Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-22
GOOD GOVERNMENT
An EXACT SCIENCE
Commissioner of Labor Tells of
Special Training.
ADVISERS OF EXECUTIVES
Men Who Are Taught to Deal With
Great Problems.
MANY INTERESTING STUDIES
Progress in Economics, Transporta-
ton, Tenement Reform, Housing
of Working People, Etc.
ADVISERS OF EXECUTIVES
Men Who Are Taught to Deal With
Great Problems.
MANY INTERESTING STUDIES
Copyright. 1907. by John Eltreth watkins,

Z
labor He is great power in our national
government today, and is one of President
Rooseye,t's rght-hand men-one of those on
whom tHr chief executive principally relies
for advice on sociological matters; and this
Is the age. par excellence. Of the social
scientist In government.
The commissioner of labor is self-made
man Until lie was nineteen he had had but
two years of schooling and those were &C
uulred before he could mark his age down
with two figures. He was a newsboy be-
tween ten and twelve-sold papers on the
streets of Austin. Tex. after bank hours
for he was at the same time messenger in
a bank. He continued with the bank with
various promotions until he was nineteen,
when he began preparing for the University
! of Notre Dame. Indiana. Having to return
to Texas. he put in two years at the uni
versity Of that state and then came up to
! Georgetown University. here at the national
capital. where he got his bachelors degree
at the age of twentysix. After teaching in
Indiana for two years he came east again
and took a post graduate course at Johns
Hopkins, which university gave him the
degree of Ph.D.
DR. Neill is a Roman Catholic. He was
professor Of political economy at the Catho-
lie University here when the great anthra-
cite strike occurred. 1t was personal APP
pointment of the Presidents when he was
selected assistant recorder of the COM
mission which ended that great industrial
war. Mr.. Roosevelt had known DR.. Neill
IN Washington. and had esteemed him as
high authority on economics: so when Car.
roll u. WTiEhty resigned as commissioner of
labor two years ago DR.. NELL was selected
as his successor.
Vanquished His Foes.
After the new commissioner and ]. B.
Reynolds had drawn up the celebrated
NELL Reynolds" report the condition
of tn, beef-packing houses. there was a bit
ter fight, waged by powerful men In and out
of Congress to suppress this document and
keep it hidden from the public. But DIR.
NeilI and Mr.. Reynolds were backed by the
President. They held their ground during
the deluge which fell upon them after the
report made public, and the opposition
was utterly unable to discredt it. Chair
man Wadsworth of the House committee
on agriculture began to pave the way to-
ward his overwhelming defeat for re-eleC-
ton when he subjected DR.. Neill before the
committee to a rough handling which
Tivaled the third degree" Again, when
DR.. NELL asked of the last Congress an APP
preparation for an investigation by his
bureau OF woman and child labor, the old
opposition in Congress tried to turn the
work over to the census bureau, but the
commissioner again won out. The PreSi-
dent. in a public letter at the time, said
that this opposition was n attack upon DIR.
NELL because of the part which he had
played in the packing house incident. DR..
NeiIl. however. got from Congress S15o,0W
ago, under the forgotten 'Erdmann act" he
and Chairman Knapp of the interstate COM
merce commission acted as mediators in the
trainmen's dispute. which threa tened to
tie up all OF the railways west of Chicago.
The most serious industrial war in our en-
tire history threatened. but although
this mediation was the first practical test of
the Erdmlnn act, DIR. NELL and Judge
Knapp effected settlement without a
strike Dr.. NELL has also been appointed
by the President upon the new immigration
commission which is to sift our alien prob
lem to the bottom.
Frankncss is the characteristic of DR..
Nell which most impresses a visitor. but 1t
Is a frankncss seasoned with acute sense
OF humor and therefore does not tend to
brusqueness. He IS a tall blond-stands
over six feet in his stocking feet-and has
that leanneSS of build which Is usually the
accompaniment of indefatgability. He pos
sesses the faculty of being able TO carry on
an uninterrupted interview while at the
same time attending to his desk work and
instructing the subOrdinates who continually
seek his advice.
New School of Executive Advisers.
Good government is at last becoming an
exact science In this country. Our great
universities are vying with one another In
the perfection of postgraduate schools
where its several branches-economic,
political science and sociolOgy-are being
taught. and which equipping men to
meet the growing demand for such spe-
the opening of the interview.
rs there really great demand for these
men In practical government l asked.
Recent events prove that there is,
questionably. The attitude of the officials
charged with governing not only our mu-
inequalities and states but the nation it
self. has lately experienced a radical
change toward these students OF social sci
ence few years back such specialists
were considered impraCtiCable, bookish the
orists and Missionaries. with no practical in
telligence judgment Today you find
them as the advisers of the progressive
ec:itive."
When did this awakening comnence?"
/ think It along In President Nc
Kinleys administration when specially
trained students OF social science began to
be sought for the public service. This
when that distinguished economist,
Prof J. q. Schurman, president OF Cornell
University, was appointed chairman o. the
Philippine commission. and DIR. Emory r.
Johnson. professor Of economics, UnIver-
sity Of Pennsylvania, was appointed mem
her Of the first Panama canal commission.
The need of men OF such special
training arose with the government for
the first time in many years found
Itself dealing with dependencies pre-
senting entirely social problems.
This same appreciation OF the special
list in social science appeared at the
commencement also of our reconstruction
OF Porto Rico. DIR. J. II. Holander. pro-
lessor Of political economy al Johns Hop
kins was appointed To devise the new taxa
ton and revenue systems for that island
i understand that he was afterward sent
90 Oklahoma to work up tax system
for that proposed state and to make gen
eral report on its finances. Since DIR. Hol-
lander left Porto Rico DIR. w F. Willough-
by. doctor Of philosophy from Johns Hop
kins and lecturer In economics at Har-
ward. became treasurer of the island and
Is now secretary. Furthermore. on the
commission appointed to devise and report
upon NV legal system for Porto Rico
there was Prof. Rowe of the University of
Pennsylvania, another specialist in social
science. and Prof. Lindsay. head OF the So
Geological department OF the same uniyer-
sity. was selected to organize the educa-
tiouaI system of the island. So you see
that Porto Rico was largely reconstructed
by university professors who had made po-
liticaI science their speciality.
lis there a demand for these specialists
in our home government also?''
yes, a very growing demand. When the
new bureau of corporations was organized
one of its principal offices was given TO DIR.
Edward Dana Durand. the economist OF
Stanford University. He has since been
made deputy commissioner OF corporations
and two of his principal assistants are spe-
cIaIists IN social science-Dr. Walker, who
comes from the University of Colorado. and
T..