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 INDUSTRIAL 
 JUSTICE 
 
 Absolutely Essential 
 to Perpetuity of 
 Popular Government 
 
 BY 
 
 E. H. COLLER 
 
 COPYRIGHTED 1914 
 
 Every citizen owes it to himself 
 as zvell as to his fellow citizen 
 to read every word contained 
 in this little booklet. 
 
 PRICE WITHIN THE REACH OF ALL 
 SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS 
 
 
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Modern Industrialism 
 
 The harnessed forces of nature as repre¬ 
 sented by such concentrated power for produc¬ 
 tion as our varied modern manufacturing and 
 corporate, concerns; together with our mono¬ 
 polized water powers and possible future forces 
 so concentrated; are forces that are feeding a 
 stream which has grown to such proportions as 
 to monopolize and centralize all the main arter¬ 
 ies and their tributaries of modern industry; 
 With result that this stream is ever widening and 
 its powers for concentration ever growing, be¬ 
 coming a stream the force of which is making a 
 current against which the masses are finding it 
 ever more and more difficult to advance, and 
 
 v 
 
 against which they are obliged to wage an ever 
 n^ore relentless battle for subsistance, or be swept 
 away, and finally with a loss of individuality, 
 economic stability and independence become 
 driftwood upon the shores of this great river, 
 Modern Industrialism. 
 
 And today we find this great river hemmed 
 in upon all its borders with the direlects of human 
 society—paupers, criminals and insane, together 
 with charitable and penal institutions, philan¬ 
 thropic organization and its twin sister, the poor 
 house. 
 
C(o%2^ ■ 
 
 INDUSTRIAL JUSTICE 
 
 —INTRODUCTORY— 
 
 Industrial Justice is an absolute essential to race betterment, and to per¬ 
 petuity of popular government: It is a matter of history, tha't, during rule of 
 King George III, when Thomas Paine left England and came to this country he 
 found the colonists clamoring for Justice, whining about their grievances and 
 upon bended knees imploring, George III'., by the grace of God, for a restitution 
 of their ancient privileges; they were not dreaming of independence, or endeavor¬ 
 ing to become free men, but were trying to soften the heart of their master. 
 
 It has been said that Thomas Paine did more, than any other man, to cause 
 the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 As this government was founded by a Declaration of political and national 
 Independence against the oppression of Monarchial tyranny; so must it be per¬ 
 petuated by a Declaration of Industrial Independence against the oppression of a 
 system of Industrial tyranny: Such Declaration to be brought about through Fed¬ 
 eral legislation. 
 
 The one act on part of the Ford Automobile Manufacturer in sharing ten 
 millions of net profits with employees, is the greatest fundamental essential step— 
 and it is only a step in sharing of net profits—that has ever been taken toward 
 Race Betterment in this country; I hope to prove that Industrial Regeneration 
 must supersede any essential betterment of our evil social and Industrial condi¬ 
 tions. 
 
 During a somewhat extended consideration of Industrial conditions, I have 
 found that to voice the proposition of Social and Industrial lustice in attempt to 
 enlist the interest of so called modern reformers, has been for most part “A waste 
 of breath on the desert air;” I regret that my conductions lead me to believe that 
 most reformers, today, are simply muck-racking over the dumpheaps of effects, 
 of Evil Causes or conditions of the past. That in their efforts to grasp the new 
 order oi things, they fail to loose their hold upon the old order, “The survival of 
 the fittest; That prosperity depends upon and results from individual acquirement 
 of efficiency and the individual emolument.” 
 
 Here can be applied a true economic law; That as the individual becomes pro¬ 
 ficient in the sciences, he becomes of greater economic value to society; But, if 
 that same society fails to advance, economically, in proportional ratio, it fails to 
 be in position to take advantage of the new condition or order of things. As a re¬ 
 sult neither the individual nor society receive the benefits that should accrue from 
 advancement in science and industry. 
 
 It is a travesty on civilization and perversion of lustice, in a world so full of 
 resources and so resourceful a people, that the individual should become so much 
 the victim of evil circumstances over which he has no control; Little children are 
 being born and men are growing old, and the ‘hell’ of it all is, that so many are 
 born and so many grow old and die in conditions of squalor, degradation and 
 despair because of the gratification, of the individual ambition and desire, through 
 greed and avarice. 
 
 . Man was destined to dominate the earth and not his fellow man; Humanity 
 was destined to inherit the earth, not to be dominated by it. 
 
 Only he, whose love of country is exceeded by his love for his fellow man, 
 and who is willing to concede, to every unborn, living or dead, American, as 
 much as he might desire for himself, is a truly great, good and patriotic American 
 citizen, and the discussions, of Euthenics, Eugenics and kindred subjects worthy 
 of consideration, are such as made by purely patriotic citizens. 
 
Charity and sympathy will never solve or dissolve the Industrial and social 
 evils. The farther you go up or down the scale of civilization, the more prevalent 
 become the evil social conditions, and the one feasible remedy consists in lengthy 
 ening and strengthening of the line of social equality. To do this necessitates the 
 broadening and strengthening of the one and only firm foundation, upon which 
 humanity can find solid footing—Material Equity (Industrial Equity.) 
 
 History has never recorded a time when there was so concerted an action on 
 part of the people as at present, to reveal the cause and provide a remedy for 
 conditions, which result in so much of social evil, political discord and industrial 
 unrest. Yet, as result of the growing demand, for an- administration of social 
 and industrial justice, we are today investigating and inspecting everything “under 
 the sun” and then investigating the investigators in seeming search of a plausible 
 reason for present industrial policies, and a reasonable excuse for their future 
 existence. 
 
