Denver labor bulletin., 1916-09-02
PRESIDENT WILSON
EXTOLS UNION LABOR
His Address at Dedication of
A. F. Of l.. Home in Wash
ington on July Fourth

Perhaps no better expression of Presi-
dent Wilson's attitude toward organ
ized labor could be given in this Labor
day issue of The Bulletin than to print
his own words. On the Fourth OF July,
last, he delivered an address at the ded.
icatory exercises OF the new American
Federation of Labor building in Wash
ington. lie was introduced TO a vast as
semblage by Samuel Gompers, who
called attention to the fact that il was
the first time in the history OF Amei
lea that the chief executive OF the ma
tion had been present at the dedication
OF a Temple OF Labor
President Wilson said:
MIR. Gompers Is generally very happy
in the choice OF words, but he used one
word just now from which l wish to de-
mur. | am not here to adorn the oc-
cssion. but / am here to express my
very interest in il and to show how
near il lies to my own heart that the
legitimate results Of the great labor
movement should BE- achieved.
1t seems to me that it il a happy
conjunction OF time and occasion because
we should never make any new move
OF establish any fundamentally which
will affect the national life without
thinking of the national life and how
10 viii be- affected and how we can
serve IT, IL Is very proper that this great
building should iu this Wi-e b. dedicated
on the birthday Of the nation You
know. my fellow citizens. that the mind
needs air to breathe just as the body
does
Something Greater Than Wages.
: ou cannot rise TO the tasks OF the
day with any kind Of zcst and inter
ct unless YOU know their significance;
and they have a very narrow significance
II YOU look upon them as means of
keeping body and soul together. IL
seems TO me. therefore. that the most
hoartoning thing that man can do j.
to think a. often as hc can OF the rela-
tions which his work bears to the place
he lives in. to the state he lives in and
to the country he lives in.
You know that every man who is \
man takes some pride in doing his work
we'll, but why should he take pride in
IT, Merely to glorify and distinguish
himself from the common run OF work
cr.f That will only make prig of him.
a man who works in order that he
may be distinguished l. sooner or later
going to do some selfish thing that will
disgrace him. because his object j. him
self and not the ideals which he serves.
And. therefore, 1t seems to be that
every one OF Us should remind himself
every day that he il working Tor some.
thing besides wages; that he i working
for'-ome persons whom he loves or some
community that he wishes TO assist, or
some nation that he is ready to serve
and defend.
Dedicated to Cooperation.
"Tha; is the reason why it seems to
me that this is a happy day and occa-
sion. Because. my fellow citizens, you
will realize that in a position such
occupy for the time being ! am not at
liberty to think OF any one class OF our
fellow citizens to the exclusion OF any
other class. and since have been asked
to make dcdieatory address OF this
building / am going to take the liberty
of defeating 1t to common counsel and
a common understanding. | am going
to take the liberty of defeating IL 60
the thing that ] believe in most, the
accommodation OF the interest OF yari-
Gus classes in the community by means
OF enabling those classes to understand
one another and to cooperate with one
another.
THE way we generally strive fo'
rights is by getting our fighting blood
up. and / venture to say that is the
wrong way and not the short way. II
YOU come at me with your fists double
/ think | can promise you that mine
will double as fast as yours, but if you
come Mt me and say, let us sit down
and take council together, and il we diff
fer from one another, understand why
il is we differ with one another, just
what the points at issue are we will
presently find that we are not so far
apart after all, that the points in which
we differ are few and many, and that
IL we only had the patience and the
candor and the desire to get together
we will get together.
Trouble in Getting Together"
"rho trouble in great many of the
labor contests we have had, my fellow
citizens. as you will bear me out in say
ing is that one side or the other did not
wish to sit down and talk it over, and
that the great difficulty in the settle
ment of n great many labor disputes
has been the difficulty of getting candid
and dispassionate conference with re.
gard to the points at issue. The great
difficulty about the relationship between
cnpitNl and labor is this; Labor is in
immediate contract with the task itself,
with the work. with the condition of the
work. with the tools with which it is
done and the circumstances under which
they are used; whereas capital in too
many instances is Mt n great remove.
ut il owned and controlled by many
who have not taken the pains TO go and
sec the workers at their work and know
lust what the circumstances are; and
the most to be desired is that capital
should be humanized by being brought