mean。Anumberofnewmachineswereinstalledinacertainshoefactory,andasaresulttherewasaheavyincreaseinproductioneventhoughtherewasnoincreaseinthelaborforce。Someoftheworkmenwereinstructedintheuseofthesemachinesbyspecialdemonstratorssentoutbythemakersofthemachines。Thesemen,byreasonoftheirspecialaptitudesandthefactthattheywerenotcalledupontooperatethemachinescontinuouslyninehourseveryday,weekinandweekout,butonlyforanhourorsoatspecialtimes,werenaturallyabletorunthemachinesattheirmaximumcapacity。Whenthesedemonstratorshadleftthefactory,andthecompany’sownemployeeshadbecomeusedtooperatingthemachinesatafairrateofspeed,theforemanoftheestablishmentgraduallyspeededthemachinesanddemandedalargerandstilllargeroutput,constantlyendeavoringtodrivethemenontogreaterexertions。Evenwithaslightlylessmaximumcapacity,theintroductionofthismachineryresultedinagreatincreaseoverformerproductionwiththesameamountoflabor;
andsogreatweretheprofitsfromthebusinessinthefollowingtwoyearsastoequalthetotalcapitalizedstockofthecompany。Butnotacentgotintothepayenvelopeoftheworkmenbeyondwhattheyhadformerlybeenreceivingbeforetheintroductionofthisnewmachinery,notwithstandingthatithadmeantanaddedstrain,physicalandmental,upontheirenergies,andthattheywereforcedtoworkharderthaneverbefore。Thewholeoftheincreasedprofitsremainedwiththecompany。Nowthisrepresentedan“increaseofefficiency。”withapositivedecreaseofsocialandindustrialjustice。Theincreaseofprosperitywhichcamefromincreaseofproductioninnowaybenefitedthewage-workers。Iholdthattheyweretreatedwithgrossinjustice;
andthatsociety,actingifnecessarythroughtheGovernment,insuchacaseshouldbenditsenergiestoremedysuchinjustice;andIwillsupportanyproperlegislationthatwillaidinsecuringthedesiredend。
Thewage-workershouldnotonlyreceivefairtreatment;heshouldgivefairtreatment。Inorderthatprosperitymaybepassedarounditisnecessarythattheprosperityexist。Inorderthatlaborshallreceiveitsfairshareinthedivisionofrewarditisnecessarythattherebearewardtodivide。Anyproposaltoreduceefficiencybyinsistingthatthemostefficientshallbelimitedintheiroutputtowhattheleastefficientcando,isaproposaltolimitbysomuchproduction,andthereforetoimpoverishbysomuchthepublic,andspecificallytoreducetheamountthatcanbedividedamongtheproducers。Thisisallwrong。Ourprotestmustbeagainstunfairdivisionoftherewardforproduction。Everyencouragementshouldbegiventhebusinessman,theemployer,tomakehisbusinessprosperous,andthereforetoearnmoremoneyforhimself;andinlikefashioneveryencouragementshouldbegiventheefficientworkman。Wemustalwayskeepinmindthattoreducetheamountofproductionservesmerelytoreducetheamountthatistobedivided,isinnowaypermanentlyefficientasaprotestagainstunequaldistributionandispermanentlydetrimentaltotheentirecommunity。Butincreasedproductivenessisnotsecuredbyexcessivelaboramidunhealthysurroundings。Thecontraryistrue。
Shorterhours,andhealthfulconditions,andopportunityforthewage-
workertomakemoremoney,andthechanceforenjoymentaswellaswork,alladdtoefficiency。Mycontentionisthatthereshouldbenopenalizationofefficientproductiveness,broughtaboutunderhealthyconditions;butthateveryincreaseofproductionbroughtaboutbyanincreaseinefficiencyshouldbenefitallthepartiestoit,includingwage-workersaswellasemployersorcapitalists,menwhoworkwiththeirhandsaswellasmenwhoworkwiththeirheads。
WiththeWesternFederationofMinersImorethanoncehadserioustrouble。Theleadersofthisorganizationhadpreachedanarchy,andcertainofthemwereindictedforhavingpracticedmurderinthecaseofGovernorSteunenberg,ofIdaho。OnoneoccasioninaletterorspeechIcoupledcondemnationoftheselaborleadersandcondemnationofcertainbigcapitalists,describingthemallalikeas“undesirablecitizens。”Thisgavegreatoffensetobothsides。TheopenattackuponmewasmadeforthemostparteitherbytheNewYorknewspaperswhichwerefranklyrepresentativesofWallStreet,orelsebythoseso-