 There is a growing consciousness that there is something fundamentally 
 wrong in conduct of social, political and industrial relations; Because of ignor¬ 
 ance as to what this something is, society today is in a chaotic condition of mis¬ 
 trust, distrust and discontent that is breeding disaffection, desperation and an¬ 
 archy, stultifying initiative and incentive and aborting the best possible advance¬ 
 ment in industry and society. Everyone is charging every other one as being the 
 guilty party: The public mistrusts the retailer, the retailer the middleman, the 
 middleman the wholesaler, and finally thew all accuse the “cook” as being re¬ 
 sponsible for the so called condition—“High cost of living,” therefore as might 
 be supposed, responsible for all other industrial disturbances. 
 
 In the following brief consideration, it is purposed to definitely fix responsi¬ 
 bility for causes of industrial unrest, to disabuse the mind of any reasonable doubt 
 as to the evil effects and to suggest what my findings lead me to believe to be the 
 most feasible, if not the only logical remedy. 
 
 For benefit of those who -may hasten to designate this as a socialist article, 
 
 1 will say that it contains no statement of fundamental principle or policy for 
 which socialism stands. My whole argument is based upon the proposition of 
 sharing the NET profits of co-operatively produced wealth, that, through federal 
 legislation, such action shall result in such a NATIONAL MUTUALITY in 
 conduct of affairs in the Industrial Life of the Nation, as will “oust” the isms 
 whether it be the capitalism, socialism or any of our multitude of isms,—-from 
 the realm of industry, FOREVER. 
 
 The author, while being optimistic as to the future, presents the following 
 pages with a feeling that although the man, who could devise a scheme to equalize 
 social and industrial conditions, should be worthy of all good things, he had best 
 prepare to wear a thorned crown and to eat figs of thistles. However, I am not a 
 pessimist; I simply base my hopes and fears, for the future of this country, upon 
 the history of the rise and downfall of nations. 
 
 Combination and Corporation Encouraged 
 
 After considerable study and consideration of conditions I am convinced that 
 the causes responsible for world-wide industrial and social unrest are universal in 
 application and results. The evil conditions are the result of a system in which 
 the majority have been passively and ignorantly participating. Under this system 
 the individual is hopefully anticipating that some day, either through some force 
 of circumstances or his own luck, he may become one of the dominant factors, of 4 
 the system. 
 
 The great problem of life is not how to fight to gain supremacy, but how to 
 transform society so that all may have opportunity to be good, do good, and to 
 be cheerful. The time has come, in social and' economic history of the people, 
 when the self satisfied individual who ensconces himself behind the closed doors 
 
to opportunity and plenty, and who cries out ‘from behind those closed doors— 
 charity, philanthropy, Brotherhood! can no longer be considered a loyal citizen. 
 
 We are a resourceful people, surrounded by myriads of inexhaustible re¬ 
 sources, but unless products of the individual effort expended in their develop¬ 
 ment are conserved to the welfare of that individual, we at once confront the one 
 serious cause of industrial unrest,— Exploitation. To become a victim of exploita¬ 
 tion one must be deprived of something which rightfully belongs to him and the 
 reasonable remedy is to stop exploitation and the resultant accumulation of ex¬ 
 treme wealth. It should be no secret that the foundation rocks upon which are 
 broken the ties which should bind an industrial and social brotherhood, are 
 Equity, Justice and Co-operation. 
 
 Promotors of industry, in quest of personal gain, are operating under the scope 
 of corporate organization made possible through suffrance of the people; there¬ 
 fore their operations should be so governmentally controlled, that provision for 
 greatest good to greatest number shall be the rule and not the exception. 
 
 diversified industrial operations at one time fairly distributed have, as a re¬ 
 sult of concentration and monopoly, become grouped into large industrial cen¬ 
 ters, as result of economic pressure thus brought to bear, our once generally pros¬ 
 perous and resourceful population has been forced to forsake the rural and to seek 
 the urban in search of employment; thus it is our large cities are being built at 
 expense of the country in loss of population, prosperity and social solidarity. 
 
 My understanding is that the duties, devolving upon the Bureaus of Corpora¬ 
 tions Investigation, are to investigate the industrial operations from the stand¬ 
 point of monopoly and competition, and after due deliberation to make recom¬ 
 mendation to congress as to best policy to pursue,— exploitation by monopoly, 
 annihilation by competition, or both. 
 
 This nation is industrially diseased; Industrial disease begets social ills. 
 Monopoly is a disease; industry represents the lungs and human endeavor the life 
 blood of a nation, and monopoly is to industry what consumption is to humanity. 
 
 Monopoly eliminates competition; competition is limited to the scramble of 
 many after the few dollars which escape the concentrating grasp of monopoly, while 
 under so-called free competition, the success of one results in undoing of others. 
 In either instance it is impossible to realize a general condition of prosperity. 
 Monopoly exploits, competition annihilates. Any attempt to remedy present evils, 
 by eliminating monopoly and restoring competition, is useless unless provision is 
 made for equal sharing of NET profits with all who have been cooperatively re¬ 
 sponsible for their production. 
 
 No war should be made against corporations unless in conduct of affairs they 
 either become a barrier to general welfare or wilfully ignore the rights, interests 
 and will of the people. We should be seriously concerned as to stability of our 
 corporate system of industry, why, because labor is the most vital factor, and the 
 vitality of an organization depends upon the integrity of its parts; therefore: We 
 should favor and encourage corporations, more combination, co-operation, and 
 production and last, but best a square deal law providing that net profits be equit¬ 
 ably divided, showing that we favor more and larger distribution, such as will 
 make exploitation by corporation impossible. Truly there is need for either an 
 exposition of a new, or a new interpretation of an old, Economics. 
 
 Efficiency of Labor and Corporations 
 
 Too much effort is being made these days to increase efficiency of manu¬ 
 factories and all corporations without a corresponding reward for increased ef¬ 
 ficiency of labor. Efficiency is being determined by ability of one to overcome 
 economic or labor efficiency of another, therefore present system negatives idea 
 of individual liberty (The right of one to make the best for himself and society 
 without denying the same liberty to others). 
 
 Reward for efficiency'cannot be reconciled to present industrial policy. 
 
