Have the men
freedom to a (silnf where. In many
phases o f our life, It lias amounted t"
license to do almost anything thut we
tunes obtained peace o f mind
pleased
ness and honor*
or
that
brought
profit
oi
llitercouiiiilliih alloii did not exist, when
education was meagre slid science mi
developed, whut the Individual did wa<
On
food
rt*ct)g»i*»*«l
tin*
the prilifiple of
universal
u a li»tn in un dead it* a »melt.”
Mr. I’erkins' retían»« for Ida t»e
U ef «re outlined ia the following
follow precedent and old uietboda too
yeurs.
They have »wept
away
old prece
dents, old customs, and they will even
tually sweep away many of the luw«
now ou our statute tasiks.
The man o f to day
who does not
fully comprehend all tills Is doomed to
lie somewhat o f a failure, while the
taken a long stride tow aid success
It 1» not many years since | was a
lad. 1 «txl yet at that time there was lio
su> li thing us u telephone.
The tele
graph was !u very meagre use; fust ex
not exist
It
took
was the much derided one possessed
by l»arliis <• recu.
When Abraham I.lncolu
I’ rcsl
w hs
dent It tisik four days or more for a
letter to travel from his home In till
It took him several
And yet only a
Our fattier» had none o f the modern
machinery with which social and husl
ness Intercourse
Is now carried on.
Their son* ure wrestling with the prob
lem o f how to use these new method'
of Intercommunication and »till adhere
lo the luws, the precedents and the
hook learning o f their futhers.
This Is OtTH great problem.
■Ion on bis mind; yet as we look back
at tbeiu from this distance they seem
Infinitesimal wbeu compared with the
changes tbat have taken place In tbe
World tbe laet quarter of a century and
tbe treuiendoua changes taking place
lo w .
George Washington was a représenta
ttve o f tbe beat typo o f Amertcau a
coatury and a half ago. l i e was a
•uholar, a soldier and a statesman, yet
♦ dustriallj and economically ♦
♦ have been very great, yet I ♦
almighty
Is rec eding Into the background
more than ordinary talent, will here
after
look
honors,
for hLs rewards,
public
for hli
not In one direction
tw o:— First— and
but I d
foremoat— In
som*
work accomplished, and, sec
J believe they are infinitesimal
♦
♦ compared to the changes that ♦
♦ are coming. Precedent makes ♦
♦ cowards of us all.
♦
But the
♦
In place o f having tt said o f him al
X
♦
♦
♦ educator, the scientist and ♦
♦ tbe inventor have left us no ♦
♦
ondarllv, lu wealth acquired.
♦
» choice.
his death that he left so many hundred
W e must adjust our ♦
thought and action to new e
thousand dollars It will he said that h«
ndividualism .
rendered a certain amount o f public
conditions.
service and. Incidentally, left a certain
*
♦
G E O R G E W . P E R K IN S .
♦
♦
♦
satisfaction to him. he w ill live a mori
With
Intercommunication
drawing
1» simply
another expression
for
ing a man's wages.
It Is Inevitable because It gives sta
h
struggle to throw o ff
In a
night, as It were, the precedents o f an
old world for the realities o f a new.
Precedent makes cowards o f us all.
Hut the educator, the scientist and the
Inventor have left us no choice.
We
must udjust our thought and action to
As u matter o f fact, when a working
the pa|>er» tell us the trouble is all
alMiut ami that U what he asks for: hut
It» soul hern end It would not have
way down underneath what he Is really
mattered much had there beeu a case
striking for Is a larger percentage of
o f siuiill|s>x at tbe north end.
the profits o f the business
The pa
tient could have done pretty much as
he pleased without endangering any
oue else.
1* tiotn*
ern end o f Manhattan to-day must be
quarantined
Immediately
to
protect
other people.
much as he pleased he would have Itecu
Indeed. In those day* the
Idea that a man had not tbe right to
heat his own child as he pleased was
not
have tv
license to drive a horse.
procure
a
With the ad
vent o f tbe automobile a license ha*
become a necessity.
automobile knows first how to operate
called “ freedom o f the Individual.'*
In
my Judgiueut thl* proceas Is ouly In Its
Infancy.
d>> as he pleases Is now being seriously
%
challenged, and I most heartily agree
with what Mr John D. Rockefeller. Jr.,
said recently at Cornell University to
the effect thut one o f the chief quail
flea Hons for a manager o f a large busi
ness concern Is rapidly coming to be
the human quality aud ability to ad
The changes o f the last twenty five
yea rs socially. Industrially aud econom
ically have licen great, yet I believe
they are Infinitesimal compared to tbe
Images that ure coming.
