Evening star., 1915-01-20
Jacob Schiff, August Belmont
and Others Prominent Heard
by Federal Commission.
DESIRE OF LABORING Men
BETTER THEMSELVES
One Reason for Discomfort Assigned
by Ida Tarbell-Mr. Schiff
Presents Views.


witnesses summoned to appear today
before the federal commission on IN
dustrial relations in it's investigations
of the causes of the social unrest are
Jacob Schiff. August Belmont. Adolph
Lewisohn and Jacob Hollander.
Scientific management was advocated
yesterday by Miss Ida Tarbell, writer
and investigator. who set the unrest
down to the desire of laboring men to
better themselves. She contended that
the great remedy for political condi-
tions would be the principle of scien-
tific management, sympathetically and
fairly applied with the cooperation of
the employees to give it a fair chance
of success.
Representative David ]. Lewis of
Maryland. chairman of the House COM
mittee on labor. another witness yes
terday, advocated change in the con-
ditions of mine ownership on the
ground that it was impossible to re-
gard a man who provided his workers
with their homes, their stores and their
doctors. well as their employment.
in precisely the same position toward
them as an ordinary employer of labor.
Mr.. schif First Witness Today.
Jacob H. Schiff, member Of the bank
ing firm of Kuhn. Loeb & Co., and
representative in this country Of the
Baron De Hirsch Foundation, was the
first witness today. Mr.. Schiff said he
was director in the Western Union
Telegraph Company, the tuberculosis
Preventorium. and various hospitals
and industrial corporations to the num-
ber of ten. He could not recall all the
companies.
The witness said he possessed no in
formation regarding labor conditions
in the industries in which he was in
terested. and that he never took any
interest In such conditions until labor
troubles developed.
Such business Is for superintendents
and officers other than the board of
directors" he said.
Places Responsibility.
Stockholders, Mr.. Schiff said, never
were responsible; the board OF di-
rectors was responsible.
Mr.. Schiff said the Western Union
Telegraph Company. in which he rep
resented 10000 shares, controlled the
American District Telegraph Company
through stock ownership. and that the
American Company made the majority
of its earnings through messengers.
He said he had no knowledge that
many of the boys employed were sent
into disreputable places and vice dis
tricts.
The Baron de Hirsch fund. Mr. schiff
said, was founded for aiding Jewish
immigrants in the United States. The
money of the fund is invested prtnci-
pally in real estate in New York city.
Mr. Schiff said the fund maintains a
trade school and assists Jewish immi
grants to establish themselves as
farmers in the United States by lend
ing them money on mortgages.
Issues No Public Reports.
The fund issued no public reports. he
said, as it was not a stock company.
Any one, however, could look at the
books For the past twenty years. the
witness continued, the fund had spent
about s175.0OO year. The fund aided
certain educational committees in
Philadelphia. Pittsburgh and st. Louis.
The managers and trustees of the
big foundations were most efficient, the
witness thought. Il do not believe.
have the state or nation represented
in the organizations. That would bring
politics in"
Government Best Agency.
Mr. Schiff said that the government
could conduct employment offices.
bringing together the worker and the
employer better than any other agency.
Mr. Schiff said. as a man interested
in his fellow men and as business
man he would rather think that in
d,fstrial unrest was decreasing in this
country
Discussing the question of concentra-
ton of power and capital in relation
to labor, Mr.. Schitf said it worked both
ways.
Labor is better off," he said, by
heing able to deal with large Organi-
cations. On the other hand, if there
are troubles in the small plant the
small owner succumbs, and then every
one loses"
The witness warmly disputed the
statement that the railroads of the
country were controlled by two New
York banking houses.
DIR. Jacob Hollander. professor of
political economy at Johns Hopkins
University, discussed industrial unrest
and advocated state te-admimstered en-
ployment bureaus, particularly to pro-
mote the removal of workers to rural
=, SofS