Under present wage system, efficiency cannot determine value of service, for 
 minimum wage labor in given industry in one, may equal efficiency of skilled wage 
 labor in another state. Minimum wage determination is being based not upon 
 efficiency but rather upon sex and physical development. 
 
 Equitable industrial relations can be maintained only in proportional ratio of 
 the purchasing power of consumers to cost price; Cost price becomes magnified as 
 purchasing power becomes limited; so conditions of so-called “high cost of liv¬ 
 ing” can best be considered simply the low wage buying power of the “live’r”. 
 Perhaps it is only a seeming coincidence, but “Dollar Down and a Dollar a Week,” 
 and “On Easy Terms” have become stock phrases of modern commercial adver¬ 
 tising. ^ 
 
 Corporations by demanding and commanding the best twenty years of the 
 toilers’ lifetime, and by monopoly of the toilers’ products have in the lifetime of 
 many of us builded a few corporations valued at a number of billions of dollars. 
 
 As result of these operations the purchasing power of the toilers has been limited, * 
 resulting in a limited income to the varied professions and trades. Thus we find 
 that corporations are commanding not only the industrial destiny of the toilers, 
 hut the social and economic destiny of the whole people. 
 
 Following such consideration of the actual conditions existing in industry, no 
 fair minded individual should fail to recognize the fact that it is nothing more or 
 less than a colossal farce to attempt to remedy present industrial and social ills by 
 promoting co-operative stores, social centers, vocational schools, etc., or by phil¬ 
 anthropic administration of charity, either through municipal markets or charit¬ 
 able organization of any sort. Once establish a reign of industrial justice and 
 there will be little need for charity. 
 
 There exists today two most incompatible conditions in connection with op¬ 
 erations of industry and commerce. When prices are high and business prosperity 
 seems to abound, there follows popular demand for decrease in cost to consumers 
 with seeming purpose of increasing general prosperity. . On other hand, when 
 prices become low a* general business depression is experienced, followed by de¬ 
 mand on part of all corporate interests, sometimes as we know accompanied by 
 demands of employees, for increase in rates to consumers, to increase commercial 
 and industrial prosperity, upon which seems to depend the general prosperity of 
 the people. Both propositions work on the theory of ones raising himself by his 
 bootstraps. 
 
 Labor occupies a unique position in relation to industry, for application of 
 any remedy which might lower cost to consumers or increase income to toilers in¬ 
 terferes with present industrial operations, and “the business of the country must 
 not be disturbed.” 
 
 Possibly it is a fair contention, that one bad feature in connection with Union 
 Labor organization, is a demand for a standard wage; Employers contend that it 
 discriminates, against both the most skilled workman and the employer in favor 
 of the less skilled workman: Resulting in differences, between the employers, em¬ 
 ployees and the union, which I contend can only be righted and made equitable 
 by employees being paid according to their pecuniary value, followed by a sharing 
 of net profits with all who have been physically and mentally responsible for their 
 production. 
 
 My sympathies are entirely with the men who because of economic pressure 
 feel forced to strike to better their conditions, but I am not at all in sympathy ,t' 
 with the strike as a medium through which to improve condition. These men * 
 proceed to force better conditions by demanding a better wage, shorter hours, and 
 better working conditions. Insofar as hours and working conditions are concern¬ 
 ed, they may be able to appreciate permanent results if they are able to lose sight 
 of corresponding increase in efficiency, due to introduction of the various speed 
 up systems, and that hours and conditions do not go a long way toward providing 
 necessities. 
 
But insofar as wages are concerned, they lose an entire sight of fact, that 
 wage is one factor in cost of production and that possibly they might realize last¬ 
 ing benefits from increase in wage, if they could but lose sight of fact that their 
 outgo continues to grow faster than their income. 
 
 There are only two possible remedies for'these inequitable conditions; which 
 of the two propositions shall we choose: A sharing of net profits to increase the 
 buying power of the mass of people or the only alternative, charity. 
 
 Let us get one idea definitely fixed; that if monopoly of net profits makes the 
 trust then the only remedy for the Trust and its accompanying evils will be a 
 co-operative sharing of net profits. 
 
 i Any attempt to improve conditions of employees by increasing the wage can 
 result only in failure, because wage is one factor in cost of production, therefore 
 any increase in wage will eventually increase the cost of the finished product to the 
 consumer. 
 
 9 Nothing outside profits of labor (t ever filled a pay envelope A Under present 
 system there can be no such thing as fair wage, for wages are paid out of earnings 
 of labor, and the balance goes to accumulation of extreme wealth; a fair wage 
 therefore, means unreasonable exploitation unless labor is permitted to share in 
 that which has been co-operativejjproduced—the NET profits. 
 
 To increase efficiency of corporations to the people, there must be increased 
 purchasing power of the masses, which would increase demand for products of 
 industry, output of corporations, numbers engaged in both the corporations and in 
 trade and commerce, thus adding to general health, zvealth and prosperity of the 
 whole people. As result of corporation and trust, there has been a monopoly of 
 the loaves and fishes, and for at least one generation the varied organizations 
 working for social uplift and welfare of humanity have been attempting to reach 
 men’s hearts through empty stomachs, and it’s a cinch that it can’t be done. Give 
 the stomachs an equal opportunity, and you will equalize the action of the hearts. 
 
 Present policies of government to regulate and control are destructive and 
 negative to conditions leading to economic independence of the people. And it 
 seems a logical suggestion that we should have co-operative distribution following 
 co-operative production. In short, manufacturing concerns and other corpora¬ 
 tions in first place exploit people by despoiling country of its resources; then they 
 despoil the millions whose labors develop the resources of that which under the 
 ■ normal individual production would be dividend to the individual. Thus corpora¬ 
 tions have all these years through co-operative effort and corporate distribution 
 ; been absorbing NET profits which under normal conditions would have been ex¬ 
 pended by laboring millions for necessities and luxuries; thereby providing com- 
 \ forts and happiness to themselves and good market for commercial and profes- 
 l sional trades. 
 
