Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-01-18

which Is exempt from taxation. With
oui some federal supervision, and
/ sulu nis reput, tu congress probably
would advocate the establishment Of
q federal foundation
Scope of Investigation.
! Whether resources of approximate
| ~ quarter OF billion dollars CON
| trolled hy four great philunthropie
4 institutions should he employed with
out government regulation IN the
/ promotion of enterprises affecting
lpuhlic welfare. especially that of wage
earners Is one of the questions which
! the federal Industrial relations COM
mission will bring 60 the front here
during lis forthcoming hearings m-
vestlgators have for the last two
weeks been preparing data upon
which 90 base the examination OF
witnesses.
The four institutions are the Rock
efelor. Sage. Cleveland tOhio) and
Baron de Hirsch foundations, the lat
ter represented in this country by
Jacob II schiff Their chief officers
have been summoned 90 testify and
will be- asked, II was said today at the
commission headquarters. 10 tell
what policies govern the distribution
Of their charities. their attitude to-
ward labor problems the nature Of
their schemes for social bettermentf
in sum. to disclose In detail the char
acter of all their activities.
Under NJ Legal Restraint.
In view Of the fact that the Inn
monse resources of these institutions
were chiefly derived from the profits
OF Industrial enterprises and that they
were now employing them in many
WAYS affecting the conditions of wage
iearners. Il was the desire OF the COM
mission. il was explained, To deter
z mine whether their policies We're in
every respect consistent With the
public welfare. II was pointed out
/ that the institutions were under no
z legal obligation TO make their oper-
iations public and that it was a peril
/ nent question to determine whether
I such immense resources were poten-
/ TALLY dangerous. when not subject to
governmental supervision.
/ In raising this question no imph-
cation was intended, II was explain
ed. Il was simply the purpose of the
commission 10 call attention without
/ prejudice. 60 the power which these
! institutions were in a position to eX-
ercise. rightfuly or Wrongfully, es-
pecially In shaping public opinion.
I Whether after the facts have been
/ brought out, such institutions shall
| and can be regulated. will be left to
congress after the commission has re-
ported. II was pointed out that III
, England. the so-called charity
, trusts" are required by law TO make
public reports.
Goes After big Men.
The commission also plans Go call
the directors and chief stockholders
of several of the large industries to
Obtain a discussion of their relations
with employees also members of the
National Civic federation. and the
New York Charity Organization So
ciety.
III is the purpose Of the commits
sion" says a statement by the chair
man Of the commission. 'to bring be
fore il in New York the men whose
names are most closely associated
with our great basic Industries and
Through this means TO obtain n full
frank discussion of the relation that
exists between the Capitalization OF
wealth and power in their hands and
a feeling Of unrest among wage
earners.
I whether rightfully or wrongfully
/ a very large number Of wage earnefs
complain that their interests are
Ipretudiced by the fact that the indus
J tries i'm which they are employed are
owned and controlled by men who
live at "a distance and who have no
personal knowledge Of the conditions
under which the employees work and
Hive. This Is one of the charges most
4 frequently made by writer's ana
speakers engaged in enlsting recruits
, for the most radical political and eco
inomical movements, and the commits
sion feels that its work will not he
complete until it has given full con-
sideration TO the subject
Large employers and stockholders
i'm industrial corporations are more
iand more turning their attention to
organized efforts toward social bet
terment. The commission viii seek to
find out whether or not these efforts
are undertaken because their authors
feel a responsibility for the conditions
which create the need Of such EFFORT
and if so, whether or not the vafi-
Gus schemes Of welfare work ana
philanthropy can be considered ade-
quate To meet the needs
To Get at Underlying Causes.
1.-THE commission assumes, OF
course. that every good citizen desires
to aid in any sincere effort to get az
the underlying causes of INDUSTRIAL
unrest and in this as Ia It's other in
quiries. it is approaching its task
with an open mind ana a desire only
to yet az the facts. Each witness VIII
be urged to make a complete state
mept of his views The commissions
conclusions will be stated only in its
report to congress. and until that Is
submitted its attitude win be open
minded and free from prejudice.
Nearly fifty witnesses have been
summoned most Of them persons OF
national prominence, They include:
John D. Rockefeller Jrr J. =. Nor
gan. Jacob II. Schin, Charles Steele,
George W. Perkins, George f. Baker,
Andrew Carnegie, Daniel Guggen-
helm. f. j. Berwind, AdOlph Levi
sohn. August Belmont A. Barton
Hepburn and Samuel McRoberts,
New York fnanciers, julius Rosen-
wald, Chicago merchant. Henry {.
Ford, Detroit, automobile manuiac-
turer: Samuel Gompers. president OF
the American Federation of Labor,
and John Mitchell, vice president r
Jane Addams. Of Chicago. social vel
fare worker; Seth Low, president OF
the National civic Federation sam
mel Tntermeyer, Robert w. de For
est. New York. and Louis Brandeis,
Boston, attorneys who have been
prominently connected with the ace
tlvities of corporations; John HAYS
Hammond. New York, engineer G..
vs.. Eliot president emeritus 0f Har-
Yard university. ~ Fulton Cutting,
ana Amos Pineh0t identified Win