The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-10-28
TRUSTS AND LABOR
By Louis D. Brandeis.)

I Great trusts-the Steel Trust, the sugar Trust, the Beef Trust, the To- bacco Trust, the Smelter Trust-and a whole troop of lesser trusts have made the extermfnation of organized labor from the5r factories the very foundation stone of their labor poll icy
 The ability to defeat labor's right to combine seems to have bean regarded by the trust magnates as 5 proper test of the Efficiency of their capftalistic combination.
 What has been the result of the labor policy of the Steel Trust? Judge Gary. chairman of the Worlds Great est Trust-tlle Steel Csorporation says:
 .'I believe taking everything into account. the treatment accorded by our corporation to its employees com pares favorably with that of any kind of industry in this country, or in any other country at the present time or at any period in the history of the worfd.'s
 His close associate. Mfr. George w. Perkins. confirms Judge Gary's testi- mony; and MT. Perkins testimony is entitled to great consideration, be- cause he not only has been chairman of the Finance Committees Of the Steel Trust and the Harvester Trust; but he is ROW, also, the chairman of the Executive Committee of the New Par ty, and head of it's industrial depart
 ment-
 MT. Perkins might almost be called the Father of Trusts because for many years, while partner in the firm T D Q ~, I,<> cial1y active in the organization of these industrial combinations. And his wide experience is not limited merely to promoting trusts. He has had an important part in carrying on the business of trusts after organiza- ton He has been a director of the Steel Trust ever since it commenced business in 1901. He was chairman of it's Finance Cornnnitte when it took over the Tennessee Coal & Iron Company He has been chairman of the Finance Committee of the liar vester Trust ever since it's organiza- ton and also director of the great shipping trllst-the International Ger- cantiIe Marines-ever since it's organi- zation. He had also other wide busi- ness experience before these trusts were formed: having been vice presi- dent of the New York Life Insurance Company in the golden days before Charles E. Hughes investigated the life insurance companies. He is now defendant in the suits the Govern ment has brought for the dissolution of the Steel Trust and the Harvester Truss.
 MT. Perkins testified before the Sen ate Committee to the value of profit sharing as solvent for labor trou- ble, and urged it as a reason for 1egalizing trusts. He stated that or dinary employers of labor were too selfish to introduce profit-sharing plans. But that the trusts stocks were so. widely distributed that the holders would not be likely to inter fere with the wisely generous plans Of the trust officials. Then he add ed:
 TT do not think that the question between labor and capital is so much question of whether man is paid $1. 50 or S1.60 a day, as it is whether he thinks that he is getting his prop CT proportion of what is being earn ed''
 | Now let us see what MT. Perkins | idea is of a fair share. He told of how the Steel Trust had introduced profit sharing plan, and distributed since it was organized s12. .O00, 900 among ] it's employees. As a matter of fact, the workman received none of that SIP Oo0 900. It was distributed among superintendents, forernen, and others in authority and you know how much that aids the workin g7nan. As the Steel Trust had then been in opera stion ten years, ana the number of ern- pIcyes nearly 200 ,oO0, the $12, ,00O ,000, if it had been distributed suuauy would