ORGANIZATION OF EMPLOYERS AND 

 EMPLOYEES 1 



By John Burton Phillips 



The strength of organization is in the fact that in this way the influence 

 of a class may make itself felt. Public opinion is influenced by class 

 feeling. The distribution of wealth among the various classes of the 

 population is in considerable measure fixed according to public opinion. 

 The true philosophy of the organization of the laboring class is that 

 they realize that the wage scale is in part set in this way. Wages are in 

 considerable part the result of public opinion as to the standard of living 

 and the amount of income necessary to maintain the degree of comfort 

 which it is thought desirable should be maintained by the various classes 

 of the population. For example, the salaries of government officers 

 are in part fixed at a rate that it is thought will enable them to entertain, 

 as this is considered by their constituents a necessity in their positions. 

 There does not appear to be any great necessity for a government officer 

 to spend large sums in entertaining, but the public think it is necessary 

 and they attempt to fix the salary accordingly. They are dissatisfied if 

 he does not live up to a certain style of life which common consent has 

 fixed upon as proper for such as he. 



Just as the public is displeased with the government officer if he does 

 not spend his income in keeping up a certain style of living, so it may 

 be displeased with the wages that different classes of the population 

 receive. There is a feeling that after a man has spent a certain amount 

 of time and money in the preparation for a line of work he should not 

 be paid less than a certain fixed wage or fee. This is fixed by public 

 opinion at such an amount as is thought to be necessary for him to supply 

 the larger needs that are supposed to have resulted from his superior 

 training. This is clearly seen in the amounts that it is believed are proper 

 for a physician to charge for his services. These fees are not fixed by 

 the law of demand and supply; neither are they fixed by charging what 



1 Reprinted from the Bankers' Magazine, Vol. LXVIII, No. 5, May, 1904, by permission of the editor. 



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