General Harrison Gray Otis on Labor
w
Copyrlght, 1904. by Frank CI. Carpenter.)
IAHHINGTON.' Feb. 5. (Special
Correspondeno of The Bre.)-My
Interview toilay Is with an Inde
pendent employer who has boon,
successfully fighting organized
labor for more than a decode and who
has radical views an to labor and capital.
I refer to Major General Harrl-on Gray
OIIh, tho editor and chief owner of the
Imh Angeles Time, on of the gnat news
paper properties of the far wct. Uneral
Otis has edited the Times for more than a
quarter of a century. He has employed all
sorts of labor, and In IWO tils om e whs
filled with union men. They made certain
demand, which Otla refused to grant.
They struck, and Otis, whose education In
fighting began with four years In our dvll
war, fought back. He tilled hla office w.th
nonunion men. He waa boycotted, but he
continued to light and ha been fighting
ever aince, taking only one vacat'orv, dur
ing which he waa a brigadier general In the
rhlllpplnea and on the firing Una at th
time of our Spanish war.
My flrat que-stlon waa as to l:ibor condi
tions on the Pacific slope. General Otis re
filed:
"In southern California, where I live, wsj
have to a largo extent Industrial freedom.
We are comparatively free from strikes,
and as a result, perhaps, we are growing
more than any other part of tho state. We
are building railroads, pumping oil, ge ting
out minerals and becoming rich. It Is dif
ferent In San Francisco. Tho labor situa
tion there is bad and serious disturbances
have ben going on for a long time. The
effect lias been to paralyse industrial ac
tivity, cripple commerce and restrict man
ufactures. The lotwcs amounted Into the
millions, and tho greatest losses have been
felt by labor Itself because least able to
stand them. There have been etrlkes, boy
cotts and frequent acta of industrial vio
lence owing to the domination of the
unions, and men have been persecuted,
beaten, maimed and murdered for refusing
to do their bidding."
"What do you think of the growth of the
unions? Will they ever control the labor
of the country?"
"I think not. They constitute only a
small percentage of all tho tollers, and the
law-abiding majority will never surrender
to the too often lawless minority. It can
not do so In tho very nature of the case.
Industrial freedom la aa sacred as perronal
freedom, political freedom or religious free
dom. My position U that every cMlzen has
the lawful right to pursue undisturbed and
unhampered any lawful occupation In a
lawful way, and to be protected In that
right by the whole power of the govern
ment rf need be.
This la warranted by the eonstltntton and
the law, and nothing less than this will
serve. .As to the growth of the trade
unions, that would not be a menace to the
country If their tendenelrs were not ro un
reasonable and monopolistic aa many, of
them have been In recent yeara. I have
never opposed unions as such, but only
their tendency toward lawlessness..' Aa they
are today,' their domination would paralyse
Industry and be an Intolerable despotism.
The right not to Join unions Is aa rac.-fd
aa the right to Join them, and It Is not for
one class of citizens to say what another
Class shall or shall not do In this regard."
"Give me your Idea of the labor situation.
General Otis."
"It la abnormal, threatening bad!" was
tho reply.' "It Is a serious drawback to (he
progress of the country. The remedy lies
In the enforcement of the laws os they
stand. We don't need new legislation, but
we must enforce the existing laws. The
fundamental right of Independent labor
must be preserved and the liberty of all
workmen be protected. If it Is not all will
Buffer together, and the laboring classei
most. What labor needs Is to be protected
from Itself."
"What do you mean by that, General?"
I asked.
"I mean that organised labor has so far
drifted from the right lines that It Is now
the most bitter foe of Its natural brother.
Unorganised labor, which It la wickedly at
tempting to crush. Capital la not the nat
ural foe of labor, organised or unorganized,
but organised labor Is fighting not only the
employers, upon whom It must depend for
wages, but also all other classes of labor,
which It can never dominate. It Is the
greatest enemy that labor has, snd It 1
at the same time a menace to the coun
try." "Give me some of your own experiences In
labor matters. How does It feel to be boy
cotted?" "It Is not pleasant." replied General Otis,
"but one would feel worse aa a slave. I
will not deny that we were annoyed by tho
boycott, but I believe we made money by it,
and, above all, we retained our own self
respect as men and as Americans. The
lory of our trouble began thirteen years
go. when we were confronted by a sense
less strike In the Ios Angeles Times office.
The men In our composing rooms then
walked out without any adequate cauae or
provocation. They crippled the office tem
porarily, but we refuaed to yield and stood
fast against the boycott which was at once
Instituted. Our business was Injured some-
, f'
i
. v v .
