of labor
confront the organized forces of capital, with little disposition on
either side to surrender an advantage once gained or to put an end to
the conflict by a frank recognition of each other's rights.

It is not strange that this conflict has continued to vex society.
Conflict is one of the characteristics of imperfectly adjusted groups.
It seems to be a necessary preliminary to co-operation, as war is. It
will continue until human beings are educated to see that the
interests of all are paramount to the interests of any group, and
that in the long run any group will gain more of real value for itself
by taking account of the interests of a rival. Railroad history in
recent years has made it very plain that neither railway employees nor
the public have gained as much by hectoring the railroad corporations
as either would have gained by considering the interests of the
railroad as well as its own.

Industrial conflict is due in great part to the unwillingness of the
employer to deal fairly by his employee. There have been worthy
exceptions, of course, but capitalists in the main have not felt a
responsibility to consider the interests of the workers. It has been a
constant temptation to take advantage of the power of wealth for the
exploitation of the wage-earning class. Unfortunately, the modern
industrial period began with economic control in the hands of the
employer, for with the transfer of industry to the factory the laborer
was powerless to make terms with the employer. Unfortunately, also,
the disposition of society was to let alone the relations of master
and dependent in accordance with the _laisser-faire_ theory of the
economists of that period. Government was slow to legislate in favor
of the helpless employee, and the abuses of the time were many. The
process of adjustment has been a difficult one, and experiment has
been necessary to show what was really helpful and practicable.

194. =More than an Industrial Problem.=--In the process of experiment
it has become clear that the industrial problem is more than an
economic problem; secondarily, it is the problem of making a living
that will contribute to the enrichment of life. It is not merely the
adjustment of the wage scale to the profits of the capitalist by class
conflict or peaceful bargaining, nor is it the problem of unemployment
or official labor. The primary task may be to secure a better
adjustment of the economic interests of employer and