Part 12

The world position which our country holds to-day is due to the wide vision of the statesmen who founded these United States and to the daring and indomitable persistence of the great industrial leaders, together with the myriads of men who with faith in their leadership have coöperated to rear the marvelous industrial structure of which our country is justly so proud.

This result has been produced by the coöperation of the four factors in industry: labor, capital, management and the public, the last represented by the consumer and by organized government.

No one of these groups can alone claim credit for what has been accomplished. Just what is the relative importance of the contribution made to the success of industry by these several factors and what their relative rewards should be are debatable questions. But however views may differ on these questions it is clear that the common interest cannot be advanced by the effort of any one party to dominate the other, to arbitrarily dictate the terms on which alone it will coöperate, to threaten to withdraw if any attempt is made to thwart the enforcement of its will. Such a position is as un-American as it is intolerable.

The personal relationship which existed in bygone days is essential to the development of this new spirit. It must be reëstablished; if not in its original form at least as nearly so as possible.

In the early days of the development of industry, the employer and capital investor were frequently one. Daily contact was had between him and his employees, who were his friends and neighbors. Any questions which arose on either side were taken up at once and readily adjusted. A feeling of genuine friendliness, mutual confidence and stimulating interest in the common enterprise was the result.

How different is the situation to-day! Because of the proportions which modern industry has attained, employers and employees are too often strangers to each other. Personal contact, so vital to the success of any enterprise, is practically unknown, and naturally, misunderstanding, suspicion, distrust and too often hatred have developed, bringing in their train all the industrial ills which have become far too common. Where men are strangers and have no points of contact, this is the usual outcome. Much of the strife and bitterness in industrial relations result from lack of ability or willingness on the part of both Labor and Capital to view their common problems each from the other’s point of view.

Representation is the principle upon which the democratic government of our country is founded. On the battlefields of France this nation poured out its blood freely in order that democracy might be maintained at home and that its beneficient institutions might become available in other lands as well.

Surely it is not consistent for us as Americans to demand democracy in government and practice autocracy in industry.

What can this Conference do to further the establishment of democracy in industry and lay a sure and solid foundation for the permanent development of coöperation, good-will and industrial well-being? To undertake to agree on the details of plans and methods is apt to lead to endless controversy without constructive result.

Can we not, however, unite in the adoption of the principle of representation, and the agreement to make every effort to secure the endorsement and acceptance of this principle by all chambers of commerce, industrial and commercial bodies and all organizations of labor?

Such action I feel confident would be overwhelmingly backed by public opinion and cordially approved by the Federal Government. The assurance thus given of a closer relationship between the parties to industry would further justice, promote good-will and help to bridge the gulf between Capital and Labor.

(Resolution introduced by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., earlier in the session, which was not debated or acted upon but superseded by the resolution to which the foregoing remarks were addressed.)

WHEREAS, the common ground of agreement and action with regard to the future conduct of industry, with the development of a new relationship between Capital and Labor which the President sought in calling this Conference can only be discovered as we approach the problem in the spirit of justice, brotherhood, and of willingness to put one’s self in the other man’s place, the coming of which means the substitution of confidence for distrust, of good will for enmity, of coöperation for antagonism; and

WHEREAS, this spirit can be developed only by the resumption of personal relations between employer and employee or the nearest possible approach thereto; and

WHEREAS, some form of representation in industry is essential in order to make personal relations possible under modern industrial conditions;

Now Therefore be it

RESOLVED, that this Conference recognizes and approves the principle of representation in industry under which the employees shall have an effective voice in determining their terms of employment and their working and living conditions; and be it further

RESOLVED, that just what form representation shall take in each individual plant or corporation, so long as it be a method which is effective and just, is a question to be determined by the parties concerned in the light of the facts in each particular instance; and be it further

RESOLVED, that any form of representation to be adequate must include:

1. Ample provision whereby the stockholders and the employees through their respective representatives, shall give current consideration to matters of common interest such as terms of employment and working and living conditions;

2. Any such further provisions, if any, as may be necessary to insure the prompt uncovering of grievances, real or alleged, and their speedy adjustment.

FOOTNOTE:

Remarks at National Industrial Conference, Washington, D. C., October 16, 1919.

TO THE EMPLOYEES

This is a red-letter day in my life.

It is the first time I have ever had the good fortune to meet the representatives of the employees of this great company, its officers and mine superintendents, together, and I can assure you that I am proud to be here, and that I shall remember this gathering as long as I live.

Had this meeting been held two weeks ago, I should have stood here as a stranger to many of you, recognizing few faces. Having had the opportunity last week of visiting all of the camps in the southern coal fields and of talking individually with practically all of the representatives, except those who were away; having visited your homes, met many of your wives and children, we meet here not as strangers but as friends, and it is in that spirit of mutual friendship that I am glad to have this opportunity to discuss with you men our common interests.

Since this is a meeting of the officers of the company and the representatives of the employees, it is only by your courtesy that I am here, for I am not so fortunate as to be either one or the other; and yet I feel that I am intimately associated with you men, for in a sense I represent both the stockholders and the directors.