The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-27

united States commission and have an parently given in all sincerity their views as 10 the causes of unrest and as to inc leinedy. So far none of them has spoken
 with any other words than those of com .henoallon or the establishment of the siede iouhuatons, so-called, principally tnose which are identified by the names of Rockefeller, of Carnegie. and of Saga
 None of these men apprehends the slight ese peril 10 our democratic-republiean lofin ot government through any activity carried on by these foundations So far. the testimony has been unanimous that they have been managed with the highest business skill, with excellent judgment anu With loyalty to the principles upon Wilch the foundations have been organ
 zea' one of the witnesses has gone SD lar as to say that some Of the official bodies under the authority of the national or state governments have not been man. aged with the skill, impaf tiality and busi- ness Judgment which have thus far char acterized the management of these foun- dations.
 As interesting witness probably as will appear before the commission was Dan Tel Guggenheim, who has gained rank as one of the leaders of the industrial forces or the United States. Not until this con- mission called him as a witness has there been any opportunity to obtain from Mir. Guggenheim in any authoritative way his opinion respecting industrial unrest as well as it's cause and it's remedy. He was disclosed upon the witness stand to be a profound thinker upon this uues- uon, looking at 1t from two points of view-one that of the citizen interested in the welfare of his country and the other that of the business man seeking to learn what the best business methods are MT. Guggenheim finds that the unrest is in a tnf fhA hfaI he is also one of the few who dare to say that 1t is in part due to envy. Some so- cial philosophers have asserted that the automobile as a disturber of the peace of mind Of those who cannot possess one is partially accountable for the unrest Mir. Guggenheim believes in legislation, but also that it should be wise legislation, and he goes so far as to say that he is firmly or the opinion that it is the imperative duty of the state, meaning by that the federal government. the states of the union and the municipalities, to take care of those who are idle from no fault of their own. He admits that this is form of socialism, but he believes that it is so- cialism which is fully justified.
 The meeting of this commission has fur nished the best recent opportunity for an exposition of the views of George w. Perkins respecting the industrial situa- tion. When MT. Perkins retired from ac- tive life, announcing that it was his pur- pose to devote himself thereafter as far as he could to the public good, many were the cynical comments which his announcement occasioned. But as time has passed it has become evident that MT. Perkins spoke with sincerity. He has given practically all of his time to public service. 1t was due to his organizing ability that the great endowment for the Young Mems Christian association work was recently secured. His time is much occupied with attempting to solve the problem of the high cost of living and so solve it as to teach the community how by wise economies and prudent conduct in the markets, they can considerably reduce the cost of food. It is chiefly due to his efforts that New York is now es- tablishing a comprehensive system of free markets.
 Although it seemed apparently to some who heard MT. Perkins testify before this committee that he was expressing some new ideas, nevertheless much of what he said had already been spoken of by him in various addresses. For instance, MT. Perkins said that he takes issue with those who believe that in this day com petition is the life of trade. Competition, he believes, gave us the sweetshop, child labor, long hours of labor and insanitary conditions. In his view, cooperation es tdDllSDeQ Dy large lnuuStfldl uHltS, tHOi- oughly supervised and regulated by the federal government is the true modern method and it is one which will be of ben eft both to capital and labor.
 MT. Perkins has also in a few words voiced sentiment which so widely pre- vails among business men of the United States, for he said that for every ounce of trouble brought about in industry by the selfishness and cupidity of business men there has been a pound of trouble brought on by half baked laws and nut tonhead legislation. Men who are ac- tually engaged in business, especially those who are in the management of large affairs, might not venture to speak so plainly as this.