 Too many are being mislead by belief, that if the unpleasant, mean duties of 
 society are to be performed, a mass of people must be kept in unpleasant, mean 
 conditions: On the surface such belief seems to be warranted, but let us look be¬ 
 neath the surface of present day procedure. 
 
 It is folly to believe that laws can be enacted and enforced such as would 
 equalize the mental, physical and spiritual ambitions, and desires of a mass of 
 citizens; On the other hand it is reasonable to believe that laws, to provide great¬ 
 est good to greatest number,” and that no individual material prosperity should 
 L be realized as result of material lose of another, would equalize the social, ma¬ 
 terial and economic conditions of the people, without equalizing the mental, ca¬ 
 pacities and physical capabilities or ambitions of the individuals. Therefore the 
 same conditions would still exist, wherein there would be many diverse pursuits, 
 for a many and different minded, spirited and ambitioned people. 
 
 So called unearned increment, resulting from increase in valuation of indi¬ 
 vidual holdings, exploits no one, but rather, it comes about as result of a gen¬ 
 eral increase in the wealth and prosperity of the community; and cannot be com- 
 
pared to operation of monopoly through corporation in attempt to justify accumu¬ 
 lation of extreme wealth through exploitation. 
 
 Today we attempt to remedy our currency system with seeming purpose of 
 making industrial relations more equitable, when truth is that the defects in our 
 corporate system of industry are accessories before the fact to any inequitable 
 monetary relations. For instance: the combined indebtedness of the govern¬ 
 ments of the earth is estimated at forty-two billions of dollars, and interest an¬ 
 nually of $1,750,000,000.00, including only national debts. This is more than all 
 the money of all the earth of every kind. More than two-thirds of this indebted¬ 
 ness was made during the past half century through our systems of banking and 
 bonding, which have been building out of the accumulated NET profits of pro¬ 
 ductive labor. Together with this condition, we today boast of having in the 
 United States, alone, two hundred corporations, which have in thirty years ac¬ 
 cumulated twenty-two billion, five hundred millions in wealth—more than half 
 the combined debt of the seventy-three governments of the earth, and with gross 
 income three times greater than that of the national government. 
 
 Peaceful adjustment of our industrial relations must supercede any possible 
 peaceful adjustment of either our internal labor troubles or international relations, 
 and I repeat; that time has come when he who ensconces himself behind the closed 
 doors to opportunity and plenty can no longer be considered a loyal citizen. 
 
 As result of a fair consideration of the social and industrial conditions, one 
 must conclude that attainment of social welfare and prosperity is baffled by a 
 vain attempt to reconcile the many incompatible propositions, such as co-opera¬ 
 tion and monopoly; equity and greed; honesty and avarice; high prices for busi- 
 * ness prosperity, and low cost for consumers’ prosperity. 
 
 Social Progress 
 
 It seems assured that industrial reform will never be accomplished by those 
 willing to carry reform only so far as not to interfere with present industrial 
 policy of distribution: Industrial conditions should be such that the nerve wreck¬ 
 ed direlects, of the two extremes of our social and industrial system, might freely 
 and without sacrifice of ample remuneration, change their occupation. Thus the 
 nerve wrecked, brain fagged promoter, professional, business man or laborer 
 might enter the ranks of the toilers and by productive labor add to general wel¬ 
 fare without pecuniary sacrifice; and the output of nerve wrecked and broken 
 constitutions recuperated and finally eliminated by simply co-operatively sharing 
 the products of mental and manual labor. As result many of the necessary help¬ 
 ful things being left undone today would be doing, while many of unnecessary, 
 harmful things being done, would be left undone. 
 
 As much as I admire the good intents of sanitariums and sanitoriums, private 
 and public asylums, penal and charitable institutions, etc., I much more abhor 
 poverty, slums, disease and crime. The individual suffers most as result of lack 
 of elements making to material welfare, which condition deprives him the power 
 of resistance to physical disabilities, or to properly alleviate mental and physical 
 sufferings attendant to such disability. To have our children become men and wo¬ 
 men and stand square on their heels, conditions must be provided whereby pro¬ 
 visions can be made for their material welfare, otherwise they become shuffling 
 slaves. 
 
 Combinations have been bred by the avarice of man resulting in corporation, 
 trust and monopoly, followed by conditions of deprivation, want and of nagging 
 anxiety of the mass of people as to the future. Out of which condition has grown 
 the necessity for charitable and philanthropic organizations, and the existence of 
 our numerous protective, together with a multitude of insurance organizations in¬ 
 to whose hands have become concentrated a vast portion of the wealth of the 
 country, all in the name of civilization and national prosperity. The material wel- 
 
fare of the manual toilers should no longer be limited to the crumbs which fall 
 from the table of prosperity. 
 
 It is evident that present inequitable conditions if long continued will result 
 in necessity for radical change, being forced upon the people. So we should be 
 seriously concerned in having the change come about as result of intelligent public 
 sentiment popularly expressed, rather than from violence and revolt against real 
 or fancied conditions of oppression. Nothing can be gained by opposing or fight¬ 
 ing against progress; We must assimilate or appropriate it and work with it. 
 
 The Tariff Benefactions 
 
 In the latter months of 1913 we are handed from supposedly good authority, 
 these statements: “The Democratic Tariff program is forcing the corporate inter¬ 
 ests of this country to remove their plants to Canada.” “American manufact¬ 
 ories have completely filled the American market, and their production is greatly 
 in excess of domestic demand, and owing to lack of reciprocal trade agreements 
 these industries cannot remain at home and prosper.” Nothing is said as to 
 domestic needs being satisfied, that American manufacturers are selling cheaper 
 to foreign than to home consumers; no statement is made of the fact that while 
 paying a better wage they can, as result of tariff and exploitation, successfully com¬ 
 pete with products of cheap foreign labor in the markets of the world. But 
 it reads between the lines. 
 
