June 19, 1920.
TELL OF LABOR'S
RIGHTS AND WRONGS
Chamber of Commerce of the United States
Defines Briefly the Principles Upon Which
Should Be Based the Relations of
Employe and Employer.
At a recent meeting of the Chamber of Commerce
of the United States it considered deeply the ques-
tion of labor strikes and finally stated its belief in
the following principles:
1. Any person possesses the right to engage in
any lawful business or occupation, and to enter,
individually or collectively, into any lawful contract,
either as employer or employee. These rights are
subject to limitation only through a valid exercise
of public authority.
2. The right of open-shop operation, that is, the
right of employer and employee to enter into and
determine the conditions of employment relations
with each other is an essential part of the individual
right of contract possessed by each of the parties.
Right to Organize.
3. All men possess the equal right to associate
voluntarily for the accomplishment of lawful pur-
poses by lawful means. The association of men,
whether employers, employees or others, for collec-
tive action or dealing, confers no authority over,
and must not deny any right of those who do not
desire to act or deal with them.
4. The public welfare, the protection of the indi-
vidual and employment relations require that asso-
ciations or combinations of employers or employees,
or both, must equally be subject to the authority of
the State and legally responsible to others and that
of their agents.
5. To develop with due regard for the health,
safety and well-being of the individual the required
output of industry is the common social obligation
of all engaged therein. The restriction of productive
effort or of output by either employer or employee
for the purpose of creating an artificial scarcity of
the product or of labor is an injury to society.
Wages and Hours.
6. The wage of labor must come out of the prod-
uct of industry and must be earned and measured
by its contribution thereto. In order that the work-
er, in his own and the general interest may develop
his full productive capacity and may thereby earn at
least a wage sufficient to sustain him upon a proper
standard of living, it is the duty of management to
co-operate with him to secure continuous employ-
ment suited to his abilities, to furnish incentive and
opportunity for improvement, to provide proper
safeguards for his health and safety and to encour-
age him in all practicable and reasonable ways to in-
crease the value of his productive effort.
7. The number of hours in the work day or week
in which the maximum output, consistent with the
health and well being of the individual can be main-
tained in a given industry should be ascertained by
careful study and should never be exceeded except
in case of emergency, and one day of rest in seven,
or its equivalent, should be provided. The reduc-
tion in working hours below such economic limit, in
order to secure greater leisure for the individual,
should be made only with full understanding and
acceptance of the fact that it involves a commen-
surate loss in the earning power of the workers, a
limitation and a shortage of the output of the indus-
try and an increase in the cost of the product, with
all the necessary effect of these things upon the in-
terests of the community and the nation.
Settlement of Disputes.
8. Adequate means, satisfactory both to the em-
ployer and his employees, and voluntarily agreed to
by them, should be provided for the discussion and
adjustment of employment relations and the just
and prompt settlement of all disputes that arise in
the course of industrial operation.
9. When, in the establishment or adjustment of
employment relations, the employer and his employ-
ees do not deal individually but by mutual consent
such dealing is conducted by either party through
representatives, it is proper for the other party to
ask that these representatives shall not be chosen or
controlled by, or in such dealing in any degree rep-
resent, any outside group or interest in the questions
at issue.
10. The greatest measure of reward and well-be-
ing for both employer and employee and the full
social value of their service must be sought in the
successful conduct and full development of the par-
ticular industrial establishment in which they are
associated. Intelligent and practical co-operation
based upon a mutual recognition of this community
F»RESTO
of interest, constitutes the true basis of sound indus-
trial relations.
No Divided Allegiance.
11. The State is sovereign and cannot tolerate a
divided allegiance on the part of its servants. While
the right of government employees—national, state,
or municipal—to be heard and to secure considera-
tion and just treatment must be amply safeguarded,
the community welfare demands that no combina-
tion to prevent or impair the operation of the gov-
ernment, or of any government function shall be
permitted.
A referendum was submitted carrying references
to arguments in the negative so that the member-
ship may have opportunity to go into the recommen-
dations to the fullest extent before voting. The
voting will close at the expiration of forty-five days.
A two-thirds majority is necessary to carry.
This is the thirty-first referendum submitted since
the chamber was organized more than eight years
ago. The policies of the chamber are declared only
after referendum vote, or on action of annual
meetings.
E. J. PRUIM MUSIC COMPANY
OPENS IN GRAND HAVEN, MICH.
Successful Music Merchant of Zeeland Realizes the
Opportunities in Chosen Location.
E. J. Pruim, Zeeland, Mich., has purchased a two-
story stone building at Second and Washington
streets. Grand Haven, Mich., which will be occupied
as a music store by the purchaser, who is proprietor
of the E. J. Pruim Music House at Zeeland. Miss
Yera Pfaff will take the management of the store,
and Mr. Pruim will divide his time between Grand
Haven and Zeeland.
The Grand Haven store of the E. J. Pruim Music
House will handle pianos, talking machines and gen-
eral music goods. Sheet music, piano roMs, phono-
graphs, records and supplies will be important com-
modities shown in special departments.
Mr. Pruim, who is a successful business man,
stated that he is making the investment in Grand
Haven because he believes Grand Haven has a
bright future. He has studied the situation very
carefully, and his judgment has been sustained upon
investigation.
Alterations on the interior of the Grand Haven
store have been smarted. Improvements wi'l be hur-
ried to pernpt the opening in time for the summer
season. Later on the owner plans extensive mod-
ernizing on the building. In connection with his
regular inside sales force, Mr. Pruim operates an
outside force. Bert Grinwis and Egbert Boes, who
are now operating out of the Zeeland store, will
also be the outside salesforce for the Grand Haven
store.
