Evening star., 1908-01-11
TAFT ON LABOR ISSUE
Secretary Talks on Its ReIa-
tion to Capital.
IN new YORK LAST NIGHT
Faces a Rapid-Fire Quizzing by His
Audience.
CHEERED AS NEXT PRESIDENT
CHEERED AS NEXT PRESIDENT
Says Any Injustice Done Corporate
Wealth, Notably Drastic Law
Against Railroads, Hurts.

NEW YORK, January 11.-Secretary
Taft came to town yesterday and passed
a lively evening at Cooper Union, where
he made a speech on Labor and Capt.
tal,' and afterward put in three-quarters
of an hour in a rough and-tumble ques-
tion and answer contest with the mem
bers of his audience The speech was de-
hvered before the members of the Peo-
pies Forum, conducted by the Peoples
Institute, and the Secretary's reception
was most enthusiastic. When it was all
over there was such rush for the plat
| form to shake Mr.. Taft's hand that for a
few moments 1t looked as If some bod y
would be hurt. Several policemen ran to
| the platform and soon had things straight
| ened out.
Neither Mr. Taft's speech nor his an
| swers to questions shed very much light
on good many of the subjects in which
| the public is interested, but there is no
doubt that the Secretary scored heavily
with his audience from the very first. He
gave many reasons why labor and capital
| should cooperate, declared that there
| were times when strike was labOrS only
| effective and legitimate weapon, averred
THAT the manufacturer who would not deal
| with organized labor was practically be-
| hind the times and asserted that the
blacklist was equally wrong and cruel
with the boycott.
| The Secretary put himself on record as
believing that the injunction should be SO
safeguarded that, in labor cases at least.
| no restraining order should issue until
after notice and hearing had been
given.
He even said that, since some dstrust
existed in the minds of laboring men of
judges who sat at hearings in injunctions
| issued by themselves, it might be well to
| allow defendants in injunction cases to
i hn nrix of don, a
hearings be held before other judges.
! He furthermore feared that compulsory
| arbitration was too much like involuntary
/ Servitude to be constitutional But per-
| ha. the most significant observation that
| feH from his lips all the evening long was
| his reply to an inquirer who wanted to
| know If he didn't think government
| ownership of mines and railroads would
| make easier the settlement of labor dis
putes. He said he did not think SO, and
then he added:
Cheers "for the Next President"
Charles Sprague Smith started in at
once on the Introduction, and while he
| was speaking the huge Secretary sat
| quietly on plain wooden chair, which
modest structure he overlapped like the
| pumage on a charlotte russo. Prof.
| Smith said lot of things about Mr.. Taft
and wound up by introducing him the
Secretary of the Navy. There was a big
howl at this, and shouts of Secretary of
War and Secretary of Peace" went up
| all over the house. mingled with many
| cries of Three cheers for the next Presi-
| dent"
| Secretary Taft spoke in part as follows:
Looking back to time when society
was much ruder and simpler, we can
| trace the development of certain insti-
tutionS that have come to be the basis of
| modern civilization We can hardly con-
ceive the right of personal Liberty. without
| private property, because involved in per-
| sonal liberty is the principle that one shall
enjoy what his labor produces. Property
and capital were first accumulated in
| implements. in arms, and personal be-
lOngings, the value of which depended
almost wholly on the labor in their max
| ing. AS mans industry and elf-restraint
grew he produced by his labor not only
enough for his immediate necessities. but
| also surplus, which he saved to be used
| in aid of future laboc. By this means the
amount which each mans labor would
produce was thereafter increased. There
| followed at length the corollary that he
whose savings from his own labor had
increased the product of another'S labor
was entitled to enjoy a share in the joint
| result, and in the fixing of these shares
| was the first agreement between labo.
and capital. The certainty that man
| could enjoy as his own that which he pro-
duced or that which he saved. and so
| could dispose of it to another, was the
institution of private property and the
strongest motive for industry beyond that
needed merely to live.
| This is what has led to the accumula-
| ton of capital in ne world 1t is the
| handspring of human action which has
| raised man from the barbarism of the
| early ages to modern civilization. With
| out it he would still be in the alternating
periods of starvation and plenty, and no
| happiness but that of gorging unre-
| strained appetite. Capital increased the
! amount of labor's production and reduced
| the cost in labor units of each unit pro-
duced. The cheaper the cost of produc-
| ton, the less each one had to work to
earn the absolute necessities of life. and
the more time. he had to earn it's COM
forts. And as the material comforts in
creased the more possible became hap
piness and the greater the opportunity
| for the cultivation of the higher instincts
of the human mind and SOUL
Benefited by Increase Of Capital.
1t would seem. therefore. to be plainly
for the benefit of every one to increase
the amount of capital in use in the world.
| and this can only be done by maintain
ing the motive for it's increase.
Labor needs capital to secure the best
production, while capital needs labor in
producing anything. The share o. each
laborer in sthe joint product is affected
not exactly, but in a general way, by the
amount of capital in use as compared
more capital in use the more work there
is to do, and the more work there is to
do the more laborers are needed. The
greater the need fo- 1aborers the better
their pay per man. Manifestly. it is in
the direct interest of the laborer that
capital shall increase faster than the
numper OF those who work. Everything,
therefore, which legitimately tends to in
crease the accumulation of wealth and
it's use for production will give each
labOrer larger share of the joint result
of capital and labor. 1t will be observed
that the laborer derives little or no bene-
fit at all from wealth which is not used
make wealth idle as insecurity of in
vested capital and property. 1t follows.
as a necessary conclusion. that to destroy
the guarantees of property is direct blow
at the inte est Of the workingman.
The last two generations have wit
messed a marvellous material development.
1t has been effected by the assembling
and enforced cooperation of simple ele-
ments that previously had been separately
| used. The organization of powerful ma
chimes or of delicate devices by which
the producing power of one man was
| increased fifty or one hundred fold was.
| however, not the only step in this great
progress Within the limits of efficient
| administration, the larger the amount to
| be produced at one time and under one
management the less the. expense per
| unit. Therefore the aggregation of capt.
| tai the other essential element with labor
1 in producing anything, became an
| OBVIOUS means of securing economy in
the manufacture of everything.
| Fair Laws for Capital.
| 1t is greatly in the interest of the work
lngman, therefore, that corporate capital