Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-06
F ORBES WRITES
D n CAPITAL
AND LABOR
Employers Seem to Be Getting
More Reasonable Toward
the ProIetarat.
BY 3. c, FORBES.

rlch or with the poor, with capital
or with abor?" is the question put
me by a reader.
My 81 HES" are not governed
by the a mans bank account
or by ,ation.
ha>- dg since abandoned hero
worship OF rich men simply because
of their riches, and long ago
learned that poor man of the right
stamp can be happier than king or
a plutocrat.
Ny qUestionsr really wanted to
know whether hsbItuaIIy supported
capital or labor. To that I must
reply: Neither" Ny experience
Is that capital sometimes is in the
right and that labor is sometimes in
the wrong.
II is human nature to sympathize
with the Under dog Labor used
70 be nearly always the weaker par
~. Therefore, public sentiment in
variably favored labor. But latterly
organized labor, and more especially
professional labor leaders, have oeea-
sIonaIy resirted to arbitrary acts,
to brute force, to unfair methods.
They have sought to take undue ad-
vantage Of their newly won power.
They have not always had regard for
Justice. They have not always consid-
cred the interests, the comfort, the
safety Of the public. Having become
the upper dog" in certain cases they
have abused their position.
Let labor keep ever in mind that
public sympathy goes out to the
"under dog" OF late the public has
too often been the "under dog" A
revuIsion against autocratic labor az
itators is inevitable If unfair tactics
are pursued.
In this column humble efforts have
beer made to bring about better
understanding between capital and la
Dor. a clearer appreciation Of the fact
that enormous riches are not to be
envied. and a realization on the part
Of employers that they must treat
their employees humanity, consider
atsly and generously. Too much class
hatred is being stirred up. Men hold
ing the very highest offices in the Re-
public are as guilty in this oounee-
ton as the most rsbid Industrial
Worker leader. Nothing is to be
gained by fostering insensate class
luminosity. Much may be lost if it IS
carried much farther.
Ny own experience and observe
ton are that capitalists and en-
ployers are becoming reasonable in
their attitude toward labor and to-
ward the public. They are realizing
that we are all human beings, that
we are all in the same boat, that we
are all made Of the same crumbling
clay, that life is short and the grave
never far off. that happiness is not
the product Of selfishness, that SER
vice is nober than mere gain-that,
in short, the only life worth while is
that founded on justice, sympathy,
moderation and brotherliness. To be
worth playing, the game has to be
played fair
Read this telegram just received;
KANSAS CITY, Move should
concern ourselves as much nation
ally about the welfare of our en-
pIoyees as of the stumpage itself
With these words Everett G
Griggs. Of Tacoma, Wash, president
of the National Lumber Manufac-
turers' Association, prefaced an APP
peal for thoughtful treatment Of the
working man in the lumber industry
in the course Of his address before
the annual convention Of the organ
ization. which opened here to-day.
Efficient labor and proper equip
ment mean as much in the final cost
Of lumber to the consumer as the log
itself" he continued. our business
affects the lives Of more employees
than any other in the United States"
Fancy our Lumber Kings talking
like that! Would they have talked
so ten years ago or even HFe years
asO2 We have, indeed, travelled far
Of late along the road whose goal
is the brotherhood Of man.
One important step Of the near fu-
ture will be the fixing Of a minimum
wage. Yes, know there are economic
drawbacks, but humanity is more i'm
portant than any apparent obstacle. !
was talking the other evening with
Mr.. D. A. Thomas, the largest coal
mine owner in Britain and the oper-
ators' representative in the recent coal
strike. and he tells me that the mini
mum wage then introduced has not
urset things seriously.
The most pitiable people in Aueri-
ca are the very. very rich and the
very. very poor. Evolution IS making
for the modification Of the eireun'-
stances Of both.
I have rarbled far from the cues
ton started out to answer and have