I believe these change« are going to
deal
most largely
with the relation
ship o f man to man.
In tills country we have lieeti living
III an Hge o f the iituinat freedom to the
Individual.
It ha» been the Individual
Istlc period, when the order of the day
has seemed to he "every fallow for him
self and the devil take the hindmost."
W e have glorleti In the freedom ol
tbe Individual and have practised this
tionship.
la
and economic necessity.
Centralization la the order o f the day.
The telegraph, the telephone, the auto
mobile and tbe airship are tbe causes.
face
new
conditions,
different
and
spirit o f
public
A man living In Boston who wishes
service.
One reason why I am strongly foi
to talk to a man living in San Fran-
around responsibility to his country
talk.
not only lu time o f war but lu time ol
Bible more wonderful than this.
to capital
and a fair tierceutage to
labor after ordinary wages and Inter
est have been earned.
»hating can
he done satis
facturllv only when the bu*Jhie»a con
cern makes public its transactions, sc
that the lalsirer and the «¿o.-kholdei
can know* as much about tbe hUHtuesx
as does the manager himself.
lu the adjustment o f difficulties tie
tween capital aud labor I am confi
dent that o|ieu books will accomplish
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦<
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
These changes are fa r reaching and
What are we going tu
do about tt?
IVhat Is to be our men
tal attitude?
H ow are we going to
approach them
from
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
who lived In a strictly Individualistic
age? Can we approach them from the
knowledge we have gained from law
hooks which were wrltteu In the In
he
combatting
I f we do
the
*
“W
1TH
interoommuni-
cation drawing the ♦
world to g e th e r, th e a ct o f an e
*
individual can affect a large ♦
number of people; therefore «
mighty
that form of freedom which «
the
saute point o f view a* did our fathers,
dividualistic age?
-
♦
♦
♦
handle these problems?
we
Why a New Era Co-opera
lion Matt Succeed Pare
Individualism.
♦
fundamental.
J
f
I
♦
♦
«
♦
f
#
we will
*
ouw-ard
♦
¡g simply another expression »
for
license
to
do
as one «
♦
I ilea son can no longer exist.” «
— G E O R G E W . P E R K IN S . J
♦
rush o f uew thought and new coudl-
ttoua, provided lu large measure by
the scientist, the educator, the inven
tor.
peace.
H e Is much more apt to be I
faithful, conscientious servant than It
be lmd not had military training.
WK#t the Future Hold# Forth.
Is It a sad,
pessimistic future that uufolds? Goes
portunities
i goals?
worth living under
future,
and
more
with
fluer op
worth
while
Let me see If 1 can picture It as 1
Iw eedi capital Hud labor was that of
are It.
.wner and slHve, then came the period
past.
First, Just a glance luto the
.f master and man. theu the period o f
About the ouly goal we have bad
period ; has been the almighty dollar.
The
In my Judgment we are Just now en-
another
o f the business, with a fair |iercrutage
au optluilattc
mployer aud employe, each
letng a decided step forward
one
tional line* as welL
the uew conditions or does It hold out
In the long ago the relationship be-
for
require a
'might uiNkes right.’’
ieriod o f new Industrial relationships.
Consideration
speedily becoming a social. Industrial
Instrument to his ear and proceeds to
I
ng was given to this problem aud d if i life hardly serin
dl.v < hauglug and we are entering a
others.
>f
ferences were settled on tbe basis o f
All this la rap-
for
universal military training Is that It
giving.
What la the outlook?
Until recent years little broad tbtnk-
but
develops In the youth a sense o f all
Can
The freedom o f the business man to
alone
mean actual profit
I hiiius
Society Is finding It necessary to take
away much o f what has hitherto been
himself
edents and customs but State and na
much more than open shops.
It and. second, to control It.
fo r
slmrlng plan* based on the earntng9
Tbe public must
know thnt the ntan who operates an
not
t-laco simply rings a hell, puts a llttlo
P rofit
buggle* there was no s|M-ed limit and
We
live
li
By profit sharing I do not mean
given little attention.
When we were all driving horse* and
ilization. the man o f tbe future must
order to survive and succeed we wli
profit sharing.
thut a man could not whip his horse as
First, because the world Is being
drawn together in one centralized
community through the wonderful de-
Telopmrnt in »cience aud the marvei-
lotm work of the inventor.
Second, because In our country
ewpea*ially we are entering upon a new
stage of development, which calia
loudly for men who will render dis
interested public service.
