The Farmington times., 1919-10-10

beginning October Is, Thomas l.. Chad
bourne of New York is called "a rad
ical' by his fellow-capitalists Sc
long as he is known as an opponent tc
what he terms "Utopan, MarXian anC
revolutionary socialism, Mr.. Chad.
bourne doesn't mind being calid "a
radical capitalist
AS member of the War Trade
Board it devolved upon Mr.. Chad
bourne to make thorough Study of
industrial conditions Of international
scope, particularly those of Russia.
AS counsel for the Mdvale Steel and
Ordnance Corporation he is known to
have advised that powerful group of
capitalists to recognize the right 70
''collective bargaining on the part Of
its employees. AS counsel for other
corporations he has committed himself
to the profit sharing basis of en-
ployment. His public utterances
about labor's needs, and his methods
of meeting them, have always been so
toned with liberality that he stands
conspicuous among corporation law
yers as one whose genuine sympathies
seem largely to dwell with the wage
earners. These very reasons bring
acknowledgements from both sides of
the great controversy that Thomas l..
Chadbourne will be a potent figure in
the council of capital and labor which
the President has called.
In the authorized interview which
follows, Mr.. Chadbourne has outlined
the main problems that will press for
speedy settlement by the labor and
capital convention.
1T is impossible and would be i'm
proper" said Mr.. Chadbourne, "for
me to express anything like a definite
opinion as to the probable outcome cf
the session which President Wilson has
convoked at Washington. Labor prob
lens have intricacies which have long
staggered the ablest statesmen of the
Old World. To US in America they
are new. We really know nothing
about them. Not even the mill men
of America-and by the name of mill
men | wish to include not only the Of
ticers of great corporations, but, like
wise, the uperintendents and fore
men in daily contact with labor-none !
of these men knew the needs of labor. |
On the other side, none Of the delegat-
ed spokesmen for the wage carners |
knows what is best to be done for the
lasting welfare Of the toilers. The
sooner we all make the acknowledge
mcnt of our ignorance of the intricate
and far-reaching issues involved in
our labor situation the better off we
shall all be, and the surer will be our
safety in trying to solve them to the
good of the country at large.
Long Session Likely
81 am convinced that by the very
reason of our ignorance we shall have
a long-drawn session at Washington.
Issues upon which not only the pros
perity but the safety of the country
depends must be studied deeply. This
service of ours at Washington, wheth-
er we represent capital or labor, is 60
ing to put US to test of patriotism
little short Of the firing line. Our
selfish interests are inevitably linked
with the destiny Of the Republic, and
they will be best subseryed in the
long run if we settle every dispute as
patriots, forgetting that we are cap
italists or that we are laborers.
"0f course, we all know that the
first and main question to arise will
be the trite, the hackneyed, the irk-
some issue Of closed and open shop
That is the principal issue in the
steel strike today. 1t has been ris-
ing like Banquo's ghost irrepressibly ,
in all parts of the country. No man :
has yet solved the problem. Can it
be supposed that we can readily come I
to conclusion on this prodigious is
sue in our conference at Washington? I
The economic and the social values Of {
the two plans have been studied and Y
compared in local way for years, 9
but the problem as n national matter q
has to be brought to US for the first y
time at the forthcoming conference at q
Washington. 1t is going to consume t
great deal of time to hear from the r
of capital and labor G
arguments as to which is the better h
policy. | would not discuss the ques- a
ton of closed or open shop until T
had heard debaters rehearse all the in v
tricacies. | do not hesitate to say, g
tive bargaining in the dealings be- f
tween employer and employe. O
II believe that the next most press +
ing demand of labor, after a subsist-
ence wage is provided, is that Of self
expression. we near on every nallu
stories of the workman's ingratitude. T.
And the complaint has this much a
truth in it-their protest today is e
against their sense of helplessness. Il
They do not want factory lunch 4
rooms, kindergartens, good tenements +
given to them. The more that is done u
for them the more they feel in the d
power of the person responsible for "
the benefits. They are going to in o
sist on exercising a voice in shaping b
the conditions surrounding their la s.
Dor, which means, among other things, f
collective bargaining"
Mr.. Chadbourne dividesi n his mind tt
,he question of wages into primary "
and secondary questions. II maintain \
lie says, "that the primary question 1
S that of a basic or minimum wage, L
which, in common justice and good "
morals, must be termined by human W
leeds. The secondary question of the p
wage in excess of this basic or mini W
mum wage, is an economic question, tc
nd may be determined by the value Sc
f the service rendered as compared tn
nth the value of the service rendered az
n