IRVING BERNSTEIN. Arbitration of Wages. Pp. xiii, 125. Berkeley and Los An geles: University of California Press, 1954. $3.50
| Date | 01 July 1955 |
| DOI | 10.1177/000271625530000140 |
| Published date | 01 July 1955 |
| Author | John R. Abersold |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
147
nelius
Vanderbilt,
J.
Pierpont
Morgan,
John
D.
Rockefeller,
and
Henry
Ford
as
subjects
for
the
sort
of
analysis
proposed.
The
ca-
reers
of
these
men
were
well
spaced
over
the
116
years
that
separated
the
death
of
Girard
from
the
demise
of
Ford.
While
they
achieved
success
in
somewhat
differ-
ent
fields,
each
was
an
outstanding,
if
not
the
outstanding,
businessman
of
his
gen-
eration.
For
somewhat
obvious
reasons
the
au-
thor
has
drawn
heavily
on
statements
made
at
the
time
of
the
death
of
each
of
these
men.
He
disclaims
the
use
of
any
&dquo;so-
phisticated
notions
of
sampling&dquo;
in
gather-
ing
his
data.
But
an
extensive
coverage
of
available
sources,
and
the
great
care
in
se-
curing
a
cross
section
of
opinion,
leave
little
to
be
criticized
in
respect
to
meth-
odology.
The
findings
of
the
study
can
be
briefly
summarized.
In
the
early
nineteenth
cen-
tury
the
entrepreneur
in
America
was
de-
scribed
as
a
man
with
certain
personal
qualities
that
made
for
success;
qualities
that
would
have
made
for
success
at
any
time,
in
any
place,
under
any
circum-
stances.
His
nonbusiness
acts
were
private
and
not
&dquo;deemed
suitable
for
discussion
or
even
relevant
to
an
understanding
of
the
man&dquo;
(p.
178).
The
destination,
not
the
source
of
his
wealth
or
the
methods
used
in
acquiring
it,
largely
determined
whether
public
reaction
was
favorable
or
unfavor-
able.
By
the
end
of
the
century
the
standards
for
judging
the
significance
of
the
Ameri-
can
businessman
had
shifted.
The
roles
he
had
in
common
with
the
rest
of
his
coun-
trymen
were
now
considered
relevant
in
ex-
plaining
his
status.
&dquo;The
individualism
of
the
entrepreneur,
which
once
meant
his
personal
uniqueness,
now
means
his
con-
formity
with
qualities
possessed
by
all&dquo;
(p.
181).
&dquo;Business
enterprise
itself,
not
its
by-product
in
the
form
of
philanthropy,
becomes
the
basis
for the
twentieth
cen-
tury
evaluation
of
the
businessman&dquo;
(p.
179).
Moreover,
it
was
argued
that
with-
out
the
economic
system-capitalism
or
free
enterprise-entrepreneurial
success
would
be
impossible.
This
shift
in
the
symbolism
of
the
busi-
nessman,
the
author
believes,
was
in
re-
sponse
to
growing
attacks
on
the
entre-
preneur
and
the
economic
system.
The
fact
that
the
defense
or
rationalization
has
been
quite
successful
indicates
the
con-
tinued
vitality
of
the
functions
performed
by
the
entrepreneur
in
America.
&dquo;For
only
as a
symbol
takes
on
new
meanings
relevant
to
new
social
conditions
may
it
live&dquo;
(p.
182).
Because
of
the
fresh
and
original
treat-
ment
of
a
somewhat
familiar
subject
this
reviewer
fully
agrees
with
the
statement
on
the
book’s dust
jacket,
&dquo;Businessmen,
their
public
relations
counselors,
journal-
ists,
and
the
general
public
will
be
as
inter-
ested
in
this
book
as
will
the
historians.&dquo;
HAROLD
F.
WILLIAMSON
Northwestern
University
IRVING
BERNSTEIN.
Arbitration
of
Wages.
Pp.
xiii,
125.
Berkeley
and
Los
An-
geles:
University
of
California
Press,
1954.
$3.50.
Basically
the
author
has
drawn
his
ma-
terial
as
well
as
his
conclusions
from
an
analysis of
all
of
the
reported
arbitration
decisions,
in
which
at
least
one
of
the
issues
involved
was
wages,
reported
in
the
Bureau
of
National
Affairs
&dquo;Labor
Arbi-
tration
Reports,&dquo;
Volumes
I-XIV,
cover-
ing
the
period
1945-50.
In
addition
he
has
skillfully
woven
into
the
text
pertinent
observations
by
other
writers
in
the
field.
He
cautions
the
reader
in
the
Preface
that
his
work
is
not
intended
to
be
the
arbi-
trator’s
&dquo;handy
guide&dquo;
because
his
source
of
material
is
limited
to
the
principles
that
have
been
determined
by
arbitrators
in
a
limited
number
of
cases,
that
is,
209.
Moreover,
he
recognizes
wisely
that
there
is
no
final
word
in
an
area
as
fluid
as
wage
arbitration.
The
author
concludes
that
to
understand
wage
arbitration
one
must
take
account
of
three
basic
considerations.
The
first
is
that
the
arbitrator’s
judgment
replaces
that
of
the
parties
in
framing
the
wage
fraction
of
the
collective
agreement
and
at
the
same
time
serves
as
a
substitute
for
work
stop-
page.
In
consequence,
he
must
behave
as
the
parties
would
have
if
they
had
not
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