called——andmiscalled——Socialistswhohadanarchisticleanings。Manyofthelattersentmeopenlettersofdenunciation,andtooneofthemIrespondedasfollows:
Ihavereceivedyourletterofthe19thinstant,inwhichyouenclosethedraftoftheformalletterwhichistofollow。Ihavebeennotifiedthatseveraldelegations,bearingsimilarrequests,areonthewayhither。Intheletteryou,onbehalfoftheCookCounty,Moyer-Haywoodconference,protestagainstcertainlanguageIusedinarecentletterwhichyouasserttobedesignedtoinfluencethecourseofjusticeinthecaseofthetrialformurderofMessrs。MoyerandHaywood。Ientirelyagreewithyouthatitisimpropertoendeavortoinfluencethecourseofjustice,whetherbythreatsorinanysimilarmanner。ForthisreasonIhaveregrettedmostdeeplytheactionsofsuchorganizationsasyourowninundertakingtoaccomplishthisveryresultintheverycaseofwhichyouspeak。Forinstance,yourletterisheaded“CookCountyMoyer-Haywood-PettiboneConference。”
withtheheadlines:“/Death/——cannot——willnot——andshallnotclaimourbrothers!”Thisshowsthatyouandyourassociatesarenotdemandingafairtrial,orworkingforafairtrial,butareannouncinginadvancethattheverdictshallonlybeonewayandthatyouwillnottolerateanyotherverdict。Suchactionisflagrantinitsimpropriety,andIjoinheartilyincondemningit。
Butitisasimpleabsurditytosupposethatbecauseanymanisontrialforagivenoffenseheisthereforetobefreedfromallcriticismuponhisgeneralconductandmanneroflife。InmylettertowhichyouobjectIreferredtoacertainprominentfinancier,Mr。Harriman,ontheonehand,andtoMessrs。Moyer,HaywoodandDebsontheother,asbeingequallyundesirablecitizens。ItisasfoolishtoassertthatthiswasdesignedtoinfluencethetrialofMoyerandHaywoodastoassertthatitwasdesignedtoinfluencethesuitsthathavebeenbroughtagainstMr。
Harriman。IneitherexpressednorindicatedanyopinionastowhetherMessrs。MoyerandHaywoodwereguiltyofthemurderofGovernorSteunenberg。Iftheyareguilty,theycertainlyoughttobepunished。Iftheyarenotguilty,theycertainlyoughtnottobepunished。ButnopossibleoutcomeeitherofthetrialorthesuitscanaffectmyjudgmentastotheundesirabilityofthetypeofcitizenshipofthosewhomImentioned。Messrs。Moyer,Haywood,andDebsstandasrepresentativesofthosemenwhohavedoneasmuchtodiscreditthelabormovementastheworstspeculativefinanciersormostunscrupulousemployersoflaboranddebauchersoflegislatureshavedonetodiscredithonestcapitalistsandfair-dealingbusinessmen。Theystandastherepresentativesofthosemenwhobytheirpublicutterancesandmanifestoes,bytheutterancesofthepaperstheycontrolorinspire,andbythewordsanddeedsofthoseassociatedwithorsubordinatedtothem,habituallyappearasguiltyofincitementtoorapologyforbloodshedandviolence。Ifthisdoesnotconstituteundesirablecitizenship,thentherecanneverbeanyundesirablecitizens。ThemenwhomIdenouncerepresentthemenwhohaveabandonedthatlegitimatemovementfortheupliftingoflabor,withwhichIhavethemostheartysympathy;theyhaveadoptedpracticeswhichcutthemofffromthosewholeadthislegitimatemovement。IneverywayIshallsupportthelaw-abidinganduprightrepresentativesoflabor,andinnowaycanIbettersupportthemthanbydrawingthesharpestpossiblelinebetweenthemontheonehand,and,ontheotherhand,thosepreachersofviolencewhoarethemselvestheworstfoesofthehonestlaboringman。
Letmerepeatmydeepregretthatanybodyofmenshouldsofarforgettheirdutytothecountryastoendeavorbytheformationofsocietiesandinotherwaystoinfluencethecourseofjusticeinthismatter。Ihavereceivedmanysuchlettersasyours。
Accompanyingthemwerenewspaperclippingsannouncingdemonstrations,parades,andmass-meetingsdesignedtoshowthattherepresentativesoflabor,withoutregardtothefacts,demandtheacquittalofMessrs。HaywoodandMoyer。Suchmeetingscan,ofcourse,bedesignedonlytocoercecourtorjuryinrenderingaverdict,andtheythereforedeserveallthecondemnationwhichyouinyourletterssayshouldbeawardedtothosewhoendeavorimproperlytoinfluencethecourseofjustice。
