Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-05-22
HEARINGS OF INDUS
TRIAL RELATIONS coMMis-
SION REVEAL MUCH.
CLEARING HOUSE OF IDEAS
AND VIEWS ONLY RESULT
Men in All Walks Of Life Given op-
portunity to Present Opinions, Good,
Bad and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Will Suggest Legislation Which Con-
sress May or May Not Accept.
(spec,al Correspondence.)

Especial Correspondence.)
Washington, May 22-Most interest
ing and entertaining meetings are those
of the Industrial relations commission
now being held in a handsome room II
the Shoreham Hotel here, couple o.
blocks away from the White House
1t is the grand wind-up of the series o.
hearings that the commission has
staged all over the country, and wher
this inquisitive body gets thru with its
long list of witnesses some time within
the next two weeks or SO, 1t will prob
ably remain more or less silent till IT.
final report of reports, containing It's
recommendations In the commission
brief but busy career it has had before
it an astounding array Of testifiers--
men and women literally from every
walk Of life and labor, capitalists.
bankers, magnates, small business men
professors, economists, lawyers. gov
eminent officials, socialists, agitators
/. w. W.-ers, anarchists and scientists
of every description. The commission
can not be accused of giving more time
to one side than to another, tho it is
harder for it to escape the charge OF
somewhat favoring the labor side Of
the perpetual controversy which RACES
east and west, north and south, and
which will probably rage just as vigor-
usly whether the commission succeeds
or not in its own estimation, in ascer-
tanning the cause Of Industrial unrest"
barrow Admits Progress.
AT the hearing the only woman on
ID 10
inquired of Clarence barrow. the labor
lawyer, what, II any. were his reme-
dies for unrest Darrow smiled slow
smile. and replied. There is no remedy
for unrest except the grave" And then
he developed in response to further
questioning. the philosophy which is
partly his and partly that Of the move
ment which he has so ably represented
in great trials. Il am not an optim-
ist.' he said in effect Il am pessim-
list. don't believe life is worth living.
But don't see how we can help it.
We are here to live and work out
whatever we are here for" This gloomy
statement he qualified later on. how
ever, when he declared that he believed
that the world had progressed remark
ably within the last ten years.
What good do you think this COM
mission has done and can dog" Mrs.
Hartman inquired. ~
1T has done some good" replied Oar
row. 1T has aroused discussion.
Whether congress makes any laws as q
result Of your recon1m endations and
whether the laws are any good when
they are made, you will have given
publicity"
Barring some possibly unfortunate
incidents in it's history. the industrial
relations commission has certainly Civ
en- publicity TO matters concerning in
dnstrial unrest. That 1t has given pub
licity to things discreditable to capital
was to be expected, because those
things exist, and could not be covered
up in any fair hearings on capital and
its relations to labor. That is gave
publicity to things unfavorable to labor
was also to be expected. because it
hailed before the bar men like Drew, Of
the erectors' association. and Rocke-
feller, OF the Colorado coal and oil in
terests whose intimate knowledge Of
the little advertised warfare that has
been going on between employers and
employees has fitted them to speak with
authority and conviction. The two
clashing social groups have, in short.
come into the hearing room Of the
commission as before forum. and
there, unhampered by rules of evidence
have told what they knew, what they
believe and what they hope
To Suggest Remedies.
The report of the commission will be
made some time after its death late in
August This report 1t can be reliably
stated, will be an attempt to get at
the bottom troubles in the industrial
world and to suggest practicable and
possible remedies for their solution. It
will be based on the evidence collected
at the hearings and by special agents
OF the commission who have under
taken special investigations. Endoubt-
edly tentative drafts OF bills for the
consideration of congress will be pre-
pared and included in the report. But
the commission. or rather the controls
ing element in the commission, be-
lieyes that Its chief work has already
been done. This work is its publicity,
which has been admirable in technique,
no matter what one may think OF its
Interior purposes. The greatest thing
the commission could do, Darrow told
tHSui, was " Aet III tne lKNt, 10 MAKE
public the facts in the world Of labor
and capital, to appeal to the imagin-
ton Of the American people. Right or
wrong, said Darrow, did not exist for
the American people. whom he de-
scribed as about the poorest excuses
for standing UP for what is right and
going back on what Is wrong" as there
are in the, world. Appeal to their
hearts or imagination, he said, and
you get somewhere. It is on this
rather dangerous theory that the com.
mission has been working.
The current hearings at the Shore.
ham are being pretty well attended. In
the audience are men and women from
the private and public walks OF life
whose names are in many instances
known widely in relation to the labor
question. { The stenographic bureau
which is engaged in reporting the
hearings officially. does thriving lit
tie business in selling copies OF the
testimony to interested persons.
lows Pensions Granted.
Washington, May 22.-1owa pensions
granted: Nancy L. Brown. Of Hamp-
ton, S13; Mary Stoner, OF Moulton
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