting of Scientists
Held in Providence.
BIG PROBLEMS DISCUSSED
Historians, Economists and Socioio-
gists in Session.
ARBITRATION AND LABOR
Prof. Clark Of Columbia University
Speaks on Wages and strikes-
Other Addresses Made.

PROVIDENCE, r. l., December 27-
Many important meetings were held here
today in connection with the gathering of
historians. educators and students of po-
htical science under the auspices of Brown
University. At the meeting of the Amer
| lean Historical Association held in SayIes
Hall the general subject of European his
tory was considered. Prof. George L. Burr
| of Cornell University presented a paper on
Professionalism and Tolerance The
Renaissance of the Twelfth Century," The
| the subject of an address by Prof Dana c.
Munro of the University of Wisconsin:
Henry Osborn Taylor of New York spoke
on AN Instance of Medieval Humanism"
Louise Ropes Loomis of Cornell Prof Jas
Harvey Robinson of Columbia and Prof.
Paul Van Dyke of Princeton were also on
the list of speakers.
The Economic Association.
Besides business meeting and the APP
pointment of committees tn. time of the
members of the American Economic Asso-
citation was taken up by the consideration
of economic theory In Rockefeller Hall audi
torium. John B. Clark of Columbia read a
paper on 'On What Principles Should
Court Of Arbitration Proceed in Determine
| ing the Rate Of Wages?" Among
those who had been asked to take
Part Tanssn in IL the discuss discussion Owe, We're W.
NJ
litz, chairman of the board of governors
| of the Building Trades Employers Asso-
ciaiton; Louis b. Schran. chairman of the
labor committee of the United States Brew
ers Association; A. F. Weber, New York
bureau of labor statistics; Ralph NJ Easey,
| chairman of the executive committee of the
National Civic Federation; Samuel b. Dom
| nelly, secretary Cancellation committee of
| the National Civic Federation, and others.
Wage Rates Discussed
/
the relations between the price of labor
and the cost of producing goods, and
| the influence of competition and of monop-
| oily, as well as of unoraanized and organ
lied labor upon the rate of wages
| Wages under any mode of adjustment"
| said Prof. Clark ARE governed by the
| product of marginal social labor In max
hold a strong position If 1t is difficult for
their employer promptly to secure the
| amount and the quality of labor which he
| needs by resortng to the general market.
| If workmen can strike and still maintain
| quasi ownership Of their positions, and
| forcibly 1pel other men who wish to occu-
Ply them, they sometimes secure pay
which is in excess of the standard.
| THE workman's power of coercion de-
pends upon the liberation by the commun-
! ity of acts of violence. With the laws
| fully enforced the workmen who should
strike would lose control of their positions
| The liberation of violence by the local
| community is due to a fear lest the easy
lang of the vacated positions by necessi-
tous who make their bargain ndivid-
| ually may result in a rate of wages that
| would be below the normal standard.
| Without system of arbitration the
! community has to choose between allow
| ing the presence of some unemployed men
unduly to depress wages and allowing
! ganiZed laborers to monopolize their posi-
| tons and defend them by force This lat
| ter alternative means quasi anarchy and
| power.
Legislation Suggested.
| Force would play scarcely any part in
| the adjustment of wages If law providing
| for the compulsory investigation of dis
| putes between employers and employed re-
| quired that work should go on while the
| Investigations were in progress and should
confirm the laborers' tenure of place
condition of their accepting the courts
! award, but should declare the tenure for
| feited if the award should be rejected. If
| this system were generally introduced, the
condition of laborers as class would be
| much improved though the gains which a
few secured by acts of violence would be-
| forfeited.
In Manning Hall international law was
| considered by the American Political Sci
| ence Assocat ton. Rear Admiral Charles A.
Sperry had prepared an address on "A Re-
| vision of the Geneva Convention" and was
| followed by Prof Charles Noble Gregory,
| State University of Iowa, who considered
| 1.-The Three-mile Limit in the international
| fisheries question. THE Third Pan-Amer-
| lean Conference was the subject of pa
! per by Prof Paul S. Peinsch of the Univer-
| sity of Wisconsin.
The Sociological Society.
At the gathering of the American Socio-
| logical Society number of speakers took
| part in a discussion of paper by c. A.
| Ellwood on How Should Sociology be
| Taught as a College and University SUBJ
| ject" Among the speakers were U. c.
| Wentherly of Indiana, William G. Sumner,
Yale University; Franklin II. Giddings,
| Columbia; Robert c. Chaplin, Beloit Col
| lege, and ]. Ebert Cutler, University of
| Michigan.
| Librarians and booklovers flocked to the
| John Carter Brown Library, where the
American photographed Society held
| meetings. Following an address by Presi-
! dent William Coolidge Lane. the librarian
| of Harvary University, and the presenta-
| ton of reports, a paper was read by DIR.
| Reuben Goldthwaite, secretary of the Wis
| consin Historical Society, THE Biblo-
! graphical Wor., of Historical Societies"
| The discussion which then took place was
| opened by F.. H. Severance of the Buffalo
| Historical Society, and among other speak,
| ers were William Nelson of the New Jer-
| sey Historical Society, Theodore Lee Cole
| of Washington, d. c., and Prof. James
| Westfall Thompson of the University of