The Elk Mountain pilot., 1916-10-19
ELECTRIC WIZARD
SEES SOCIALISM
Or. Charles Steinmetz Thinks
Corporation Forerunner of
New Order.
COOPERATION OF BUSINESS
II Was Found Necessary to Reorganize
Industry in individualistic Eng
land Under War Stress, He
Points Out.

Philadelphia-"A corporation is
crude form of socialism. Within the
ranks of the corporation anyone of its
thousands of employees has more OPP
portunity to develop than he would in
the employ of a private firm. The cor
poration gives man n better chance"
These pro-corporation, pro-socialist
statements were made by DIR. Charles
Proteus Steinmetz, the greatest cleo
trical genius of the century, while he
was here attending the recent conven-
ton of the Illuminating Engineering
society, of which he is president.
For 23 years Doctor Steinmetz has
been chief consulting engineer for the
General Electrical company. But
there's another side of the electrical
wizard. In 1887 Charles Proteus Stein
metz, a student at Breslau, and only
twenty years old, was forced to leave
Germany on account of his active So
cialistic propaganda. Now, as an en-
ployee of great corporation and as
an enthusiastic socialist, Doctor Stein
metz sees in organized business-the
modern corporation-the beginnings of
socialism.
THE tendency of business today is
toward cooperation" Doctor Stein
metz said. "Co-operation in business
means the big corporation. Compcti-
ton is dying out. Through stress of
war the nations have been forced to
practice cooperation within their own
boundary lines. The need was impera-
tive; the value and benefit of cooper
alton Is evident.
England Forced to Cooperation.
"In individunlistic England there has
been n systematic reorganization of
her railroads, cooperation among her
fnanciers and big business, all that
the business OF war might be carried
on more efficiently.
Cooperation, the incorporating of
units to achieve better results, is one
form of socialism. A crude one, but
IL beginning"
Contrary to the general understand
ing of the crushing despotism of pow
erful corporations-of tales of bust
ness men forced out of competition
and of young men mulcted of creative
ideas and thrown on the ash heap
Doctor Steinmetz believes that within
the ranks of the corporation is given
to the young man an opportunity such
as he can get nowhere else.
"A corporation will pay more with
less thought of loss" Doctor Steinmetz
said in explanation. "The private in
dividual must get results and quickly
He cannot afford to wait-one year.
two, perhaps ten or more. Every en-
ployee in the small business means so
much money to his firm today che
firm cannot afford to wait on the fu-
ture. The employee must show results.
The corporation, on the contrary, need
not consider n small loss. 1t does not
feel IT. II can raise n mans salary,
carry him on definitely and give him
time to develop his own ideas. 1t pays
the large corporation to give its en-
ployees a chance, but the small house
cannot invest in the future.
Means Equal Opportunity.
Equal opportunity has been con-
fused with equality of goods and equal
ity of character" he continued.
Socialism is not communism; the
goods of the world will not be divided
equally among the people," said Doctor
Steinmetz. "Only in small communi-
ties. such as Sparta, was that possible.
Certainly not in this day of complex
life.
Socialism means equal opportunity.
Under socialism there will be no arti-
fetal distinction. Equal opportunity
will help men to become unequal Abil-
.ty and character will force men to
varying grades of inequality. Today
men are held at n dead levV because
opportunity is withheld from them.
E9usl opportunity will be an induce