It
can he solved only on the basis
When I was a boy there was no So
did
this problem.
I f eur government Is to endure, If
we are to take our proper place among
They have wiped out not only old prec
No mere Increase in wages can ever
satisfactorily solve
hav«
servants?
the nations o f the world In the new c iv
lie may not reallte this. but. sub
consciously. this Is precisely what ha
Hut a case o f smallpox tn the north
will he as I
briefly sketched them:
man strikes It is not merely to obtain
laborer and to understand their rela
Tbs Day of Individualism Cone.
I have tw o reasons for believing thai
future conditions
tled aud most o f the (teople lived on
just difference* between capitalist and
new conditions
operated by tbe same type o f public
an Increase in his wage; that Is what
Relation of Capital and Labor.
causing a struggle of tltunlc propor
be doing his share to provide a bettei
country In which lo live.
advantageous to capital as to labor.
11
When Manhattan was »[»arsely set
a man
ment in our pork barrel legislation!
Could we afford to have our railroads
bility to business and because It Is as
cense to do as one pleases# can no
ridiculed.
rational, worth while life aud he will
torlly or iterinanently by merely rais
therefore, that form o f freedom which
It Is a
difficult, complicated problem and Is
tions
fereuu’a old age made a deep Impies
Our only decoratkm—the
esssev
Animals, and had any one suggested
Entering s Nsw World.
were, on the Instant.
cloee o f tbe Revolutionary W ar to Jef
The changes of the lust
♦ twenty five years socially, in- ♦
How the Reward# Will Come.
bs kouts cart never tie settled satlsfac
ciety for the Prevention o f Cruelty to
world, where everything Is done, as It
The changea that occurred from tbe
It Is Inevitable, because strikes snd
longer exist.
W e are Just entering a new electrical
Crea! Changea Taking Place Rapidly.
tie
signs o f tbe times so certain as thla.
achieving.
can affect a large number of people:
eight hours aud fifty minutes.
^ttoiua men ascribe lo tbe men of tbs
prêt riling ugs a wl»<lom more (ban
human, and suppose abat they did to
be beyond amendment. I knew that
•g» (o f the Ite volution I well. 1 be
longed to it and labored with It. It
deserved well of its cmiutry. It was
eery like the present, but without (be
experieue« of tbe present; and forty
years of experience Is worth a ceu-
tury uf book reading; and (bis they
would say themselves were they to
arise from tbe dead.
hereafter
T o my mind there Is nothing tn tb«
other communities are striving for Hud
community, the act o f the Individual
mnrblne from Chicago to New York In
wrote a letter In which be »aid:—
will
but fur his fellowmen.
community what the workingman In
try has made In the lust twenty five
aided and alone, tra v e l»»! In a flying
Thomas Jefferson, In bis old age.
activities
required to be not only for blmselt
cation has told the workingman lu on*
the world together In one centralized
few weeks ugo a young woman, uu
«u t «loua entirely new lines.
Man's
It Is Inevitable because lutercommuul
lion these three great factors account
for tbe NtlipeiuloUN progress till« coitn
ton to Is* Inaugurated
We find It difficu lt to strike
Look at tbe spectacle we are pro-
seating to the world at this very in»-
Such a goal will prove a far greatei
days to go from his home to Washing
GEORGE W. PERKINS.
and honesty.
amount o f money.
uols to New York
closely
come somewhere near the standard of
Germany's public servants In efficiency
benefit o f the community as a whole
the worklnguiHU to think for himself.
— /
Food
tv progress la the human lui'lliinllon to
It la In Germany, but we must first
have public servants who will at least
more and more circumscribed for tb«
our educational system, whh h teaches
“I 1)0
AS I
li k i
the only flying muchlue we knew a lout
On# o f tile greatest stumbling block#
m*7 bo as desirable In thle country as
Tbe man o f exceptional ability, ol
several weeks to cross the ocean, uud
By GEORGE W. PERKINS,
Government ownership o f railroads
Individualistic
the liberty o f the Individual win be
Tills advance ts Inevitable because of
dollar
press trains did
article:—
at thla time, how many o f you think wo
Interests o f the Individual and wher*
euguged.
eduea
man w Ito doe* comprehend It will have
Mr. I'erkliiH retorteil. "Individ
of Mayor Mitchel'#
Supply Commit!##.
the
community takes precedence over the
the business lu which they are Jointly
who»* tallies were recently discovered
ludtvidualiMin.
Ckelrmae
whole,
which be has lived, or tbe nation.
