New-York tribune., 1919-09-02
An Unconhdent Moses

When the name Of Glenn L. Plumb
appeared in print the pulses of the public,
determined, like Mark Tapley, to be jolly
and optimistic, gave a wallop Of hope.
Mr.. Plumb was we'll educated, he
obviously took himself most seriously,
had presented himself as an advocate of
proiit-sharing plan which might put
men back in their jobs, and, finally,
he had the confidence of the four great
brotherhoods Of railway employees, power
full groups that come closer than any
other to being Americas rulers
But when the Plumb plan was ex-
amincd and it's authors argument was
heard expectation as quickly ran down
as does a thermometers column when
a northeast wind blows What conf
ton had found an Interpreting leader
who would get it what it sought is de-
stroyed by a perusal of the hodgepodge
of undigcsted and contradictory ideas
Mr. Plumb celebrates Labor Day by put
ting in circulation.
Mr.. Plumb starts off we'll enough
namely, by recognizing that a system
under which the private owners and
their employees join in exploiting the
public will not do, and that it is time to
revive that spirit of cooperation in in
dustry whose weakening is one of the
prime causes of bad conditions not
only in Russia but throughout the world.
He rightly says that the great task of
the period is to fill the chasm which has
developed between labor and the control
and direction of labor. Moreover, few
will quarrel with him concerning the
profit-sharing principle as one whose
application might bring cooperative har-
mony.
But Mr.. Plumb's mind suddenly skids
and he begins to talk in the manner of
Dennis Kearney. He sees in the exist
ing industrial system nothing but
scheme for the benefit of investors and
non-producers. He disregards the OBJ
vlous fact that profits are largely the
wages of management, and that interest
is the just reward Of those who abstain
from spending all they earn, and that
as man viii not build house if not
to be allowed to enjoy it, so an econ
onlizer will not save if uncertain about
enjoying the fruits of his saving. Some
wealth is of course parasitic, but in the
main it pays it's own way and something
more. Henry Ford has made large
profits, but not at any ones expense
lie devised a way Of producing motor
vehicles cheaply and shared the gain
with the public, growing richer himself
and at the same time enrichlng the pub
lie. 1t is a trusm that the capitalistic
system has come into being because it
has provided an industrial leadership,
based on cooperative effort, which has
stimulated production and thus, to every
ones benefit, increased the store of di-
visible goods. Contrast how the average
man lived before it came into flower
with present average material condi-
tlons. Cooperation, labor specialization,
the great inventions, the doing of things
on huge scale, commitments based on
confidence in the future-these are some
of the energizing blessings which have
flowed from stimulating the keen
minded and the farseeing
Other forms of leadership are, of
course, possible. But would they mean
more food, clothing and shelter? Not
unless more food, clothing and shelter
were created Taking men as they are,
who is really of the belief that more
would be produced? characterization"
has often been tried. The results have
been to reduce production, as Russia
sadly knows.
That, Mr.. Plumb has little confidence
in democratized industry is shown by
the fact that his railroad plan distinctly
provides that the railroad employees, if
they lease the railroads, are not to take
the risks of the business This is to
say he has no living faith that the en-
ploycs would operate cheaply and eff
GENTLY. They could but he assumes thew
won't, else he would not ask a wage
guarantee. Mr. Plumb would plav
Moses, but he has so little belief in his
Canaan that he asks Pharaoh to pledge
himself to dispatch succor when the same
is asked