Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1916-07-28
FRANK P. WALSH TALKS
TO B. OF |. F. AND {.
Discusses Labor Conditions in Address Delivered
Before the Convention Of the B. of L. F. &
E. at Denver on June 29.

to the retail jeweler or tailor was
the man that was struggling as a
sWitchman, say thirty vars ago, for
$50 a month-what good was he to
his community? But give him what
he ought to earn-$150 to $170 per
monitor whatever it may be, and
Immediately he becomes important to
the whole business of the community
He patronizes the jeweler, patron
ICES the tailor; he buys a piece of
property and patroniZes the real es-
tate man; he becomes an object of
the jewerer when his daughter has
tender solicitation on the part of the
birthday (laughter) or his son gets
married, or his wife desires some
thing that demands at least a modi-
cum of peace in the family Caught
err, that could only be brought about
perhaps by the presentation of
raise of wage. (Laughter.)
And, again, he becomes a powerful
unit in the community for the great
manufacturer; if there is a great re-
tail demand of course there is a
wholesale demand
If the present enormous number
Of casualties resulting in such an ap-
palling death rate occur under ex-
isting conditions on the railroads of
this country, what will happen If
they endeavor to operate these roads
with unskilled men in case of
strike, and you, who know all about
safety upon the railroads of these
United States, know that they are
asking these men not only to scab up
on ther brothers, but to kill them
selves, because many of them would
lose ther own lives in the effort, and
would perhaps destroy numberless
lives of innocent passengers and
thousands of dollars worth of prop
9rty of the shippers.
Semi-MOnthly Magazine Progress
i've Step.
1t is matter of education. II
we're asked what you did that was
The most important thing in your
entire convention here, | would say
hat 1t was your decision, as | un-
derstand it, that your magazine is to
De published twice a month instead
Of once a month. applause My
friends, / hear fragments of every
doctrinaire on industry and econom-
ics in the United States, SO | had ep-
tomized for the commission and my
self all the explanations, the find
ings of courts in the United States,
etc, and | want to say to you that
there is no scheme that can be de-
yised by law-there is no system that
can be instituted by any board that
will make workers free and inde-
pendent; they must absolutely de-
pend upon their own intelligence and
their own power to bring about i'm
proved conditions for themselves
Foundations" Made Possible by
Wages Kept From ToiIers
So | stand her today and | know
that | may be criticised for saying
that fundamentally | am opposed to
charity. Every dollar given to a
foundation" is taken from the pro-
ductive workers, and 1t is unearned
wages kept from the toilers, as John
r. Lawson so we'll said before our
Commission in the city of New York.
Loud applause.) Every dollar
given to a hospital is putting the
lives of citizens in private hands
The laws of this country-the fun
damental law-gives us the right to
live. 1t should not be a matter of
private charity; there should be great
hospitals in this country, such as you
have for yourselves in some COM
munities, kept up by all of the peo-
pie where the life of the smallest and
humblest person in the community
would be looked after with all of the
skill and care that any person could
buy for million dollars.
Charity an Obstacle to Progress.
Organized charity, as it is today,
S an obstacle to progress along the
line of real relief conditions When
ever | hear OF board being organiz-
ed that will have an inherent power
to regulate working conditions
know they are going to regulate these
working conditions according to the
economic ideas of the people that
| they take lunch with and live
every day. We saw il in Wisconsin
the most boasted OF all commits
sino systems in the United States
the author OF which sat upon our
Commission, a man, of course, upon
whom ! would not reflect in the
slightest way, because he has done
great deal in the interests of la
| boT; but our investigation showed
| that they, having the inherent right
to increase or decrease hours of labor
for women and children, increased
the hours for women and children
frequently by administrative orders.
No, not in one single instance did
they ever decrease or cut down the
hours for women and children-not
for even one woman or ehild-in the
entire state of Wisconsin.
1t is absolutely opposed to truth
to the claim that We are free men
to hold that any man has a right
to the labor OF another: or to say
CONTINUED on page two.