 We know that- tariff protection adds to income of corporations; if labor 
 shared in the net profits we know the tariff would be a protection to and add to 
 welfare and prosperity of both American institutions and all American labor; but 
 under present industrial policy, boil down the tariff and the residue is a benefit to 
 -corporate interests. 
 
 One of the most general complaints today is that the “professions and trades 
 are overcrowded;” by which is meant that the demand for services are more than 
 filled, while fact is, that only a fraction of the needs for services have been sup¬ 
 plied. There’s the same old reason: “Limited buying power.” 
 
 Public and Private Ownership 
 
 It appeals to me that it would be well if we might have government or mun¬ 
 icipal ownership of those industries such as public utility corporations, wherein 
 such ownership would result in increase in public service, decrease in rates to con¬ 
 sumer, and increase in employees and their income. But those industries such as 
 are of Inter-state import commercially or local in their service to the public, 
 wherein public ownership would limit or decrease the number of employed, should 
 be so governmentally controlled as to require a sharing in NET profits. Thus the 
 operations of both public and private industry would be conducive to a maximum 
 buying power and industrial and economic stability of all employees and their 
 dependants, who constitute 95 per cent plus of the mass of consumers. 
 
 There is a growing popular demand for social and industrial justice. In¬ 
 dustrial unrest has become so potent a factor in our national life as to make per¬ 
 sonal deceit, as to its magnitude and serious social import, one of the great barriers 
 to popular social and industrial progress. If we would thwart the blind impulsive 
 effort of some “ism” to in some manner, even to resort to revolution, compel ac¬ 
 ceptance of social and industrial policies, application of which we might well 
 least desire—some corrective policies, in methods of promotion, production and 
 distribution must be adopted, which will equalize conditions as between promoters, 
 producers and consumers. 
 
 Inequitable industrial relations are produced when corporation monopolizes 
 an industry. Such operation monopolizes the individual right, power and privilege 
 to promote and profit in the industry. The individuals are forced to produce for 
 the corporation and the profits which under normal production would accrue to 
 
the individual, accrue as dividends to the corporation. Such procedure has re¬ 
 sulted in monopoly of practically every industrial undertaking in this country or 
 the world. 
 
 While corporation increases efficiency and decreases cost, the trouble arises 
 from fact that it increases income to corporation (few) who represent the 22 
 billion 500 million .dollar corporations and limits income to toilers (the rfiany) who 
 represent'both the salt and the slums of the earth. The fact is that increased 
 efficiency and decreased cost is obtained wholly at the expense of toilers. 
 
 A corporation, large or small, monopolizes the product of the laborers, and it 
 seems most unreasonable procedure for government to attempt to remedy present 
 ills, either by splitting large corporations into smaller units, each of which ex- 
 poits its workers by monopoly of net profits, or by sharing in the spoils of ex¬ 
 ploitation through the mediums of corporation, income or inheritance tax, etc. 
 The growing popular demand today is for a simple administration of justice. 
 
 Products of industry have to great extent become of inter-state import com¬ 
 mercially, and time has come when Federal legislation to control our industrial 
 operations is an absolute essential. Let us do away with the present system of 
 petty regulation and control and establish a few fundamental, basic laws, of equity 
 and justice to which all must conform. 
 
 Equitable Distribution 
 
 After the mental and manual laborers in an industry have been remunerated 
 for investment of time, mental ability and labor service according to pecuniary 
 value/every one has been equally essential and responsible for production of any 
 NET profits, and should share equally in those profits. It resolves into a simple 
 problem of ratio and proportion. If these men have been paid or remunerated in 
 ratio to investment of service, through the productive stage, they surely stand in 
 equal ratio as to responsibility for the production of any NET profits and should 
 share equally in their distribution. 
 
 A natural deduction is that a cash investor should receive only a legitimate 
 interest, for unless he becomes one of the active force he has made no other in¬ 
 vestment. Cash investment remunerated on a basis of maximum productive effort 
 of mass of toilers is the greatest factor to exploitation by corporation, and will 
 forever preclude possibility of man being rated higher than dollars and cents in 
 the industrial evolution. 
 
 It is as implacably against the laws of economics, that increase in dividends 
 is due to the increased earning power of the dollar, as it is that the dollar invest¬ 
 ed in our industrial operations pays the wages. Granting those propositions, there 
 can be but one conclusion, that it is the increased efficiency of labor power to pro¬ 
 duce which makes possible an increase in dividends to corporation; therefore if 
 the laws of economics are to be consistantly adhered to, a reasonable amount of 
 net profits must revert to the powers that produced them. 
 
 We often hear it said: “If anyone is smarter than I, and is able to make a 
 million or a hundred million, it’s his business; no questions asked.” It does seem 
 penurious in one to complain of a system, wherein one, by selling chewing gum to 
 children at a penny a stick, accumulates several millions of dollars. But, when you 
 consider that the accumulation results not only from a large profit on the stick of 
 gum, but from monopoly of profits and exploitation of women and children en¬ 
 gaged in manufacture, as well; it resolves into a penny ante game, with pennies 
 all going one way. < 
 
 While the gum proposition is a big business in a small way; how about the 
 big business in a big way with the large profits monopolized, together with ex¬ 
 ploitation of workmen engaged in manufacture? When we come to understand 
 that these conditions have come about, not so much because of the superior intel¬ 
 ligence of someone, but more because of our inferior ignorance; What are we to 
 do about it? 
 
My contention is that the same governmental powers which provide ways 
 and means for so perfect a system of co-operation iff production can also pro¬ 
 vide for the co-operative distribution of the co-operatively produced NET pro¬ 
 fits. Government which makes laws making existence of corporation and co-op¬ 
 erative production under corporate management possible, thereby making ac¬ 
 cumulation of extreme wealth possible, can also make laws, requiring an equitable 
 distribution of the NET profits of that system. 
 
