Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-07-31
Employer Tells Tanderlip
Liuing Wage to Workers
and Minimum Return to
Capital Are Essential
Brains of All Should Be
Used in Industry, Not
Only Brains Of a Fe,v, to
Assure Success, He Saws
BY FRANK A. VANDERBILT

employer of first importance whom I
quoted yesterday said tn. following
to me:
"We are all greatly Concerned at the
present time because of the number of
unemployed, but that number is. after
all, not remarkably large. What has
happened is that the conscience of the
nation has been awakened to its re-
sponsibility to the individualin period
of enforced unemployment, Ind in the
light of that consciousness o olresponsi-
bility the figures for the first ime stand
out clearly in our minds in tegard to
the number of unemployed.
"We have nearly always lad un-
employment, but We have pt been
aware of its extent, not feeliy ma
tional responsibility toward thse who
are out of work. For Duber of
years prior to the war there vas an !
average unemployment of 8 IL cent
of the working population, I'd the
greater part Of this unemploymt was
owing to exigeneies over which ,e en-
ployeS had no control.
"a state of unemployment wife no
provision is made for the unentoyed
re- It's on the whole situation in way
we have not before clearly undetood.
With per cent of the working ,pu-
lation unemployed, and no meanpro
vided for their support, all instry
feels the lack of their cOnsumptiv de-
: mand. If there was n sound geral
unemployment insurance the um
ployed percentage of the commity
would still be in position to excise
an effective demand for the productof
industry, and it is apparent, therete,
that an adequate unemployment ins-
ance scheme would reduce the acal |
unemployment.
Larger Control by Workers
"a larger control of industry by !
,, workers. This should be the next ste
workers should be the next ste
up their minds that they do not intea
to continue as wage slaves. They wal
IA voice in the administration of I'll
e industrial part of the business in whic
: they are engaged, and they want tina
s not as an act of grace, but as right.
"I have been very anxious to kno
: just what was in the minds of OIL
i workers in regard to what they want
n their relation to industry. You cann'
. find that out merely by sitting on Il
i opposite side of q table during IN acu
stage of labor controversy. l ha'
had representative workmen speI
D week ends with me and talk the sui
e ject over as man to man, and l have hi
ii meetings of representative workm'
y drawn from various industries to discu
IL the subject. These meetings were n
o, so brief and formal that we failed
get at the heart of the question, b
!. were conferences where we got into SUI
H relations with the men that we we
enabled to bring out what was real
in their minds. l would take count
hotel and bring together for wee
end conference large groups of repr
sentative workmen, and the result h
been most enlightening.
!. Labor Should Share Profits
'"The final step is to give labor a re
interest in the profits of the bushes
and this is the lowest price at which t
capitalistic regime can buy itself
from the danger of revolution. The
is a great deal of preaching to the G
feet that the interests of labor and car
tai are identical. That is all bosh. T
interests of labor and capital are +
identical. 1t is labor's aim-and
proper aim-to obtain in the divisi
II between capital and labor all that
i con, just as it is the aim of capital
It's division of the results of capi
4 and labor to obtain all it can. Up
! the point of an industry going to sma
N the interests of labor are opposed
~ the interests of capital. tIow to ma
4 this division of the results of indust
) between labor and capital is the IN
} difficult of all problems.
I "In my own opinion we should 10
at it in this way: There should first
two definite charges against the l
profits of industry, Q) living wa
) to labor, and (2) a minimum retu
} to capital. Then after labor has
} ceived basic wage and capital
received minimum return, all that
earned should be divided between ca
I tai and labor, and in my opinion
should be divided equally.
"As matters stand today the own
of industry do not dare to be frs
- with their men in regard to the net
suits they are obtaining. There
times when frank statement of
financial situation of an industry, II
were believed by the workers, wo
result in their co operation either
the way of reduced wages or increa
industry. The trouble is that n
have repeatedly been told when b
struck for higher wages that if s,
an increase as they demanded W
! conceded the industry would have
close it's doors. And then, thro,
.et the strike weapon, they have for
the increase, and the industry went
as usual.
lone claim that is frequently m
is that If the workers force a bel
- division the result will be that cap
!llI will leave the country. Many pee
thought that il such plan as h
he in mind for the division of profits W
to be enforced, capital would emigr
and leave industry PROSTATE. lido
lbelieve that is so. Let us take,
example, an industry that is now ca
ing IA per cent. Suppose an arran
ment were made with the workers
there was paid to the capital inves
6 per cent, and the remainder divi
between capital and labor. Under
: arrangement capital would receive
q. per cent but ! believe 1t would
Ia, 90 ehn