Believe me

     Very faithfully yours

     (Signed) W.E.  GLADSTONE

I insert this as giving proof, if proof were needed, of Mr. Gladstone’s large, sympathetic nature, alive and sensitive to everything transpiring of a nature to arouse sympathy—­Neapolitans, Greeks, and Bulgarians one day, or a stricken friend the next.

The general public, of course, did not know that I was in Scotland and knew nothing of the initial trouble at Homestead.  Workmen had been killed at the Carnegie Works, of which I was the controlling owner.  That was sufficient to make my name a by-word for years.  But at last some satisfaction came.  Senator Hanna was president of the National Civic Federation, a body composed of capitalists and workmen which exerted a benign influence over both employers and employed, and the Honorable Oscar Straus, who was then vice-president, invited me to dine at his house and meet the officials of the Federation.  Before the date appointed Mark Hanna, its president, my lifelong friend and former agent at Cleveland, had suddenly passed away.  I attended the dinner.  At its close Mr. Straus arose and said that the question of a successor to Mr. Hanna had been considered, and he had to report that every labor organization heard from had favored me for the position.  There were present several of the labor leaders who, one after another, arose and corroborated Mr. Straus.

I do not remember so complete a surprise and, I shall confess, one so grateful to me.  That I deserved well from labor I felt.  I knew myself to be warmly sympathetic with the working-man, and also that I had the regard of our own workmen; but throughout the country it was naturally the reverse, owing to the Homestead riot.  The Carnegie Works meant to the public Mr. Carnegie’s war upon labor’s just earnings.

I arose to explain to the officials at the Straus dinner that I could not possibly accept the great honor, because I had to escape the heat of summer and the head of the Federation must be on hand at all seasons ready to grapple with an outbreak, should one occur.  My embarrassment was great, but I managed to let all understand that this was felt to be the most welcome tribute I could have received—­a balm to the hurt mind.  I closed by saying that if elected to my lamented friend’s place upon the Executive Committee I should esteem it an honor to serve.  To this position I was elected by unanimous vote.  I was thus relieved from the feeling that I was considered responsible by labor generally, for the Homestead riot and the killing of workmen.

I owe this vindication to Mr. Oscar Straus, who had read my articles and speeches of early days upon labor questions, and who had quoted these frequently to workmen.  The two labor leaders of the Amalgamated Union, White and Schaeffer from Pittsburgh, who were at this dinner, were also able and anxious to enlighten their fellow-workmen members of the Board as to my record with labor, and did not fail to do so.