Denver labor bulletin., 1917-11-17

In the most earnest address of his public life,
President Woodrow Wilson stirred $50 delegates and
many guests could crowd into the Auditorium
at the thirty annual convention of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor at Buffalo, N Y, Monday
afternoon The President went direct from Wash
ington to deliver this message to labor, and was
given a enthusiastic reception. II the first
time in all history where the nations chief execu-
tive has set aside his pressing duties to travel afar
and speak before n national gathering of trades and
labor unionsts Delegates and visitors stood tip
time and again to cheer the president and to give
endorsement to his plea for cooperation of all who
for America in this hour of the nations great
est crisis.
Samuel Gompers. president of the American Fed
Grafton of Labor, Introducing Mr.. Wilson, referred
to him this of destiny, spokesman for free
DOM interpreter of the aims and spirit of time,
leader of thoughts and actions among the nations of
the earth"
Full Text of Presidents Address.
The text of the presidents speech follows:
"Mr President. Delegates Of the American FEEDER
alton Of Labor, Ladies and Gentlemen: esteem it
n great privilege and real honor TO be thus admit
ted TO your public councils. When your executive
committee paid the compliment of inviting
here gladly accepted the invitation because it seems
that this, above all other times in history
is the time for common counsel for the drawing not
only the energies but Of the minds Of the nations
together | thought that it was a welcome opportu-
nifty for disclosing TO you some of the thoughts that
have been gathering in my mind during the last mo-
mentous months.
DENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND YET
WOULD BE PLEASED IF YOU WOULD PUT THE
THOUGHT OF THE OFFICE INTO THE BACK
GROUND AND REGARD ME AS ONE OF YOUR
FELLOW CITIZENS who has come here to speak,
not the words of authority but the words of counsel
the words which should speak TO another
who wish TO be frank in moment more critical per
haps than the history of the world has yet
known, a moment when il is every mans duty to for
get himself. forget his interests, to fill him
self with the nobility of great national and world
conception. and act upon n platform elevated
men have views of the long destiny of mankind
Germany Started the War.
81 think that in order TO realize just what this
moment Of counsel is il is very desirable that
should remind ourselves just how this came
about and just what it is for You explain most
wars very simply. but the explanation of this is not
so simple. Its roots deep into all the obscure
soils of history and in my view this is the last de-
cisve issue between the old principles Of and
the principles of freedom
"The started by Germany. Her authori-
ties deny that they started it But I willing to
let the statement have just made await the verdict
of history And the thing that needs to be explained
is why Germany started the Remember what
the position Of Germany in the world n
viabe n position any nation has occupied
"Thc whole world stood Mt admiration of her
derful intellectual and material achievements. and
all the intellectual of the world went to school
to her. As n university man, ! have been surrounded
by men trained in Germany-men who had resortcd
Germany because nowhere else could they get such
thoro and searching training. particularly in the