New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-12-23

+,re. and scope, and directed By
equally big men, as the technical, s"r
ministratiyo and financial sctivities o.
the corporation. II would hardly DC
safe, even with the control eXerteo py
an inhibitory tribunicisl power, TO IN
trust the entire constructive govern,
ment Of our nation to the inoustrlsi
corporations of to-day, with their very
different stages OF social Development
Social Responsibility Begins
For the small individual producer
of bygone DAYS there was no soclal re-
sponsibility or duty, but his business
was his private property, TO carry on
in any manner he Fixed, subordinate
only 10 the national laws But Wnen
the industries became organized IN
larger and larger corporations, and, as
Inevitably must be the case with the
continuing industrisl development OF
our nation, Industries and groups OF
Industries become essentially controlled
nv corporations, and the corporation
comprises the joint productive. activity
of many thousands Of employees, then
a social responsibility, and with II
social duty, arises in the corporation,
and the corporation can no more be en-
tirely private property, however much
it's legal owners may consider it such.
In organized society there can be no
unrestricted private property in any
thing which may affect or influence
public welfare and public interest. This
is, and always has been, the law Of
every civilized community. Thus with
the growth of the corporation a new
relation of mutual responsibility with
the public arises.
This is fully recognized by all the
more progressive, and thus more sue
cessful, corporations, and its recogni-
ton is the foundation Of the rapidly
increasing activities Of the corpora
tions in social relation with their em-
ployes. with the public at large, with
educational systems and institutions,
public policy committees, national asso-
Citations, etc.
Politically, the issue was first raised
in the great coal strike, when the
President of the United States forced
the contending parties to arbitrate
and since that time the responsibility
Of the large industrial organizations
to the nation has been universally
established, has been recognized as q
part of our law.
Feeding Public Hostility
But, unfortunately, there are still 9
few large and powerful corporations
which more or less refuse to recognize
their social responsibility to society
which insist that they are private
property, responsible to nobody but
/ their stockholders, and attempt in thell
actions toward the public to carry out
this policy. IL is these corporations
which continuously feed fuel to the
public hostility toward corporations
which undo WHAT'S being accomplished
in establishing better relations between
corporations, employees and public b.
those corporations who are realizing
their social responsibility and Twins
! up to it-and which latter thus in
versely would gradually brine the pub
/ lie to q realization of its social re
| sponsibility toward the corporation al
modern industry's most successful en-
bodiment.
Illustrations of this can be seen il
the dealing of corporations with thu
complaints of the public; from cor
porations which discourage complaint