Salt Lake Tribune | 1914-06-24 | Page 2 | Wanamaker is in Favor of Labor Unions

lillER IS II FAVOR OF ; LABORUNIDMS vDeclares One Must Be Insane In-sane Not to Recognize Rights of Workingmen to Organize. SAYS ROCKEFELLER MADE GREAT MISTAKE Advocates Eight Hours or Less and Thinks Minimum Mini-mum Wage Laws May Be Good. PHILADELPHIA, June 23. " It's an insane thing not to recognize organizations organ-izations of labor, " said John Wana-maker Wana-maker today, in giving further testimony testi-mony before the United States commission com-mission on industrial relations. He made this statement in reply to a question ques-tion whether employers should recognize recog-nize labor unions. On the general question of unionism Mr. "Wanamaker said he believed labor had "suffered frightfully " in the past because of poor leaders, but added that he is seeing see-ing a better class of leadership coming com-ing in. Commissioner Weinstock of California, Califor-nia, who presided today,1 asked the witness wit-ness if he could supply the missing link that would bring capital and labor together. Mr. "Wanamaker said: "I believe that labor and capital have the right to organize. On the one side, capital, there is responsibility and on the other, labor, there is none. There you stop. The missing links 1 believe to' be prejudice and misunderstanding, misunder-standing, which must be overcome. "One of the ways to wipe out this prejudice and misunderstanding is to unhitch labor unions from political parties. ' ' Scores Rockefeller. , Speaking of capital, Mr. Wanamaker said John D. Rockefeller, Jr., ''made ' a great mistake when he put President Wilson in the position of sending troops into Colorado. "I might be mistaken in this," he said, "but that is the way I feel about it ' ' Contact with the employees is a remedy rem-edy for much . misunderstanding, the witness said. ''There are labor unions which have no other purpose than to protect their waes, ' ' he said. ' 1 Men who spend their time getting their salaries raised generally tail." "Eight Hours or Less." Commissioners Lennon of Illinois and O'Connell of Washington, who are the representatives of workmen on the commission, plied Mr. Wanamaker with many questions. Asked whether he wis an advocate of the eight-hour day, he replied: "Eight hoius or less." On the question of the minimum wa.ne for women, the witness said that as au experiment it should not be condemned. con-demned. Liscussing public ownership as a means to reduce industrial strife, Mr. Wanamaker said he was an "absolute believer ' ' in government ownership of public utilities. "I believe the government gov-ernment should own the railroads," he said. "it would prevent conditions that have existed in the -New Haven road and in the Rock Island system. Government ownership would bri ng 1-ccnt postage because the yoverumeit owned the moans for carrying the mails. ' ' Predicts Rosy Future. "the witness painted a rosy future for the workingtnau. ' ' Men and women are in a using market; they are being better ediuated, have more sanitary surroundings aud are no longer mats for rich men to wipe their feet upon," he said. During the discussion of public ownership own-ership of utilities Commissioner Weinstock Wein-stock dropped the remark that the commission will, in drawing up its recommendations rec-ommendations to congress, consider the wisdom of advocating public ownership owner-ship of utilities as a means of reducing strife between the employers and em- j plovees of public utilities. j