. ; '.. . ':"
MAJOR GENERAL HARRISON GRAY OTia
what for the first few months, and I might
say for the flrat year. Nevertheless, the
earnings of the paper slowly but steadily
increased, end after the first year they in
creased rapidly. We refuaed to restore the
strikers. We defied the boycott and spurned
the boycotters. Tho people appreciated our
action and the prosperity of the piper has
been confessedly great. As It Is now we
pay the highest wages to our skilled and
faithful workmen, and we have disbursed
more than $1,500,000 In gold for labor since
tho day we defeated that senseless and
wicked strike."
"What, In a nutshell, are the rules which
should govern In the relations of employers
and employes?" I asked.
"In a nutshell," replied General Otis,
"they are faithfulness, fidelity and devo
tion to duty on the one hand; goodwill, fair
wages, reasonable, hours and good treat
ment on the other hand, and fair play on
both, without unwarranted interference by
outside persons or organizations not prop
erly concerned In the affairs of cither work
man or employer. ,
"I am a worker myself," continued Gen
eral Otla, "and I maintain the right of my
.fellows to work and to make Independent
contracts with their .employers. ' I should
like to see every worthy mnn and woman
In the land who wishes to work employed
at fair wages and at regular, Bteady work.
High wages for short and. Irregular periods
give less money In the course of a year
than continuous employment at a more
moderate yet fair rate of pay. I believe
that under right and free conditions In the
labor market It Is possible for every com
petent workman In the country to have
work for 300 days In the year and be paid
accordingly."
"What do you mean by right conditions?"
I asked.
"I mean those In which the relations be
tween the employer and his men are mu
tually satisfactory. Such relations should
prevail whether the labor la skilled or un
skilled, organised or unorganised. I mean
that the workman should have good wages,
that his family should be well nourished,
well clothed and well housed and at the
same time have enough for health, educa
tion and recreation. Such conditions are
for the welfare and contentment of the
people and a boon to the. state."
"How about the length of the working
day?" I asked.
"There should be no contention about
that," said General Otla. "If the hour Is
made the unit and basla of labor, the
problem would be practically solved. Then
the number of hours to constitute a work
ing day becomes a secondary consideration
and can be adjusted without trouble. Such
matters can be arranged by the parties
Immediately concerned on a flexible basis,
to suit the requirements of the business
and with advantage to all concerned.
"There is one thing that la very Im
portant," General Otis went on; "it is
mors Important In many respects than
wages or hours. This Is that the owner has
the right to control his establishment and
the right to regulate the force and the
output lis must be able to make a fair
profit on his product, whatever it is, be
sides earning the annual interest on the
cost of the plant, an Item never to be
left out of the account. Unless he is
given a free hand to accomplish these
things he cannot do a safe and Bound or
growing business. He cannot thrive him
self or enable his people to thrive for
Jong. He cannot furnish the greatest need
of labor,, which Is certainty and steadiness
of employment, fair wages and repose."
"Have you ever been a laboring man,
general?"
"Most emphatically bo," replied General
Otis. "I know what it Is to work and so
do all my business associates. I began
life. as a farmer's boy, learned to read In
a log school house and grew up among
people with whom Industry, frugality and
free labor were the rules of life. I am a
laboring man still. For the past twenty
years, during which I have been building
up the L.os Angeles Times, I have worked
more hours dully than most of the men
In my employ. I have never kept a record
of my hours nor charged for overtime,
though I have often put In from twelve
to sixteen hours per day week In and
week out. This, however, la merely a
personal piatter and of little Importance
In connection with the question."
"How wl'l the great Industrial combina
tions affect labor matters?" I asked.
"I see no reason why they should not be
for the good of labor, provided the combina
tions are kept within the plain limitations
of the law according to the wise policy of
President Roosevelt. Great combinations
can do great things. They can handle in
dustrial problems which would be beyond
single Individuals or small capitalists. Great
undertakings require great dynamic forces,
immense machinery and enormous capital.
They call for many workmen and create
opportunity for wages. The real test is
In the question as to whether the combina
tions are lawful or unlawful. Outside of
this they should not be restricted. They
should not be crushed merely because they
are big any more than small operators and
operations should be crushed because they
are small. All are alike entitled to the pro
tection of the law. Such combinations re
quire some restraint, but that restraint
should be the restraint of the law and not
of public clamor."
