Part 16

At his country place on the Hudson there are constantly employed several hundred men of different nationalities; many of these employees he knows by name; he is constantly mingling with them in their work, interested in their progress and in their home life, and it is not an infrequent sight, at the close of the day’s work, to see him returning home in his automobile with half a dozen or a dozen Italian and Hungarian workingmen crowded about him on the seats and standing on the running board as he gives them a lift on their way home.

When motoring about the country he may frequently be found talking with a group of men at the country store in a little village, and when he comes upon school children returning from their school he delights to load as many of them into his automobile as possible and give them a ride on their way.

I recall not long since the death of a colored teamster who had for some years been in my father’s employ. My father was among the first to visit the bereaved family in their humble home above the work stable, that he might express his sympathy with them in their sorrow, and as he stood at the grave his tears were mingled with the tears of the other mourners as he paid his last tribute of respect to a faithful employee and a true friend.

When called as a witness in New York by the Industrial Relations Commission last winter, my father stated very clearly his attitude toward workingmen.

Briefly, these were the three points that he made:

That he believed that Labor and Capital were partners, not enemies.

That in any industry with which he was connected he would gladly welcome the workers as stockholders, and further:

That it would be his wish that those who work with their hands be given representation upon the Board of Directors, so that they might come to have a closer knowledge of the problems with which the management of the corporation is confronted.

The word “fear” is not found in my father’s vocabulary, nor does he know what the sensation is, and yet he has the gentleness and the tenderness of a woman.

Although he has been accustomed to think in world terms in the development of the business and philanthropic enterprises to which his life has been devoted, there is no person in his household too humble to receive his frequent kindly and personal thought.

Criticized, maligned, and condemned these many years, not only for his business success achieved through his ability to gain the confidence and coöperation of men, to bring all parties into harmony and to effect economies in every possible way, but also because of his philanthropic endeavors, there is still not the slightest trace of bitterness in his character and he holds in his heart nothing but good-will toward every man.

And if, in their kindness of heart, the people of Colorado have found in me anything that may have seemed admirable, that, and whatever else I am or may be, I owe to my sainted mother and my honored father, whose training and example I regard as a priceless heritage. And so again I say I wish that my father were here that he might meet you men personally and be confirmed in the view which he has held during past months of unrest and conflict, to the effect that many of the evil and censorious reports which have been spread about the country in regard to this great State and its people are untrue; that you, on the other hand, coming to know him, might realize the injustice and the cruelty of the things that have been said and written about him during these many years.

And again, in his absence, on his behalf, as well as for myself, I thank you for your kindness and the evidences of your friendship to him and to me, which have been countless during these days of my happy residence among you.

There has been so much said with regard to the views which my father and I have held and do hold in regard to the organization of labor, and also in regard to the relations which should exist between the various parties in any company or corporation, that it is perhaps not unfitting for me to state in a few words just what those views are.

The position I took when called before the Subcommittee of Mines and Mining of the House of Representatives in Washington two years ago, in regard to the right of every American workingman to work for whom he pleased and upon such terms as he pleased, has been frequently misunderstood and misrepresented.

It has been construed as indicating that my father and I were not only opposed to the organization of labor, but that we were persistently and continually fighting it. No such inference is correct, for absolutely the contrary is the fact.

I can, perhaps, present in the briefest and clearest way the views which we hold on these two subjects by referring to several paragraphs from a statement which I read before the Industrial Relations Commission in New York last January:

“First, with reference to my attitude toward labor unions: I believe it to be just as proper and advantageous for labor to associate itself into organized groups for the advancement of its legitimate interests, as for capital to combine for the same object.

“Such associations of labor manifest themselves in promoting collective bargaining, in an effort to secure better working and living conditions, in providing machinery whereby grievances may easily and without prejudice to the individual be taken up with the management. Sometimes they provide benefit features, sometimes they seek to increase wages; but whatever their specific purpose, so long as it is to promote the well-being of the employees, having always due regard for the just interests of the employer and the public, leaving every worker free to associate himself with such groups or to work independently, as he may choose--I favor them most heartily.

“Combinations of capital are sometimes conducted in an unworthy manner contrary to law and in disregard of the interest both of labor and the public. Such combinations cannot be too strongly condemned nor too vigorously dealt with.

“Although combinations of this kind are the exception, such publicity is generally given to their unsocial acts that all combinations of capital, however rightly managed or broadly beneficent, are thereby brought under suspicion.

“Likewise, it sometimes happens that combinations of labor are conducted without just regard for the rights of the employer or the public, and methods and practices adopted which, because unworthy or unlawful, are deserving of public censure. Such organizations of labor bring discredit and suspicion upon other organizations which are legitimate and useful, just as is the case with improper combinations of capital, and they should be similarly dealt with.

“I should be the last, however, to allow the occasional failure in the working of the principle of the organization of labor to prejudice me against the principle itself, for in that principle I strongly believe.

“In the further development of the organization of labor and of large business, the public interest, as well as the interest of Labor and Capital alike, will, it seems to me, be best advanced by whatever stimulates every man to do the best work of which he is capable; by a fuller recognition of the common interest of employers and employed; and by an earnest effort to dispel distrust and hatred and to promote good-will.

“I believe that the ultimate object of all activities in a republic should be the development of the manhood of its citizens; that such manhood can be developed to the fullest degree only under conditions of freedom for the individual, and that industrial enterprises can and should be conducted in accordance with these principles.

“I believe that a prime consideration in the carrying on of industry should be the well-being of the men and women engaged in it, and that the soundest industrial policy is that which has constantly in mind the welfare of the employees as well as the making of profits, and which, when the necessity arises, subordinates profits to welfare.

“A business to be successful must not only provide to labor remunerative employment under proper working conditions, but it must also render useful service to the community and earn a fair return on the money invested.

“The adoption of any policy toward labor, however favorable it may seem, which results in the bankruptcy of the corporation and the discontinuance of its work, is as injurious to labor which is thrown out of employment, as it is to the public which loses the services of the enterprise, and to the stockholders whose capital is impaired.