New-York tribune., 1907-12-17
A PLEA FOR NATIONAL
POWER BY DR.. ELIOT.
MR. GOMPERS TAKES ISSUE
WITH SPEAKER.
HarUard Head Urges Central Con-
troll of Commercial Associations
at Cilic Federation Dinner.

More power for and the control of the great
industrial and commercial forces of the day by
the national government was the burden of the
speech delivered last night by Charles w. Eliot,
president of Harvard University, at the National
civic Federation dinner at the Hotel Astor He
advocated not only government control of COM
-nercial associations. in which he included alike
labor union and capital, but governemnt incor-
roration of corporations and a governmental di-
vorce law. The central power. he contended.
was the only one which could settle the vexed
ouestiors of the day. To do that il must have
more power
Samuel Gompers president Of the American
Federation Of Labor, in his speech rather took
Dr. Eliot to task and also dsparaged the profit
sharing plan of the United States Steel Cor
,,oration so far as it concerned the wage work
ers Of the steel industry, which had been the
subject of George W. Perkns's address. Mr..
f1ompers also declared that il would be unfair
10 reduce the wages of workingmen, because
they were not responsible for business depres-
sion
President Eliot who was introduced ''the
first citizen of this great Republic OF ours who
has labored with pen and hand for fifty years 70
help his fellow man." began by saying that he
represented the consumer, who felt the full ef-
@ec-s of the industrial warfare the Civic FEEDER
ed that public which invariably p1id all the cost
Of industrial warfare He had been studying
what he thought was the best piece of legis-
larion ever adopted to promote industrial peace.
the Canadian law of March %, 1907. Under this
law no strike was lawful no lockout was la"Iui
until there had been an impartial public lnves-
tigation. There not particle of arbitration
urovided for in this law. This was one OF It's
best points
DR.. Eliot hoped that Canada and the United
States would remain absolutely Independent
powers so long they could work out two in
dependent experiments in government The
federal government OF the United States needed
new powers. It was trying to get them by
stretching process-by extremely elastic
construction of the Constitution. When a cor
poration had the power TO work all over the
country 90 business in every state in the Union.
il was a commercial association. Likewise
labor union, # ii had the real essence of a
good one. exerting its power simultaneously all
over the country. it was commercial associa-
ton. Was il TO be expected that any power
except that OF a central government could con-
troll such associations?
EVERY ONE AGAINST MONOPOLY.
Labor and capital alike were in -earch of the
same thing monopoly. If there anything
in this world that free men resented it was d
monopoly. These rnonopoies could not be con-
trolled by any except central government In
Canada all the great new questions Of the day
went to the central government How could
the divorce question, with a different law in
every state be controlled except by the force Of
a national government The divorce law should
be uniform. 1t was the competition of states
that y,er7petuated child labor Nothing except
the national government could control it prop
erlr
Massachusetts, and New York. said DR. Eliot,
had good incorporation laws but Maine and
New Jersey did profitable business in issuing
corporation rights on easy terms. lncorpord'
ton could properly be controlled only by the
national government
4 look forward" he continued, ito an IN
xrease Of the national power. 1t goes against
our most cherished fetch Of local government
local interests, local representation But we are
desperately in need of revision of the term
local interests Seven years ago the residents
Of Cambridge. where I live, got their water
from wells. Now our water comes IN from out
side the territorial limits of Cambridge
The national government rules to-day a Ter
ritory much smaller than New England was
siytv years ago. In 1896 il took student three
weeks TO get 10 Harvard from Central New
York Now from the point Of view of natlohai
government the country has become very easy
To manage. Local interests ndhe DcNolhS N''i''
mental interests"
Dr. Eliot's speech met with g.eat applause
his words LOCAL interests have become conti-
mental interests" and MS plea for a uniform
divorce law in particular calling forth the ap-
provaI of his hearers
SAMUEL GoMPERs DIsAGREES.
The first ripple on the calm Of the gathering
wes caused by Mr. Gompers who said:
lam sorry ifI must sound a discordant note here
We like TO made comfortable because ye, Al -
Inquire a little further, into the profit sharing
proposition j should like 10 inquire tle .d ~;
wages OF men employed IN tne iron brSnr air was in
vogue and what their wages are now 4.
a pertinent one / always pleased 20 be be
with you and hear what is said, but whetheI . heIe
while am always anxious TO contribute to the up
.lt Of men and women my c9leI & I.lo iat,or
And trust ] shall never fail TO say WORD par
Men come 10 me In whisper and private CONVEX
satiOn. and by hint and nsinuation say thet atler
a" Gle wages OF worklnghieI nts9t 11r soil is
hot less fertile to-day than it was yesterday i ,ie
treasures beneath are not less valuable; men en-,
,niDds have not been duIled since yesterday; me ne
great genius Of ali bygone ages is here win US
now as yesterday. and men are as Wiling 10 "oih
today as yesterday .,.oso
Wherefore. then, is there reason with all these @
facilities for the production of wealth, ana hien
willing 10 WORK: wherefore now is there reason son
70 attack wages and the American siahdafo oi ING
II thought the reduction of wages would lessen
aooeptance Of the propsssIen As matter Of fact
ae -, history Of industry shows thal every ges &c
mas simply accenfuafed conditions we can 49, ~
anc when you reduce the consuming power yo"
hm , ~. situation worse aimaiys- y,en, that the
employers of labor who propose TO reduce wages
Ei not have the easy sailing they had y Yeas % aen go
ror The American workmen have come 70 ~, aae s oo
cusion that whatever reason is that the hhah-