Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1922-03-02

that 1T came from the pen of j. E.
Edgerton, president of the National
Association of Manufacturers is e.
nough to solicit your earnest consid-
Grafton. He is the head of an organ
ization whose total number of en-
ployes runs into vast figures. 1t is
to be believed that his opinion is the
opinion of the average member and
as such is viewpoint upon which the
worker can concentrate his attack or
support.
The industrial antagonisms that
have done SO much to halt the pro-
gress of civilization as we'll as bring
privation and suffering on untold thou
sands of innocent persons is as a rule
a situation brought about by persons
whose only direct interest has been
a selfish one.
The understanding between employ
er and employe can be made as near
perfect as any relationship known to
man. In many cases it has been made
perfect. In many others the under
standing has been warped and twist
ed, ill-will and an unfriendly spirit
have been given birth and instead of
mutual benefit from good team work
the two factions have been forced to
q contrariness of direction that has
all but destroyed both.
In the last few years this has been
condition that has grown rather
than decreased and in tracing the
cause to its source one is convinced
that outside interference is the grim
underlying base upon which has been
piled the troubles of capital and la
Dor and the same base in it's cease
less shift and changes keeps these
troubles in endless ferment and makes
their clearing away difficult if not I'M
possible.
Good intention is not guarantee a..
gainst the unhappy consequences of
unwise action on the part of either
individuals or. nations as units. The
intelligent, as well as the properly
n1otived use Of the powers with which
men are endowed and of the oppor-
tunities which are made available to
them by benefcent Creator is the
only formula by which the highest
success and happiness may be attain
ed. A vast deal more is required of
us than simply wishing to do right.
Every person according to his endow-
ments and opportunities has an in
tellectual as we'll as moral respon-
sibility. This fact is made emphatic
ally clear in the Parable of the Tai
ents. Through the honest and indus
trious employment of his energies and
abilities, the man to whom his master
had given five talents doubled his
capital, and the one of lower degree
to whom two talents were given reg
istered also one hundred per cent pro-
fit on his efforts. To the third mem
Der of the historical trio was given
only one talent, presumably because
of his inferior mental endowments.
Like many of his descendants living
in the present age, he went off and hid
his talent and finally returned en-
pty-handed. It is not recorded what
he did beyond this. But it might
reasonably be inferred that during
the absence Of his master he was de-
ilvering a course of lectures under
the auspices of the Palestine Welfare
and Protective Association on s'The
Evils of Profiteering and the Rights
of the Down-Trodden Workingman"
At any rate, the two efficient produc-
ers were highly commended and pro-
noted while the Stacker" who was
more concerned about obtaining his
rights than performing his obligaz,
tions was condemned for his slothful-
ness.
But even if all human conduct could
be assayed and found to contain in
perfect proportion the elements of
pure motive and intelligent direction,
there would still sometimes probably
be friction in the relations of men, In
deed, as long as there are varying
degrees of human capacity, friction
less world is inconceivable. Mems
opinions and interpretations of moral
law are as diverse as their view
points, and it is from the clashing of
viewpoints that friction results. The
problem of removing friction is, there
fore, the problem of assimilating
viewpoints. This would not be a very
difficult task if only the acceptance
Of abstract principles was involved.
But it is in the concrete application Of
commonly accepted principles that the
difference in viewpoint is always diff
fcult and sometimes impossible to
reconcile
The abstract right of organization
in the proper manner and for legit-
innate purposes on the part of any
persons is universally recognized. In
the industrial realm the abstract
right of such persons either individu-