Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-04-25
JOHN D., JR., WANTS
'GOLDEN-RULE' PLAN
Warns "Standpatters" in In
dustry Warfare Between Capt.
tai and Labor Must End
."C0NSCIeNCE MUST RULE"
By a staS Correspondent

BY StdB Correspondent
Hot Springs, Va, April 25.-Human
conscience common sense - brother
hood
4 That is the trinity of phrases coined
by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.. and one
which he asserts will solve labor trou %
bles of today.
Reduced to working sprinciple, the
three phrases, in the words of Mr..
Rockefeller, apply to both capital and
labor and mean this:
do as you would be done by
America s richest young man is at the
Homestead and cndeavoring to snatch a
bit of rest in the Virginia mountains,
but is forced to devote nearly eight
hours each day at his desk.
Mr.. Rockefeller does not discuss Bol
shevism or the japanese wrongs in
Korea, but confines his arguments TO
America and its problems. lie con-
siders the labor problem is the greatest
Of all, and is trying to arouse the en-
ployers of the country TO the issue.
Apostle of New Greed
He is appearing in various parts of
the country as an apostle of The new
Industrial creed, and says he will keep
st it.
What he is trying to do is To con-
vince employers and workers they must
get together and find a common ground
of fellowship upon which they can build
a more solid foundation for their ac-
tivities.
He says he is trying TO inject the
human note into industry. and asserts
that if that is done America will have
little industrial unrest. But he warns
employers they must turn over a new
leaf in the book of business aud give
more consideration TO their workers.
Call it partnership or anything you
like, Mr.. Rockefeller holds that the two
factions, employers and workers, must
get together. He says:
''Men are rapidly coming to see that
human life is of infinitely greater value
than material wealth: that the wealth
happiness and we'll being of the indi
vidual, however humble, are not to b,
sacrificed TO the selfish aggrandizement
of the more fortunate or more power
full.
"Modern thought is placing less en-
phasis on material considerations. II
is recognizing that the basis of nationa
progress, whether industrial or social
is the health, efficiency and spiritual deA
velopmeut of the people.
'Never was there n more profound
belief in human life than today
Whether men work with brain oi
brawn, they are human beings. anc
much alike in their cravings, their as
pirations. their hatreds. and their ca
paci.y for suffering and for enjoy
Inent.
A Word TO Captains OF Finance
AS the leaders of industry face this
period of reconstruction, what will theiI
attitude be?
Twill it be that of the 'standpat
ters, who ignore the extraordinary
changes which have come over the face
of the civilized world and have taken
place in the minds of men; who, arm
ing themselves TO the teeth, attempt
stubbornly to resist the inevitable and
invite open warfare with the other
parties in industry, and who say.
What has been. and is. must continue
10 be. With our backs to the wall. We
will fight it out along the old lines or
90 down in defeat
Those who take such an attitude
are willfully needless of the fact that
its certain outcome will be financial
loss, general Inconvenience and suffer
ing, the development of bitterness and
hatred, and in the end submission tC
far more drastic and radical conditions
imposed by legislation, if not by force
than could now be amicably arrived al
through mutual concession in friendly
conference
In his talks TO employers. Mr.. Rocke
feller sums up the solution of labor
troubles in few words. Today b,
reiterated the statement by saying:
Apply the Golden Rule to indus
try"
..Nr., "Hht NUIOFduO
t 1t is not necessary to devote mucl
space to the story of Mr.. Rockefeller
activities in the Colorado strikes of ;
few years ago.
\ Today he said that while in COlorad,
he established n personal relation be
tween himself, as an employer. and hi
workers. This was accomplished b,
creating plan of industrial rcpresen
ration, which provided for close per
I sonal contact between the elected repre-
eentatiyes of the men and the officer
of the company. A more accurate de
scription would be that Mr.. Rockefel
Ter established a 'round table confer
ence," at which the workers could dis
cuss with their employers their trouble
and aspirations.
~ He says the plan has brought peac
in the Rockefeller regions of Colorado
that the men have become happier an
more efficient, and that the cOmpan
has benefited.
He does not urge this personal pla
upon other employers, but says cm
ployers must establish the human an
personal relation, il they desire I
maintain happy and efficient industriJ
(, plants.
Commenting upon the value of hi
l1W.HUvER CO.