This resulted in securing the services of Mr. W. L. Mackenzie King, formerly Minister of Labor in Canada, to conduct an investigation “with a special view,” to quote the language of an official letter, “to the discovery of some mutual relationship between Labor and Capital which would afford to Labor the protection it needs against oppression and exploitation, while at the same time promoting its efficiency as an instrument of economic production.”
In no sense was this inquiry to be local or restricted; the problem was recognized to be a world-problem, and in the study of it the experience of the several countries of the world was to be drawn upon. The purpose was neither to apportion blame in existing or past misunderstandings, nor to justify any particular point of view; but solely to be constructively helpful, the final and only test of success to be the degree to which the practical suggestions growing out of the investigation actually improved the relations between Labor and Capital.
V
With reference to the situation which had unfortunately developed in Colorado, it became evident to those responsible for the management of one of the large coal companies there—the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, in which my father and I are interested—that matters could not be allowed to remain as they were. Any situation, no matter what its cause, out of which so much bitterness could grow, clearly required amelioration.
It has always been the desire and purpose of the management of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company that its employees should be treated liberally and fairly.
However, it became clear that there was need of some more efficient method whereby the petty frictions of daily work might be dealt with promptly and justly, and of some machinery which, without imposing financial burdens upon the workers, would protect the rights, and encourage the expression of the wants and aspirations of the men—not merely of those men who were members of some organization, but of every man on the company’s payroll.
The problem was how to promote the well-being of each employee; more than that, how to foster at the same time the interest of both the stockholders and the employees through bringing them to realize the fact of their real partnership.
Long before the Colorado strike ended, I sought advice with respect to possible methods of preventing and adjusting such a situation as that which had arisen; and in December, 1914, as soon as the strike was terminated and normal conditions were restored, the officers of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company undertook the practical development of plans which had been under consideration.
The men in each mining camp were invited to choose, by secret ballot, representatives to meet with the executive officers of the company to discuss matters of mutual concern and consider means of more effective coöperation in maintaining fair and friendly relations.
That was the beginning, merely the germ, of a plan which has now been developed into a comprehensive “Industrial Constitution.” The scheme embodies practical operating experience, the advice and study of experts, and an earnest effort to provide a workable method of friendly consideration, by all concerned, of the daily problems which arise in the mutual relations between employer and employees.