Youwould,ofcourse,beentirelywithinyourrightsifyoumerelyannouncedthatyouthoughtMessrs。MoyerandHaywoodwere“desirablecitizens“——thoughinsuchcaseIshouldtakefrankissuewithyouandshouldsaythat,whollywithoutregardtowhetherornottheyareguiltyofthecrimeforwhichtheyarenowbeingtried,theyrepresentasthoroughlyundesirableatypeofcitizenshipascanbefoundinthiscountry;atypewhich,inthelettertowhichyousounreasonablytakeexception,Ishowednottobeconfinedtoanyoneclass,buttoexistamongsomerepresentativesofgreatcapitalistsaswellasamongsomerepresentativesofwage-workers。InthatletterIcondemnedbothtypes。CertainrepresentativesofthegreatcapitalistsinturncondemnedmeforincludingMr。HarrimaninmycondemnationofMessrs。MoyerandHaywood。CertainoftherepresentativesoflaborintheirturncondemnedmebecauseIincludedMessrs。MoyerandHaywoodasundesirablecitizenstogetherwithMr。Harrison。Iamasprofoundlyindifferenttothecondemnationinonecaseasintheother。IchallengeasarightthesupportofallgoodAmericans,whetherwage-workersorcapitalists,whatevertheiroccupationorcreed,orinwhateverportionofthecountrytheylive,whenIcondemnboththetypesofbadcitizenshipwhichI
havehelduptoreprobation。Itseemstobeamarkofutterinsinceritytofailthustocondemnboth;andtoapologizeforeitherrobsthemanthusapologizingofallrighttocondemnanywrongdoinginanyman,richorpoor,inpublicorinprivatelife。
Yousayyouaskfora“squaredeal“forMessrs。MoyerandHaywood。
SodoI。WhenIsay“Squaredeal。”Imeanasquaredealtoeveryone;itisequallyaviolationofthepolicyofthesquaredealforacapitalisttoprotestagainstdenunciationofacapitalistwhoisguiltyofwrongdoingandforalaborleadertoprotestagainstthedenunciationofalaborleaderwhohasbeenguiltyofwrongdoing。Istandforequaljusticetoboth;andsofarasinmypowerliesIshallupholdjustice,whetherthemanaccusedofguilthasbehindhimthewealthiestcorporation,thegreatestaggregationsofrichesinthecountry,orwhetherhehasbehindhimthemostinfluentiallabororganizationinthecountry。
Itreatedanarchistsandthebomb-throwinganddynamitinggentrypreciselyasItreatedothercriminals。Murderismurder。Itisnotrenderedonewhitbetterbytheallegationthatitiscommittedonbehalfof“acause。”Itistruethatlawandorderarenotallsufficient;buttheyareessential;lawlessnessandmurderousviolencemustbequelledbeforeanypermanenceofreformcanbeobtained。Yetwhentheyhavebeenquelled,thebeneficiariesoftheenforcementoflawmustintheirturnbetaughtthatlawisupheldasameanstotheenforcementofjustice,andthatwewillnottolerateitsbeingturnedintoanengineofinjusticeandoppression。Thefundamentalneedindealingwithourpeople,whetherlaboringmenorothers,isnotcharitybutjustice;wemustallworkincommonforthecommonendofhelpingeachandall,inaspiritofthesanest,broadestanddeepestbrotherhood。
Itwasnotalwayseasytoavoidfeelingverydeepangerwiththeselfishnessandshort-sightednessshownbothbytherepresentativesofcertainemployers’organizationsandbycertaingreatlaborfederationsorunions。Onesuchemployers’associationwascalledtheNationalAssociationofManufacturers。Extremethoughtheattackssometimesmadeuponmebytheextremelabororganizationswere,theywerenotquiteasextremeastheattacksmadeuponmebytheheadoftheNationalAssociationofManufacturers,andasregardstheirattitudetowardlegislationIcametotheconclusiontowardtheendofmytermthatthelatterhadactuallygonefurtherthewrongwaythandidtheformer——andtheformerwentagooddistancealso。TheoppositionoftheNationalAssociationofManufacturerstoeveryrationalandmoderatemeasureforbenefitingworkingmen,suchasmeasuresabolishingchildlabor,orsecuringworkmen’scompensation,causedmerealandgraveconcern;forIfeltthatitwasominousofevilforthewholecountrytohavemenwhooughttostandhighinwisdomandinguidingforcetakeacourseanduselanguageofsuchreactionarytypeasdirectlytoinciterevolution——forthisiswhattheextremereactionaryalwaysdoes。
OftenIwasattackedbythetwosidesatonce。Inthespringof1906I
receivedinthesamemailaletterfromaverygoodfriendofminewhothoughtthatIhadbeenundulyhardonsomelabormen,andaletterfromanotherfriend,theheadofagreatcorporation,whocomplainedaboutmeforbothfavoringlaborandspeakingagainstlargefortunes。
Myanswersranasfollows: