The New York herald., 1921-12-07

great cities, but we shall find a
greater pride in the nation. which
has a larger distribution of its pop
ulation into the country, where COM
paratively self-sufficient smaller
communities may blend agricultural
and manufacturing interests in har-
monious helpfulness and enhanced
good fortune. Such a movement
contemplates no destruction OF
things wrought, or investment
made, or wealth involved. 1t only
looks to a general policy of trans
portation of distributed industry, and
OF highway construction to encour-
age the spread OF our population and
restore the proper balance between
city and country. The problem may
well have your earnest attention.
It has been perhaps the proudest
claim of our American civilization
that in dealing with human relation
ships II has constantly moved toward
such Justice in distributing the
product of human energy that 1t has
improved continuously the economic
status of the mass of people. Ours
has been highly productive social
organization. On the way up from
the elemental stages OF society we
have eliminated slavery and serf-
dom and are now far on the way to
the elimination of poverty.
Through the eradication OF Hit
eracy and the diffusion OF education
mankind has reached a stage where
we may fairly say that in the
United States equality Of opportun-
ity has been attained, though all are
not prepared to embrace it. There
Is, indeed, too great divergence be-
tween the economic conditions or
the most and the least favored
classes in the community. But even
that divergence has now come to
the point where we bracket tho
very poor and the very rich togeth-
er as the least fortunate classes.
Our efforts may well be directed to
improving the status of both.
While this set OF problems Is COM
monty comprehended under the gen.
eral phrase capital and labor" IT -
really vastly broader. 1t is ques-
ton OF social and economic organi-
zatlon. Labor has become a large
contributor, through its savings, to
the stock of capital; while the peo-
pie who own the largest individual
aggregates of capital are themselves
cftcn hard and earnest laborers.
Very often it is extremely difficult to
draw the line of demarcation be-
tween the two groups; to determine
whether a particular individual Is
entitled to be set down as laborer
or as capitalist. In a very large
proportion of cases he Is both. and
WREN he is both he is the most USE
ful citizen.
The right of labor to organize is
Just as fundamental and necessary
as is the right or capital to organize.
The right of labor to negotiate, to
deal with and solve its particular
problems in an organized way,
through its chosen agents, is just as
essential as is the right OF capital
to organize, to maintain corpora
tions, to limit the liabilities OF stock
holders. Indeed, We have come to
recognize that the limited liability
of the citizen ds a member of a labor
organization closely parallels the
limitation of liability of the citizen
as a stakeholder n a corporation for
profit. Along this line Of reasoning
we shall make the greatest progress
toward solution Of our problem OF
capital and -abor.
In the case of the corporation
which enjoys the privilege OF limited
liability of stockholders, particularly
when engaged In the public service,
1t Is recognized that the outside pub
lie has a large concern which must
be protected and so we provide reg
ulations, restrictions, and in some
cases detailed supervision. Likewise
in the case of labor organizations we
might well apply similar and equal
ly well defined principles of regu-
lation and supervision in order to
conserve the public's interests as
affected by their operations.
Just as it is not desirable that a
corporation shall be allowed to i'm
pose undue exactions upon the pub
lie, so 1t is not desirable that
labor organization shall be permitted
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