"What do you think of the compromise
and arbitration policy of the Civic Federa
tion, general? I mean the policy advocated
by Mark Hanna, Samuel Q am per a and
others?"
"I think there Is more or less politics In
It," replied General Otis. "It Is more theo
retical than practical. Mr. Hanna and his
people, ignoring the fact that the law is
ample to do Justice to all, are trying to
substitute a contrivance of their .own for
the settlement of labor controversies. The
same amount of effort put forth in enforc
ing the constitution and the laws would
have accomplished more good. Their basic,
though unexpressed purpose, seems to be to
cajole or force the employer to give way
merely in order to stop the row. No-such
plan of settlement can be permanent, for It
U not right. The aids to giva way in suoa
controversies Is the side, whichever It may
be, that has been proved to be In ths
wrong."
"How about the labor unions and the
United States government?"
"There should be no labor unions among
civil government employes," said General
Otis. "You might as well draft them upon
the army and navy. The government is
and should be supreme, and it cannot take
the risk of suffering labor unions to dic
tate to it in any partii'ular. The labor
unionist who entirs the government service
should at once drop his trade union alli
ances and acknowledge his allegiance to
Undo Sam only."
"You are connected with printing, gen
eral; how should tho government act ns to
organized labor In the government printing
office?"
"I have substantially answered that,"
waa the reply. "I don't think the govern
ment should recognize any trades union,
directly or Indirectly, in the government
printing office. President Roosevelt was
absolutely right In the Miller case when he
Insisted on its being an open shop. He
went to the core of the matter in that case
and nothing less thnn the rules he laid
down can prevail unless Uncle Sam Intends
to retire from the business of public print
ing, wnlch he evidently has no notion of
doing."
"How far should the government go In Its
protection of the nonunion mnn?"
"It should go the whole length needed to
protect him In his right to work for whom
and for what he pleases. The nonunion
man has every right possessed by the union
man. His rights ore. In fact, superior to
tho union man's rights so long as he keeps
himself within the limitations of the law;
for tho unoln man does not do that. He
breaks out and undertakes to monopolize
nil labor himself and at the same time
maltreats his nonunion brother. I can't see
how any sane man can support the theory
that the nonunion man or any man must
Join the ranks of organized labor In order
that he may have the protection guaran
teed by the constitution and the law."
"What do you think of the associations
of capital now forming to keep representa
tives to deal with organized labor I mean
the walking delegates of the cap'tallsts?"
"I don't think they should be necesary.
They will r.ot be when the conditions are
normal and where the law authorities are
watchful. I think the law should protect
the employer If he Is unjustly treated by
organized labor, as It should alo protect
the employe In a similar situation. The
employer has aa much right to such pro
tection of the humblest workman
Associations of employers having for their
object the protection of each other by law
ful means are entirely proper. They are
needed now more than ever before to deal
with and check the aggressions of o-gan
Ized labor. They require the sinews of war
to carry on their operations and must have
authorized representatives Just as other
associations."
"If the capitalists and the labor unions
combine, where will the consumers coma
In?"
"They will have to take to the woods,
said General Otis. "But such a combina
tion will never be made so as to effect any
large class of consumers. It could not last.
It would be Impossible."
"What Is to be the outcome of this con
flict?" "The country," replied General Otis "I
mean the people will win and win tre
mendously when It comes to a direct con
flict between the law and the labor leagues.
I believe that conflict cannot be long
averted. The American people will never
yield to the lawless domination of the few.
They will never surrender their char, law
ful, personal and Industrial rights to the
selfish demand of an aggressive minority.
They will fight first, and when they fight
they win." FRANK O. CARPENTER.
Pointed Paragraphs
Most of the fools In this world haven't
got the money to part with.
When a girl poses as a beauty she la
usually more ornamental than useful.
The average woman spends more time
than money when she goes shopping.
An epicure Is a person who doesn't enjoy,
tho kind of food that agrees with him.
Every time a man doesn't say anything
he lessens his chances of being called a
fool.
The more wheels a man has the better
off he Is if they are In his pockutbook In
stead of bis head.
When an American girl Is looking for a
title she should not marry beyond her
father's mears.
Those who have no use for the lowly
should remember that the lower Jaw does
nearly all the work.
A woman has certainly reached the limit
when she's so homely that automobile
goggles are becoming to ber.
The older a man gets the more he appre
ciates the fact that ha wasn't allowed t
have hi own way when a boy.
When a girl marries a man because he
declares he couldn't live without her Isn't
she entitled to a life-saving medalT CksV
cago News.