The Washington herald., 1916-09-24
S-H0UR LAW DEFENDED
2 In WILSON'S SPEECH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.
in his talks the President repeatedly
pounded with clenched hands a small
table before him.
At no time did he mention the Re-
publicans or Mr.. Hughes. He was be-
nsved to have been answering the
charge made by Mr.. Hughes that the
labor unions had forced the Democratic
Congress and the chief executive to con-
cede their demands when he said:
when men say we must not let any
organization interfere with the interests
Of society. I answer Amen.
Not Played World Part.
America has not played in the de-
velopment Of world trade a part pro-
portionate to the gifts of Americans
and the resources Of America In times
10 come, partly because of the un-
happy circumstances of recent years,
about to release her energies, the
scope Of American business will be
what men have hitherto not dreamed
Of il American men know how to
take advantage of the opportunity.
The problems before American bus
mess are world problems rather than
American, domestic, problems, Amer
order to subject it to its peacef>l
service.
And yet when we look upon the
field of American business there are
some things that disturb US.
The chief cloud upon the domestic
horizon is the unsatisfactory relations Of
capital and labor. There Is only one way,
gentlemen. in which the relations OF capi-
tai and Ia abOr can be rendered satisfac-
tory. That is by in the first place, re-
gardinE labor as a human relationship Of
men with men; and, in the second place,
to regard labor as part of the general
partnership Of energy which Is going to
make for the success of business men
and business enterprises in this country.
So long as labor and capital stand an
tagoni5tic. the interests Of both are in
jured and the prosperity of America s
held back from the triumphs which are
lCgitimately its own.
4 LegaIIstic People.
You know that we have been
legalistic people. I say with all due re-
speCt to some men. for whom I have
high esteem. that we have been too
much under the guidance Of the lawyers
and that the lawyer has always regard
ed the relations between the employer
and the employe as merely a contract
But It is a relationship between one set
of men and another set OF men with
hearts under their jackets and with in
terests that they ought to serve in COM
mon and with persons they love and must
support on the one side and on the other.
Labor is not a commodity. 1t is
form of CO-Opera ton. and II can make
a man believe in me. know that l am
Just, know that l want to share the pro-
fits of success with him. I can get ten
times as much out Of him as IL he
thought l were his antagonist. And his
labor is cheap at any price. That is
the human side of it, and the human
side extends to this conception, that the
laboTi7E man is a partner of his en-
pIoyCr.
II he is n mere tool o. his employer,
n l. only - serviceable as the tool H.
enthusiasm ices not go into it. he does
not plan nov the work shall be better
done. He doesn't look upon the aspect
OF the business or enterprise as a whole
and wish 10 cooperate the advantages OF
his brains and his invention to the sue
cess Of II a whole.
Governed BY Heart.
Human relationship, my fellow .citi-
zens, are gJvCrned by the heart. and Il
the heart is not in it, nothing is in it.
7 have recently been through en- ex-
perienCe whi n distressed me. I tried tc
accommodate 4 difference between some
Of the employees Of the American rail-
roads and the executives of the American
railroads. and the distressing thing
discovered was that on the one hand here
was unlimited suspicion and distrust OF
the other side. and that that suspicion
and distrust WIS witnessed by the other
side in full measures.
The executives did not believe in the
sincerity Of the men. and the men did
not believe in the sincerity and fairness
was being discussed I had this sad
thought: arbitration Is a word associated
with the dealings Of hostile interests. 1t
IS an alternative Of war. There ought to
be no such thing as the contemplation
OF hostility between men whose interests
are the same and who should cooperate
together
And, therefore, it came upon me with
. fOrre that it never had before that the
real problem OF capital and labor was to
bring the two sides to understand and
1.0Iieve in one another; that the problem
of thn next generation. if America were
really to release her energy. was to be
this real. genuine. fundamental. recon-
citation between capital and labor.
Backs S-Hohr Day.
"I saw at once that there was one part
OF the situation that was arbtrable, but
that in my opinion there was another
part that was not arbitrable.
Il do not regard the question OF the
principle of the eight-hour day as arbi-
tTabie.
The first thing told both sides before
reque sted their opinion was that l stood
for the eiEht-hOur day.
We believe in the eight-hour day be-
cause man does better work within
eight hours than he does within a more
extended day, and that the whole theory
OF 1t, n theory which is sustained now by
abundant experience, is that his7e efficiency
Is increased, his spirit In his work is
improved, and the whole moral and physt-