 Thousands are aware that the laws of compensation are sorely out of tune, 
 but because of the gradual growth are unable to associate the evil conditions with 
 any other than natural causes, thus they remain passive and ignorant participants 
 in the support of the system. I believe the statement of Joseph E. Davies, Chair¬ 
 man of the Bufeau of Corporations Investigation, to be absolutely true, that 
 “Civilization is a die’; if after bringing these institutions into being it could not 
 deflect their power so they would not become a Frankenstine to destroy the lib- 
 y erties of men.” (If it be more blessed to give than to receive, to what region of 
 the beyond should our present system of industry be relegated?) 
 
 Constructive Legislation 
 
 As man is the only creature which will suffer for food in the midst of plenty, 
 the reason being that he has been taught respect for law, the one thing above all 
 others for which we should strive is constructive legislation. 
 
 A law to be constructive, greatest good to the greatest number—and the only 
 constructive laws, on statutes of any state or nation, are laws which make such 
 provision—should provide that when promoters, clerks, agents and all classes of 
 labor have invested their time, mental ability and labor service and have been re¬ 
 munerated in proportion to their pecuniary value to the corporation. When 
 stockholders have been remunerated by a legitimate interest and after all ex¬ 
 penses have been paid, then it should be provided that every one actively engaged 
 should share equally in any NET profits. 
 
 The question is often asked “But how about the man who invests all the 
 money and takes all the chances?” That whole proposition has been run on the 
 principle of “ heads I win, and tails you lose” policy, and invariably monopoly has 
 flipped the coin, and I would cite the existence of our twenty-two billion, five hun¬ 
 dred million dollar corporations. 
 
 Individuals in control of corporations should prosper only as result of legiti¬ 
 mate returns on investments or as result of their own efforts, and not by monopoly 
 of NET profits produced as result of maximum productive power of manual labor. 
 Otherwise “our children shall not be men but slaves to an industrial heirarqhy or a 
 governmental despotism.” Let us make the simple adjustment whereby co-oper¬ 
 ation in distribution shall accompany co-operation in production. 
 
 If the twenty-two billion five hundred million dollar corporations are the re¬ 
 sult of an accumulation of NET profits, we can as well stop the commission hunt 
 for gas leaks and foul morass in Qur social and industrial life, for if we would 
 remedy the evils of corporation, trust and monopoly, we have only to share the 
 NET profits with all who have been responsible for their production. The time 
 for action is now, even the near future may be too late to harmonize and equalize 
 the relations and conditions between the corporations and working men. 
 
 i Co-operative Production 
 
 vs. 
 
 Corporate Distribution 
 
 Corporation and cooperation should be synonymous in so far as corporate 
 production and distribution are concerned. As we have a most perfect system of 
 cooperative production, the most essential constructive law will be one which pro- 
 
vides as nearly a perfect system of cooperative distribution. 
 
 Cooperation carried on by corporation (Combination) through productive 
 stage and only to point of distribution can result only in misfortune to a majority ; 
 and “does’th not the good book t’say, that man born of woman t’shall be of but a 
 few Cays and full of trouble” ? 
 
 As cooperation and combination are inevitable and beneficial, law should 
 preserve the good but suppress the evil in combination (corporation) ; For in¬ 
 stance, we have a well regulated system of cooperative production; in fact, inso¬ 
 far as children and women are concerned, the efforts in production are too well 
 distributed; but there ends cooperation; Corporation now provides an evil de¬ 
 structive policy of distribution, compelling an abnormal labor effort of the family. 
 
 Women and children are not in the industrial arena from choice, but as matter 
 of necessity. Men are laboring as matter of choice, prompted by desire to organize 
 and maintain a family, from which should emanate the stability and life blood of a 
 nation. Any factors, interfering in any way with the fulfillment of those desires, 
 are a crime against society and civilization. 
 
 Commercial and Industrial conditions are such that we today can buy neces¬ 
 sities for less than at any time before the advent of corporation; so there can be 
 but one conclusion; that it is not the increasing cost but rather the decreased buy¬ 
 ing power of consumers that results in the socalled condition; “High cost of 
 living.” 
 
 The lesson to be taught to our children in the schools, to our teachers, 
 preachers, business men and to our legislators is: That the attainment of economic 
 independence amongst the masses would add materially to development of genius, 
 stimulate incentive to progress and make possible the realization of the greatest 
 possible advancement in science, art, industry and society. 
 
 Finally, Socialism, with any faults it may have, embodies the only plan 
 presented today through which an equitable distribution of products of human 
 toil can be realized; but, we must recognize that socialism necessitates cooper¬ 
 ation ; but that cooperation does not necessitate socialism. 
 
 Socialism stands for ideal conditions of cooperation and efficiency and with 
 present popular trend toward the idea of universal unity and Brotherhood of 
 things, any organized movement to beat socialism across must make provision for 
 cooperation in distribution; the essential factor— Material Equity —must become 
 one of its cardinal principles. 
 
 Meditate for a moment, on the fact that Illinois can furnish corn to supply 
 the people of this country if not of the whole world, then think of the fall you 
 must take to reach the plane upon which commerce and industry are being oper¬ 
 ated today. 
 
 The farmers are attempting to overcome the evil effects, that monopoly in 
 manufacturing and other corporate concerns is bringing to bear upon them, by 
 creating buying and selling organizations of which there are now several thou¬ 
 sand working in interest of better prices.. If they are successful in getting desired 
 results they but add to the evil effects of monopoly—higher rates on products and 
 decreased purchasing power of the mass of people; Forcing of higher prices works 
 greatest injustice to those already burdened. 
 
 The present policy, of increasing efficiency and improving method in produc¬ 
 tion and marketing, must be followed by increased income and purchasing power 
 of millions of toilers and consumers, otherwise a large mass of the people become 
 less and less able to take advantage of the improved conditions. We have need 
 for better market; the most essential need to free movement of farm products is a 
 free and easy market produced not by forced sale, but by increased purchasing 
 power. 
 
