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Show !DR. C J, ELIOT 1 IS AWITNESS j Tells Commissioners That Rockefeller Donations Have Had a Good Influence. MILLION FOR HARVARD Uniform Minimum Wage Schedules and Working Hours a Bad Thing. Washington. Jan. 29 Rockefeller donations to educational institutions have influenced the policies of presidents presi-dents of universities and colleges in many Instances, but the influence has alwayp been good, said Charles W. Bitot; nresidr-nt emeritus of Harvard university, today, at the Federal Industrial In-dustrial commission's inquiry info phi lanthropic foundations and the causes of social unrest. The donations to which he referred were made by the general education board. Or Eliot said. As an instance he cited John D. Rockefeller's offer In 1908 to furnish one million dollars to Harvard university if the university univer-sity would raise $875,000 additional. This was before Dr. Eliot became a member of the board of managers of the general education board. The witness said he applied to the elder Mr. Rockefeller for aid in the maintenance main-tenance of new- buildings erected for the medical school of Harvard university uni-versity Starr J. Murphy of Mr. Rockefeller's personal staff, made an investieation of the buildings and the financial condition of the university, univer-sity, the witness said. Afterwards Dr. Eliot called upon John D Rockefeller, Rocke-feller, Jr., and was told that Mr Rockefeller, Sr , was w illing to donate do-nate a million dollars, conditional upon up-on the university's raising $875,000. Dr. Eliot said he had not hoped to obtain as large a sum. Dr. Eliot said that he w&a connect ed with the general education board and other philanthropic foundations established by Andrew Carnegie and Mr. Rockefeller. He thought the practice of interlocking the directorates director-ates of such foundations was a good one. He thought that the general education educa-tion aboard had siven $200,000,000 o educat'on since lfu2 Stockholders In a corporation. Dr. Eliot testified, were not responsible for labor conditions, he thought, unless un-less their attention was called forcibly to some particular wrong Dr. Eliot said he believed that legislation leg-islation providing for uniform minimum mini-mum wage schedules ond working hours was a bad thing "Conditions are different in all industries' he said. "What would be good for one body of workers would be bad for another' an-other' One reason why workers found it so hard to make their wages go as far as the should. Dr. Eliot declared, was because they bought and ate too much meat. Only One Restriction. In no case where the general edu cation board had made a donation, so far as the witness knew had the board investigated the methods of a university, college or school, or its curriculum There was onljj one condition attached to the board's endowments; en-dowments; that condition was that no part of the money should be spent j in teaching theology. The board made this condition. Dr. Eliot said, because It did not care to be placed in the light of assisting or supporting any sect or religion Dr. Eliot said he believed in organized or-ganized labor but did not believe in the closed shop Personally, he favored fa-vored placing labor representatives on boards of directors. Too Much Money a Misfortune. To be possessed of SlOO.OOO.uuu was a grave misfortune.' Dr. Eliot said. He added that If he possessed that sum he would try to get rid of it. He did not lellcve with Dr. John 11. Holmes, that the government could best turn the money back to the people. peo-ple. Governments were not always wise, he asserted, and foundations such' ns the Rockefeller foundation could host take care of the money by giving the people education and bettering their condition He did not think the great founda-j tions a menace On the contrary he believed that they were of benefit to all mankind Rockefeller Boards Admirable. The Rockefeller boards and foundations, founda-tions, he thought, constituted the most admirable system of benefiting humanity the world has ever known. Industrial peace can never come, he declared, so long as both labor and capital employ the "methods of light," they are using now. The panacea was "industrial democracy and publicity " |