The Washington herald., 1918-04-05
STANDARD OIL
IN new ROLE
Holland Tells Of Labor Pol
icy Introduced by Presi- !.
dent Teagle.

cent ledgic.
a few days after Walter Clark
Teesie succeeded A. c. Bedford as
president of the Standard Oil Com
pany Of New Jersey. Mr.. Bedford
having become chairman of the board.
he spoke Informally and In the free
dom of private conversation Of his
view Of what the relation between a
corporation and its employees should
be. President Teagle looks upon
everyone who receives salary or wages
from q corporation az an employe. but
what he said had especial reference
to those who are paid wages. the
skilled artisans as well a. those who
are In more humble employment. He
spoke with much earnestness, setting
forth his view Of what the ideal
relation between all of those who
work for q corporation should be. He
recognized the common human nature
which he said Is shared alike by en-
pioyes and employers. He referred
to the wisdom Of permitting employees
to have such share In the gains made
by . corporation as would enable
them to live in perfect sympathy with
the high ideals which are the char
acteristic of American life.
Believes In Organized Labor.
He made II plain that he believes
i'm the economic soundness of the
principle which lies at the bottom of
organized labor although at times this
principle has been violated.
President Teagle said that there
would be inestimable advantage for
a corporation IL everyone who was
employed by IL was made to feel that
he had a share and responsibility in
the securing of the prosperity of the
corporation. But IL he had such share
or responsibility that should be fully
recognized and encouraged by the
management Of the corporation. He
believed that on the whole wage
earners were disposed to be fair and
IL conditions were properly presented
to them they would not be slow In
admitting the reasonableness Of any
proposition which the managers OF the
corporation might make. whereas. on
the other hand. these managers should
also be prepared to give heed to the
reasonableness Of any proposition
which the wage earners might offer.
He hoped to see the time come when
a man to man fraternal relation
would be permanently established in
the great corporations, affecting all
from the highest paid servant Of the
corporation to the lowest.
Acts on His Beliefs.
There was no intimation In this con-
versation that President Teagle in as
ISOLATION with Mr.. Bedford. chairman
Of the board. purposed Immediately to
apply these principles to the opera
ton OF the great corporation Of which
Mr.. Teagle Is president and Mr.. Bed
ford Is chairman of the board. I'm
doubtedly Mr.. Teagle had such purpose
in mind. for within about four months
after he became president Of this cor
poratfon. plans have been so perfected
as to make it possible to announce to
the wage-earners not only that thor
ouEh cooperation should be estab-
lished and good understanding but
also material benefit
II should be a traditional event. as
sociated with the development OF the
new relation between those who re-
ceive wages and those who pay them,
that some seventy representatives Of
the employees of the Standard OIL 60.
OF New Jersey. who were chosen by
the wage-earners. sat down in COM
pany with employers at an excellent
dinner a few evenings ago. 1t was in
the best sense of the word a truly
democratic gathering. Men met upon
terms OF equality as citizens and as
workers for a great corporation. The
employees speedily felt the atmosphere
kindly, sympathetic and aprepciative
and without any suggestion Of conde-
scension on patronage which was
characteristic OF the attitude OF the
managers OF the corporation. The
time came when II was convenient TO
make announcement, first. that the
company had decided to increase
wages. by as much as ten per cent;
second. that It had perfected q plan
whereby annuities would be paid;
third. that 1t was to provide reason
able compensation in case of accident
a retiring pension in case of old age.
This proposition was not made as
though there were any sense of
charity in it, but instead as though
it represented the belief that the en-
pIoyes of the corporation were en-
titled to receive in various ways a
fair share Of the earnings Of the cor
poration.
A Great Step Forward.
This action is in line with some that
have been taken by other great cor
porations. notably the United States
steel Corporation. the International
Harvester Company. Henry Ford and
others. 1t should do much to change
the attitude of antagonism which. un-
til recently. has characterized the re-
Iation between the men who work
for a corporation and the managers
of the corporation. 1t Is sure to be
adopted by other corporations and its
effect will be to put an end to dema-
gogy and ultimately to establish per-
feet cooperation between all Of those
who are associated in bringing forth
the products OF a great industry.
1t Is in line with the view taken by
Charles NJ. Schwab. George w. Per-
kins and others who have recently
said that the day Is not far distant
when the workers Of the world viii
be the predominant forces. not only
in Industry but in citizenship. in all
that makes for good government and
NAV furthermore lead to the substan-
tiai ownership Of the great corpora
tions by those who work for wages.
and who, through their savings. are
able to buy the securities Of the cor
poration.
stickney Started New Policy.
Twenty years or more ago there
began to be a perception on the part
of some Of these who managed some
OF the great corporations that some
thing should be done to put an and
TO the antagonism which character
ized the relation of the employees to
the employer The late A. B. Stick
ney, who created the Chicago Great
Western Railroad system. was one