 If the mass of people were providing themselves with necessities the pleas¬ 
 urable occupation of farming would also become more profitable to the farmer, 
 and perhaps less so to manipulators of boards of trade and Wall Street. It is 
 
reasonable to presume that a large percent of forfeitures of land is due to the 
 same condition which cause so large a per cent of forfeitures and failures, in the 
 business world, that is, the limited buying power of a large mass of our citizens. 
 
 You talk of prohibiting interlocking directorates. What are you to do about 
 the community of interest existing today, in every city, village and hamlet where 
 corporation exists, between the corporations and the few moneyed interests there 
 existing? Corporate industries as organized and operated today are a community 
 of interest to a few. The moneyed interests in a manufacturing City have no need 
 to organize a union for mutual protection, they simply invest in varied industries 
 and the operation of monopoly through the corporations does the rest. 
 
 Union Labor is accused of working for special legislation to the upbuilding 
 of a labor trust; while fact is, that labor is simply endeavoring to bring about 
 ^ conditions wherein the wealth, which is mutually created, shall be so distributed 
 as to be of greatest possible mutual benefit. But the question arises: Would 
 acquirement of things demanded by labor—better wages, working hours and con- 
 w ditions—result in the greatest possible mutual benefit? Are the demands in 
 keeping with results they would most wish to accomplish? 
 
 When labor comes to understand that monopoly of net profits results in 
 accumulation of extreme wealth; that the buying power and economic stability 
 of toilers can increase, only in ratio to the decreased power of corporations to 
 exploit and monopolize; then will organized labor make demand for that to which 
 they are justly entitled : —a share in the Net Profits. 
 
 In answer to the question: What should be considered an equitable dis¬ 
 tribution of cooperatively produced wealth? I would say that the income to 
 toilers, mental and manual in industry should be sufficient to provide present 
 necessities and future expectancies to such extent as not to forfeit same provisions 
 I to employers and vice versa. In the light of present day accumulations of 
 extreme wealth and abject poverty it is very evident that no provision is made 
 for such equitable division of profit. 
 
 The one thing of greatest national import, to be accomplished today, is the 
 rescue of our present corporate system of industry from the ravages of its own 
 misguided conduct. The operation of monopoly is working to the very condition 
 which today is most abhorent to the moneyed interest, and promoters of industry, 
 that is, a Cooperative Common Wealth. If in next generation corporate wealth 
 increases in proportional ratio to its growth in past twenty-five years, there is 
 reason to believe that the wealth of the nation will be so concentrated as to 
 result in one of two conditions, either the government will take over the control 
 of industrial operations, or there will be a fall followed by revolution, either of 
 which, we perhaps might well least desire. 
 
 To bring about a national mutuality, in conduct of social and industrial 
 affairs, may eventually necessitate the elimination of party politics. It is a recog¬ 
 nized fact today, that owing to party affiliations, the conduct of the people’s repre¬ 
 sentatives in the legislative affairs, often results in obstruction and defeat of 
 legislation in best interest of the people. There can be no doubt but the day is 
 not far distant when the disposition of the things of importance in legislative 
 affairs will partake only of the nature of mutual helpfulness. 
 
 To mutually help a community, municipal, state or national, necessitates 
 cooperation, and with due respect to all political parties let me suggest that 
 the industrial—political or the political-industrial warfare is on between socialism 
 ^ with cooperative ideals, and our corporate system of industry with its ideal condi¬ 
 tions of concentration, exploitation and monopoly. 
 
 As result of monopoly, due to modern methods of production and distri¬ 
 bution, children and women are laboring in vain attempt to undo the evils of 
 a system, which deprives heads of families from sharing in cooperatively pro¬ 
 duced wealth. Therefore, as I previously stated as man is the only animal which 
 will suffer for food in the midst of plenty, the reason being that he has been 
 
taught respect for law, we should have a constructive law, “a square deal”, 
 providing that everyone toiling in corporation shall oven his own job, in so far as 
 an equitable sharing in NET profits would equal an equitable ownership in the 
 cooperatively produced wealth. Such equitable distribution would be equal to a 
 condition of individual ownership in machines or means of production and of 
 every man owning his own job, and having somewhere fairly near the net product 
 of his labor. 
 
 Cooperation in distribution is the only feasible method of solution to solve the 
 problem that modern machinery has broiight. One may as well undertake to 
 increase the fertility of a hundred acres by fertilizing one rod of the land, as to 
 attempt to increase the economic stability and industrial independence of the 
 laborers in corporations, by present methods of profit sharing. 
 
 Effect follows cause, effort expended in remedying effects is endless and 
 useless, for instance, we scandalize and unseat our public officials who have fallen 
 to the invisible government, but we continue to extend popular suffranee to 
 monopoly and money trust. We tax and bond the people to maintain charitable 
 and penal institutions, but extend popular suffrance to corporate control of re¬ 
 sources and industry. We formulate Federal laws, licensing corporations to 
 monopolize resources and products, then laws to regulate child and woman 
 labor, hours of labor, to regulate trust, to provide working men’s compensations, 
 etc., but in all these we commit no act to remedy the cause of all the evil effects 
 we seek to better. It was Thomas Paine who said, “England lost her liberty in 
 a long chain of right reasoning from wrong principles.” 
 
 As I have said let us make the simple adjustment whereby cooperation in 
 distribution shall accompany cooperation in production. Give us equitable dis¬ 
 tribution of NET PROFITS under present corporate system of industry. 
 I repeat: A corporation large or small monopolizes its products, and it is folly to 
 attempt regulation by splitting large into smaller corporations, each of which 
 exploits its workers of NET profit, or by such laws as the income tax law, 
 which affects only a small portion of the corporately produced wealth of this 
 country. Provide for equitable distribution, then provide for a morally legitimate 
 tax, upon the equitably distributed wealth of this, country, thea zvatch civilization 
 become civilized. 
 
