Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-12-15
SOLVING PROBLEMS
BY NATURAL LAWS
Louis F. Post, Assistant Secretary
of Labor, Says Worlds Troub
les Can be Remedicd.

Louis +. Post, assistant secretary of
labor, addressing n large audience at the
Open Forum of Westminster Church,
last night, on "The Future of Labor,
declared that the confusion in the rela-
tions between capital and labor is merely
the struggle of nature to bring into play
the application of the natural laws which
govern them In his address, the speaker
said that he could deal only with the past
and present, and that the future would
depend upon the recognition of and the
application of natural laws.
He defined labor rs the active agency
IN production and capital as the passive
factor out of which labor produces every
thing
: lie drew an analogy between Robinson
CpISoc on lone island and combined
labor of the people on "an island that Is
tying through space, except that human
beings have specialized production so
that II has become social and not lndl-
vldual. and each is contributing his little
part whether by labor of hand or brain
Let us quit swearing at one another.
he exclaimed. failing and refusing to
understand one another, but think what
Is the matter and try tn adjust ourselves
Ia those natural laws that are essential
TO = solution" The hired man. he sand,
sells hls product before he produces 1t
to the employer who speculatcs IN IT be-
fore he sells When there are nine Jobs
and ten men they are Obliged to sell their
future product at disadvantage
Instead of applying the principle of
earning bread in the sweat of hls face,
ruan is trying to earn his bread in the
sweat of some other man face, he stated,
and the relation Of capital TO labor Is
merely what formerly existed between
landlord and serf
Speaking of labor organizations, MIR.
Post said conservative labor organlza-
tions were equally as justified as industrial
irganiza tions. Most of the bolshevists
on the labor movement exist principally
IN the newspapers, he said.
The tradition, stated Mr.. Post. which
gives the ownership OF our natural re-
sources 10 few at the expense OF the rest
of mankind, is violation of natural Law,
and If they are 10 be left in private hands
il must be in the shspe of q trusteeshlp
and not a monopoly, for which those who
control them must be held accountable
for their stewardship. Capital, he said,
Is sbandouIng It's 'public-be-damned
policy and recognizing the interests OF the
public.
He spoke strongly in favor Of the prin-
cIple Of collective bargaining between
employer and employc, but stated that
compulsory arbitration was impossible,
because IL was one-sided; while II enabled
the formation OF 3 contract as 10 wages
to be paid labor when employed, there
vas no wsy TO force capital TO employ
labor upon those terms. The solution
Of the problems confronting the two IS
10 sdjust social relations on the principle
that all men are brothers and God the
father of Al men.
In reply to question concerning public
ownership, DR.. Post said that the claim
that public ownership Of railroads IS q
failure Il an tommyrot. II did what it
proposed 10 do during the war when pm
vate ownership failed. he made plain
the distinction between public snd private
business, and said if he had his way he
would utterly 'untsx the private business
man for the service he Is rendering, in
stesd Of taxing him as we are dong for
MS industry"