The Washington herald., 1918-12-05
SCHWAB ASKS
SQUARE DEAL
FOR WORKERS
Master Shipbuilder Denoun-
ces ''Get-andG Busi-
ness Methods.
NEW POLICIES URGED
Ovation Given Speaker at
Business Mems Conven-
ton, Atlantic City.

AlahuC OlNyr Lee. T. - The trust
forged shac<les Of capitalism must
: be tossed aside and labor must be
given a fair share OF the prosperity
Of the country. for the "get-and-grab-
iNpolicy OF so-called big business has
, been shelved forever in the world
wide upheaval Of autocracy. was tn.
warning that Charles NJ. schwab de-
livered here today to the business men
of America
Speaking before more than s.ooe bus
, iness men. representing 5Sl Of the coun-
, try's leading industries and an invest
ed capital OF more than S90.Ooo. Oco. .ooo.
he drove home his Industrial read
I justment message with an sdmi1turs
of humor and seriousness that alter
nately had his audience laughing and
spplauding.
We cannot change the American
eagle that flies high TO the american
hog that roots low. We must carry
the flag as high in commerce as II
fioated over our armies" said secre-
tary Of Commerce Redfeld. who fol-
lowed Mr.. Schwab on the speakers
stand. and enunciated a warning along
nearly the same lines as the master
shipbuilder.
Against Federal Owner~hip.
During his address Mr.. Schwss
came out against government owner
ship Of our mammoth new merchant
marine. By inference. however. he
favored government control to the end
that the benefits Of the 10000 tons
OF ships. that he says we will have
by 1920. shall 60 TO every individual in
America
In certain sense we are at the
commercial parting Of the WAYS" was
the opening statement OF Mr.. Schwab
as he launched into the declaration
{ Of new code OF business ethics that
brought cheers intermin-led with
gssps Of amszement from the dele
gates 70 the reconstruction congress
OF the Chamber Of Commerce Of the
United States He said IN part:
.'ue Must be Patients
" we ought 20 urge y coutt-,uSpoe %
work in every direction. Matters will
adjust themselves industriaIIy IN this
Z country sooner or later by the natural
course Of events. but what We want
{ 10 prevent is that sudden sltp OF the
Z cog which will give US a social 3olt
Z
! tries for years TO come We must be
patient. We must 30 aIonE with
. small or no profits II recessary. We
must bend every effort 10 keep our
employees busy. employed and sat-
isfed
] We must get closer TO our work
I people. We must listen with patience
] to their side OF the story and we
/ must get them % listen with patience
| to our side Of the story. The dsy OF
! autocracy in government and labor
has gone by. II is the day Of demo-
/ crazy in which we stand shoulder to
shoulder for the protection Of our
mutual interests and above all for
the protection and Eloriicatioa OF this
great country of ours
In the years gone by I have seri-
ously doubted many times II labor has
/ received its fair share OF the pros
J perity Of this great country. We. as
/ manufacturers. have got TO open our
( eyes to a wider vision OF the present
| ana future with reference to our
I worSCmCn. We have got to devise ways
/ and means by which capital and labor
I shall share equally, not in theory. but
I in practice. We must not only talk
about these things. but We must DO
/ these things
We have got 10 realize that many
: unjust demands will be made by la
! Dor as they have been made by CAPT.
! talists and employers In the past
| That is one of the lessons in true
| democracy that the great war has
taught us. The thing we have got 10
] do is teach, not patronize"
| What I want to impress upon you
] is that we face a new condition OF
affairs. That we must work out the
| problems connected with it that we
! must expect troublesome times aud
difficulties in the working out Of these
! problems. But above all else We must
1 plug ahead with the confident belief
! that the business. industrial and
J manufacturing interests OF the United
States are going onward and upward
1 in spite OF any condition that miEht
arise in this great country"
BedneId Make. Address.
: Secretary Redheld told the manu-
facturers TO beware OF the tempts-
ton to hastily lay rash hands or
wages" concentrate thought. purpose
and effort on output was his plea
He added that il would not So for US
. TO become fat and rich and earn the
contempt OF the world saying We
should not want to become the hated
, creditor nation OF the world
He declared il will be necessary
. to use large part Of our shipping
and materials to reconstruct France,
/ Belgium. Russia. and that the needs
OF those nations, which bore the
/ brunt Of the war for such a long
! period. must come first He frankly
declared that in a sense we are at
1 the commercial parting OF the ways.
| The congress was formally opened
today with an address by Harry A.
Wheeler. president OF the Chamber
| of Commerce OF the United States.
He told of his ofrer to President will
son of a committee Of American
manufacturers to assist at the Peace
| Conference. The president refused
Z the proffer and the speaker said that
I IL had been sscertained that the
\ President may draw upon statistics
which have been compiled regarding
American industries. He added:
Counsel can hardly be taken eS-
1 cept where minds meet and person
alities come in contact with each
other. The counsel OF the statistics
cannot adequately represent Amert-
can business"
( This brought forth much applause