Hear Tieutoii, \ J , said to lim e lived
l-c.tssl years ago.
remarked thitt the legislation wan
violutiou of
(tie
did not a ffect many people
Ingtoii Is probably greater than the gai
between Washington ami the mat
In
I f our railroads were to be taken
over and operated by our government
would duplicate Germany's success?
would answer ''Sit.”
the Individual, or the community to
the man o f llm Kdlaoii type and Wnail
urm nit^ o f ro operiitioii noun* one
h
A very
country n*eu
age has not been a success, either for
Thomas A K i II hhii typifies the sclen
legislution which Mr. PerkiiiM fnv
wbifh
our
his deeds did not reach very far and
H*t o f our time, hilt (lie gap lad ween
R E G E N T | mi I> üc heurltig
or**<l unii
of
ou • period where the welfare o f the
George W. P e r k i n s ,
Chairman of the New
York City Committee
on Food Supply, Finds
That Science and In
vention Are Forcing
Revolutionary
C h a n g e s in t he
World’s Industrial Re
lations, Whether We
Like It or Not.
pr»|ioiM*il
majority
o f comparatively small consequence for
he dbl not know us much alunit »clem e
as a young schoolboy o f to day.
and
he would he were he euterlng the gov
erumoot's service In time o f war
the course they have taken?
large
The advance» tu acidice, Intercom
fertuin
happl
Ifnw mauv o f them
W e are, beyond question, entering
miiiilcatlon
* on
the gov em inent'» employ In the rati
road husluess he is as con scien tiou s a*
Has the country been benefited by
In the early days, when Instantaneous
1
and
could answer “ Yea” ?
fancied renown, regardless o f Its effei t
A T A
lit c l
worked simply to acquire :: c.it I'nr
on one's fellowmen.
IS AS
DEAD AS A
SMELT
who time
first question asked when a man die«
Is, “ How much was he worth?” with
erlng a period of copartnership, scarcely a thought as to how much
where the tool user will be part tool
; he did for his community or his coun
,wtier uud where capital and labor will
try.
mare more equitably lu the profits of
Mut what has U aU amounted to?
Hi
enters public service In time o f peaci
lu more nearly the same spirit that hi
would enter military service In time ol
war— namely, from a sense o f patriot!)
duty and a desire to serve his countrj
and his fellowmen.
In recent years we have been hearlni
a great deal about government owner
ship o f our railroads.
W e are told tha:
in Germany the railroads are owued bj
the government and that their opera
Hon Is most successful. Thla Is trus
but In Germany condition« are vaetlj
different.
The military training o f the youth, ti
fact, the entire trend o f education ti
Germany Is to Impress upon the youni
men o f that land that they owe servlci
to their country. When a man eaton
There Is hardly a miracle In tha
The doctrine of “ State rights” la
being rapidly demolished.
The na
tion Is being obliged to assume many
o f the functions o f government here
tofore performed by the State, and
this tendency Is growing.
The State, viewed as an Individual
with the right to do as It pleases wlth-
tu Itself, without regard for other
States, can no longer be tolerated.
Ouly the nation can act In matters
that affect interstate relations, and
with Intercommunication and trans
portation developed to their present
stage a considerable percentage o f a
State's activities are Interstate la
their effects and consequences.
Tha World !• Drawing Togethar.
W e must therefor* take on a new
nationalism.
Tbe world has been
drawn very closely together by tho
cable and tbe transatlantic liner but
It Is on tbe verge o f being drawn In
finitely more closely together by tha
wireless, the airship and the subma
rine telephone.
When fbese are practical, everyday
Instruments
of
intercommunication
aud transportation the social prac
tices and the Industrial methods o f
one nation w ill quickly and seriously
affect all other nations. This will re
quire the yielding by nations o f cer-
tlu o f their Individualistic rights and
prerogatives In order to safeguard and
benefit tbe world as a whole.
This opens up a great, uew vista—
It presents problems that are In
tensely Interesting r.nd o f far reach
ing Importance.
The period that Is upon us offers
large
opportunities
for
Individual
thought. Initiative and action, for con
structive work and for constructive
statesmanship.
The mighty changes taking place In
Europe tell us with unmistakable
voice that the reconstruction period 1s
at hand.
The man o f the future
must realize It. H e must be ready te
adjust himself to tbe new conditions.
H e must have sufficient vision, Intel
ligence aud courage to cast aside the
methods and precedents o f a bygona
age
He must let the deed past bury
Its dead. He mnat not look back te
the sotting but forw ard to tho
sun.