The labor advocate. [volume] (Cincinnati, Ohio) 1912-1937, 1917-03-24
American Labor's Position
In Peace Or In War
The American Federation of Labor Repudae All
lo Kitchens Bell Etc., Who Claimed Speak
istLabor To aue Equal Honors and

we represent the organizations held to-
gether by the pressure of our common
needs. We represent the part of the
nation closest to the fundamentals of
life. Those we represent WELD the ma
tons tools and grapple with the forces
that are brought under control in our
material civilization. The power and
use of industrial tools is greater than
the tools of war and will in time super
sede agencies of destruction.
A world war is on. The time has not
yet come when war has been abolished.
Whether we approve it or not, we
must recognize that war is a situation
with which we must reckon. The pres
ent European war, involving as it does
the majority of civilized nations and
affecting the industry and commerce of
the whole world, threatens at any mo-
ment to draw all countries, including our
own, into the conflict. Our immediate
problem, then, is to bring to bear upon
war conditions instructive forethought,
vision, principles of human welfare and
conservation that should direct our
course in every eventuality of life The
way to avert war is to establish con-
structive agencies for justice in times
of peace and thus control for peace sit
uations and forces that might otherwise
result in war.
The methods of modern warfare, its
new tactics, its vast organization, both
military and industrial, present problems
vastly different from those of previous
wars. But the nations problems afford
an opportunity for the establishment of
new freedom and wider opportunities
for all the people Modern warfare in
cludes contests between workshops, fac
tories, the land, financial and transporta-
ton resources of the countries involved ;
and necessarily applies to the relations
between employers and employees, and as
our own country now faces an impending
peril, it is fitting that the masses of the
people. of the United States should take
counsel and determine what course they
shall pursue should a crisis arise neces-
and defense of the ideals for which it
stands.
In the struggle between the forces of
democracy and special privilege, for just
and historic reasons the masses of the
people necessarily represent the ideals
and the institutions of democracy. There
is in organized society one potential or
ganization whose purpose is to further
these ideals and insttutions-the organ
lied labor movement.
In no previous war has the organized
labor movement taken directing part.
Labor has now reached an under
standing of its rights, of its power and
resources, of its value and contributions
to society, and must make definite con-
structive proposals.
1t is timely that we frankly present
experiences and conditions which in for
mer times have prevented nations from
benefiting by the voluntary, whole-heart-
ed cooperation of wage-earners in war
time, and then make suggestions how
these hindrances to our national strength
and vigor can be removed.
War has never put stop to the neces-
sity for struggle to establish and main
tain industrial rights. Wage -earners in
war times must, as has been said, keep
one eye on the exploiters at home and
the other upon the enemy threatening
the national government Such exploit
alton made it impossible for warning
nation to mobilize effectively its full
strength for outward defense.
We maintain that it is the fundamen-
tai step in preparedness for the nation
to set its own house in order and to
establish at home justice in relations be-
tween men. Previous wars, for what
ever purpose waged, developed new op-
portunities for exploiting wage-earners
Not only was there failure to recognize
the necessity for protecting rights of
workers that they might give that whole
hearted service to the country that can
come only when every citizen enjoys
rights, freedom and opportunity, but un-
der gtiise of national necessity, Labor
was stripped of its means of defense
against enemies at home and was robbed
of the advantages, the projections, the
guarantees of justice that had been
achieved after ages of struggle. For
these reasons workers have felt that nc
matter what the result of war, as wage
earners they generally lost.
In previous times labor had no repre-
sentatives in the councils authorized to
deal with the conduct of war. The
rights, interests and welfare of work
ers were automatically sacrificed fol
the slogan of national Safety"
The European war has demonstrated
the dependence Of the governments upol
the cooperation of the masses of thu
people. Since the masses perform indis
pensable service, it follows that the,
should have voice in determining th'