UNITED STATES LEADS WORLD
IN BRASS INSTRUMENTS
Two Instances of Imported Articles Are Cited to
Show Conditions.
From the fact that the brass instrument makers
of Bohemia are laying down in the New York trade
a cornet of merchantable pattern and acceptable
playing qualities for $4, one gains some idea of the
problems that confront the music exporter of this
country today, according to George W. Pound, gen-
eral counsel for the Music Industries Chamber of
Commerce.
"Happily the United States is outstripping the
world now as a producer of band instruments, and,
except for the freak instance of the cornet importa-
tion from Bohemia and for cymbals brought in from
Japan, to undersell our own product, the American
manufacturers are commanding the world's trade,
both domestic and foreign, for the many instruments
that go to make up the festive brass band," said
Mr. Pound.
STADLER FOR SEATTLE.
A. C. Stadler, of the Operators' Piano Company's
offices, Chicago, expects to take his vacation this
summer at Seattle, Wash. He will probably get
away about the last week of June and spend also the
first week of July in the far northwest. Mr. Stadler
is an active worker, and, as this is a redhot summer,
he feels the need of a vacation.
ACTIVE AT OPERATORS' CO.
Supplies are coming in more freelv at the Oper-
ators' Piano Company, Chicago, so that the task of
producing the finished goods has become easier than
it was a few weeks ago. There are many orders on
the company's books, and, while orders have slowed
down some, it will require a long time for the com-
pany to catch up on its surplus orders.
RECOGNIZE R. D. GASTON'S
FORCEFULL CHARACTER
Piano Man Honored by Nebraska in Being
Chosen as President of That Common-
wealth's Chamber of Commerce.
W. T. Brinkerhoff,
president of the Brink-
erhofF Piano Company,
has returned to Chicago
from a very successful
trip through the West.
He brings back an ac-
count of some of his
pleasant experiences on
this trip.
First he spoke of R.
D. Gaston, of Hastings,
Neb.
He says the se-
lection of R. D. Gaston,
president of the Hast-
ings Chamber of Com-
merce, as the first presi-
dent of the newly or-
ganized Nebraska Cham-
ber of Commerce will do
much to get that organi-
zation in shape in the
11. D. GASTON.
shortest possible time.
While there was previously an association of com-
mercial clubs in Nebraska, the new organization will
be much more compact. Machinery will be devised
that will enable the Chamber of Commerce of the
state to act more as one body and to act more
quickly.
In addition, Mr. Gaston is on the board of di-
rectors of the Hastings Rotary Club, on the board
of the First National Bank of Hastings, on the
board of the Hastings Home Building Company,
on the board of the Mid-West Construction Com-
pany. The Hcme Building Company is erecting a
great many houses that are being purchased by peo-
ple of moderate means. Mr. Gaston is not only
identified with these companies in a financial way,
but his advice settles many a difficulty.
The Gaston Music Company has big stores as
branches at Grand Island, Kearney and Red Cloud,
Neb. Ed. Jones, manager of the Grand Ts'and store,
has with him three sons associated in the business.
Elsie Whitten is manager of the Kearney store, and
Mr. Gaston's son manager of the Red Cloud store.
At the Hastings store, R. D. Gastcn has associated
with him his brother, Charles Gaston, who is vice-
president of the company. The company recently
bought a substantial four-story brick bui'ding on a
corner, and this is to lie remodeled so that it will
be one of the finest music houses in the West.
Hastings is a very modern city, with a beautiful
golf-course, country club house and miles of ex-
cellent paving. Many of the improvements are due
to Mr. Gaston's influence.
Mr. Brinkerhoff called on Mr. and Mrs. G. A.
White, at Fairbury, Neb., the occasion being the
twentieth anniversary of their marriage. Mr. and
Mrs. White, accompanied by their 16-ycar-old son,
Warren, drove Mr. Brinkerhoff from Fairbury to
Hastings, a distance of 100 miles, where he attended
a meeting of the Rotary Club. Mr. Gaston drove
Mr. Brinkerhoff to all of the Gaston stores, handling
the Twin-6 Packard Limousine at 62 miles an hour
part of the way.
Mr. Gaston expects to leave with his family July
1 for Hackensack, Minn., where he owns a cottage,
and Mr. and Mrs. Brinkerhoff will join them about
the 10th of July.
Mr. Brinkerhoff on this trip called on Frank D.
Darrow, president of the Darrow Music Company.
Denver, Colo. From what he saw of the fine condi-
tion of the crops near Denver and the encouraging
reports that Mr. Darrow made, there will be an
abundant harvest FOOH out in those
states. On the
return trio, Mr. Brinkerhoff ca 1 led at Burlington,
Iowa, and oreeted Lyman Guest president, and
Charles Schlichter, vice-president, of the Guest Piano
Company.
DISCUSS SALES PROBLEMS.
Sales problems and the present-day conditions of
the market were discussed recently at the convention
of dealers of the Columbia Grafonola at the Huck-
ins Hotel, Okl-homa City. Ok'a. Representatives
of the district department
of 'he mmnany attended
the convention in addit ; on to T. E. McMurtry. sa 1 es
manager, and addressed the dealers.
INSTALLS THEATER ORGAN.
A two-manual nipe organ worth $11,000 has been
.installed in Wa-"eham-theater. Manhattan. Kans., by
the Wurlitzer Music Company, 1112 McGee street,
Kansas City, Mo. The instrument was formally
opened at exercises held recently.
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