The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1917-11-15
REPRESENTATION is DEMAND
ED FOR ORGANIZED LABOR

ED FOR ORGANIZED LABOR
BUFFALO, N. Y.-Demand for
"adequated and direct" representa-
tion of wage earners at the world con
ference is made in the annual report
of the executive council of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor, submitted
recently to the Federation in conven-
tion at Buffalo. The report declares
that the world war must wipe out all
vestiges of the old conceit that the ma
tion belongs to the ruler"
Questions raised by the war occupy
virtually the entire report. No room
is left for doubt that the United States
government has the unanimous sup
port of organized American labor in
the war, and it is asserted Wit equal
emphasis that the vital interest of the
average citizen demand that we have
a voice in the readjustments to come
with the dawn of peace.
Optimism over labor achievements
, in the last year is tempered with a
warning that benefits obtained from
emergency opportunities must be bas-
ed on principles of human welfare and
not the result of taking advantage of
the nations necessity. Freedom of
expression is upheld, but the report
says those who abuse the privilege of
the press to undermine the nations
free institutions should be punished as
traitors.
Duty of Wage Earners
President Wilson's war address to
congress is included in the report,
with the declaration adopted by a
meeting of union officials last March
when it was seen to be inevitable that
the European conflagration would
spread to America. Under the head
ing Labor and the War" the report
. says:
Under all circumstances it is the
duty of any government to protect its
! people against willful and wholesale
murder. * Il A people unwilling to
make the supreme sacrifice in support
of the government which undertakes
to make that principle good are unde-
serving to live and enjoy the privilege
of free, democratic, government
/ The duty of wagearners in the wa:
is emphasized particularly in the Sec
ton of the report devoted to Peace
Terms" which advocates an interna-
tional agreement to secure peace and
the settlement of the present war
without "vindictive" indemnities or
territorial changes. The section says:
at is an imperative duty from
which there is no escape that Wage
earners as well as other citizens of
this republic support our government
in it's righteous effort to defend prn-
ciples of humanity and to establish
democracy in international relations.
Because we desire permanent peace
it is our duty to fight and sacrifice
until these purposes can be achieved
Rights in Peace Treaty
when nations can send representa-
tives to negotiate peace terms in ac-
cord with this concept, we maintain
that the basic provisions of the peace
treaty should be formulated with re-
gard to the rights and welfare of the
men, women and children constituting
the nations rather than the govern
ments of the nations. The government
should be only an instrumentality of
the people instead of dominating and
actuating their lives. This terrific
war must wipe out all vestiges Of the
old conceit that the nation belongs to
the ruler or government.
I'VE hold that the same principles
should aprly to relation between ma
tions and that secret diplomacy should
be displaced by diplomatic representa-
tives responsible to the people of their
own people and received by either the
parliment of the country tc which they
are accredited or by representative
of the people, responsible to them.
working people have never been
properly represented in diplomatic af-
fairs. The future must be constructed
upon broader lines than the past We
insist, therefore, that the GOV ernment
o. the United STATE, provide adequate
and direct representatives of wage
earners among the p!enlpo;entaries
sent to the Peace Congress, and urge
upon the labor movements of other
countries to take like action.