 Equitable distribution of net profits, of cooperatively produced wealth would 
 do away with a large per cent of the social evil and industrial unrest of today. 
 Corporation is a creature of the law; corporate monopoly exploits country of 
 resources and toilers of NET profits. The life of trade and comm*erce depends 
 upon the purchasing power of the mass of consumers, and monopoly of NET 
 profits limits that purchasing power, and limited purchasing power limits econ¬ 
 omic and social stability of the mass of citizens, and tends to a condition of pov¬ 
 erty, slums, disease and crime among the mass of people, whose efforts are 
 responsible for the wonderful industrial growth and material prosperity of this 
 country. 
 
 Special Features 
 
 The limited income to men results in necessity for child and woman labor. 
 Six to eight years in industry unfits woman for motherhood and predisposes off¬ 
 spring to nervous and physical disorders, and predestines them to the tender 
 mercies of some charitable asylum or penal institution. The same industrial 
 conditions are making mental and physical wrecks of the manhood of this 
 country, and what can we prophecy for the future generations. 
 
 Equitable distribution of cooperatively produced NET profits, besides bet¬ 
 tering many other conditions, would do away with necessity for child and woman 
 labor, limit necessity for demand for woman suffrage and divorce, stimulate 
 incentive and efficiency amongst the mass of workers and put the petty bosses to 
 work. It would also limit necessity for our numerous charitable and philan- 
 
thropic organizations, which today represent by far too large a horde of non¬ 
 productive forces in this country. ‘It is mighty unfortunate for the few to have a 
 bunch of poor relation, but, if it were not for the exorbitant wealth of a few there 
 would be fewer poor and unfortunate relatives.’ 
 
 For the sake of humanity let us have such an equitable disposition of our 
 disturbed industrial conditions as will result in such national mutuality in conduct 
 of social and industrial affairs as will eliminate the present calamitous conditions 
 of over work and compulsory idleness. 
 
 Besides the power of corporations to exploit, concentrate and monopolize 
 natural resources and products of industry, there is another special feature in 
 connection with operation of monopoly through corporation, that is, the exacting 
 $ demand for cash payment. The one who demands it, gets it, there is not enough 
 to go around. 
 
 " As result of corporate operations in demanding best twenty years of-toilers 
 U life time and monopoly of net profits, which limits purchasing power of mass 
 ¥ of consumers, together with exacting demand for cash payment for products; 
 the mass of people engaged in trade and commerce are compelled to participate 
 in 'unreasonable competition, unreasonable and unseasonable hours of labor, and 
 with all that are obliged to extend unreasonable credit before being (remuner¬ 
 ated) for their services. The effects of those conditions are evidence every day in 
 the dissolutions and failures taking place in the commercial life of the country. 
 
 Another feature, that gives promise of a healthful and helpful mental revo¬ 
 lution, is the fact that those engaged ii\ management of branch concerns of cor¬ 
 porations are fast realizing that there exists a condition of inequitable distri¬ 
 bution, they find that the greater their effort and larger the amount of business, 
 the larger the income to the parent concern, but that their salaries and wages of 
 subordinates remain flat. Such condition dominates the domain of commerce and 
 industry to stich extent as to preclude possibility of amicable relations, between 
 corporations, toilers and consumers and is paralyzing individual incentive to 
 proficiency, economic stability, and industrial independence. 
 
 The constitution needs no amending. “A government of the people, by the 
 people and for the people ?” “Equal rights to all and special privileges to none ?” 
 A representative and supposedly popular government becomes .a colossal farce 
 when the articles of the constitution which are fundamentally essential to social 
 well being are ignored, and present calamitous conditions allowed free reign 
 because of precedent of past bad legislation. 
 
 It is impossible to make everybody good by legislation, but you can by legis¬ 
 lation make environments good, thereby making possible a better citizenship. 
 It is up to the Federal legislators to harmonize and equalize conditions between 
 our corporate system of industry and the working men, thereby insuring the 
 future industrial welfare, and social solidarity of the best country on earth. 
 
 No individual however rich, should be deprived the necessities and luxuries 
 of life, for when want for necessities becomes too insistent one becomes a 
 cringing slave, therefore, no man should be deprived the rights of equal oppor¬ 
 tunity to acquire the necessities, luxuries and pleasures of life. 
 
 Perhaps in the final analysis this is what we might best wish to accomplish, 
 that those with an ax to grind should be compelled to do their grinding at a grind 
 stone run in the interest of the people, by the people, and for the people, other- 
 i wise they should grind on their own grind stone and swing their own ax. 
 
 Constructive laws to control industrial and commercial affairs-—laws provid¬ 
 ing greatest good to greatest numbers—together with equitable enforcement of 
 laws, to properly preserve social order, would provide conditions wherein all 
 individuals would be constrained to do the best for society as well as for them¬ 
 selves ; then would popular sovereignty be assured, and social accord, industrial 
 peace and prosperity abound. 
 
3 0112 061796900 CONCLUSION 
 
 In the foregoing pages, there has been an attempt to express briefly an< 
 simple language, devoid of petty personal bickerings and incriminations, what 
 been said regarding the general conditions which have resulted in so much 
 social evil, political discord and industrial unrest. 
 
 Too many reform ideas are narrow in their viewpoint, pessimistic in tl| 
 outlook and selfish in their purpose, and for want of encouragement fall by 
 wayside. But those reformers, who today, are sincerely working for a gen\ 
 betterment, of Social and Industrial conditions, have reason to be optimistic 
 to the future of American Institutions. Because of the fact, that all otj] 
 means having been exhausted, there remains the one and only remedy tof 
 applied to settlement of our disturbed industrial and social conditions, 
 that is, JUSTICE. 
 
 Those readers, who may 
 have become in any way int¬ 
 erested in the text of this little 
 booklet, are respectfully in¬ 
 vited to lend their efforts in 
 spreading the Gospel of Social 
 and Industrial Justice. 
 
 Copies of this Booklet can 
 be procured by writing E. H. 
 Coller, Battle Creek, Mich. 
 
 Five cents, single copy; 25 
 copies, $1.00; $3.75 per hund¬ 
 red copies. Special organiza¬ 
 tion rates on lots of 1000 on 
 application.