River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-11-22
Tells A. F. of L. United Support
of All is Needed to
Win War
GERMANY IS ACCUSED
Imperial Government Started War,
President DecIares-Facifists ard
Critics Scored-SamueI Gompers
Is. Lauded.

Buffalo, Nov. IA personal and
eloquent appeal for the full support
of organized labor for the government
for the conduct of the war has been
aDade by President Wilson. Speaking
before the annual convention Of the
American Federation of Labor he. de-
cleared the war could not be won un-
less all factories unite in a common
cause, sinking their differences.
Tribute To Gompers.
The President paid warm tribute to
Samuel Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor, and
virtually called upon the federation
TO give him united support. He de-
noUnced pacifsts and critics. He
appealed for cooperation.
"Between Power and Freedom"
Discussing Germany the President
declared fatty that Germany had
started the war and that he was will
Ding to await the verdict of history on
that statement.
The creation of new instrumental
ties for better cooperation between
labor and capital was one suggestion
by the President which was of prime
interest to the delegates to the con-
vention.
! The President alluded to the pres
ent war as "The last decisive issue
between the old principle of power
and the new principle of freedom"
Tremendous crowds gathered at the
railroad station and in the auditorium
IN tho procidonf
The text OF the Presidents speech
follows:
"Mr. President, Delegates of the
American Federation of Labor, Ladies
and Gentlemen:
II esteem it a great privilege and a
real honor to be thus admitted to your
public counsels. When your executive
committee paid me the compliment of
inviting rue here, gladly accepted the
invitation because it seems to me that
this above all other times in our his
tory is the time for common counsel
for the drawing not only Of the ener-
gies but of the minds of the nation to-
gether. I thought that it was a well
come opportunity for disclosing to you
some of the thoughts that have been
gathering in my mind during the last
IuOuJIlSs
Would Danish Thought of Office.
ST am introduced to you as the
President Of the United STATES, and
yet | would be pleased if you would
put the thought of the office into the
background and regard ME as one CT
your fellow citizens who has come
here to speak, not the words of au-
thorfty but the words of counsel, the
words which men should speak to one
another who wish to be frank in a mo-
ment more critical perhaps than the
history of the world has ever yet
known, a moment when it is every
mans drty to forget himself, TO for
get his own interests, to fill himself
with the nobility of a great national
and world conception and act upon a
new platform elevated above the Ordil-
cry affairs of life, elevated to where
men have views of the long destiny
of mankind.
81 think that in order to realize
just what this moment of counsel is,
it is very desirable that we should
remind ourselves just how this war
came about and just what it is for.
You can explain most wars very simp-
ly, but the explanation of this is not
so simple, It's roots run deep into all
the obscure soils of history, and in
my view this is the last decisive issue
between the old principles of power
and the new principles of freedom.
Germany Started War.
"The war was started by Germany.
Her authorities deny that they started
It. But am willing to let the state
ment / have just made await the YER
dict Of history. And the thing that
needs to be explained is why Germany
started tie war. Remember what the
position of Germany in the world was
as enviable position as any nation
has ever occupied. The whole world
stood at admiration at her wonderful
intellectual and material achievements
and all the intellectual men of the
world went to school to her. AS a
university man have been surround
ed by men trained in Germany. men
who had resorted to Germany because
nowhere else could they get such thor
ough and searching training, particu-
Iarly in the principles of science and
material achievements.
A Leader in Industrial World.
s'Her men of science had made her
Industries perhaps the most competent
industries III Tic WOl1O cAAu C1O AeASNA
Made in Germany was guarantee
of good workmanship and of sound
material. She had access to all the
markets of the world and every other
man who traded in those markets fear
ed Germany because of effective and
almost irresistible competition. She
had a place in the sun. Why was she
not satisfied? What more did she
went? There was nothing in the world
of peace that she did not already have
and have in abundance.
Such Methods Unlawful Here.
"You have only to ask any man
whom you meet who is familiar with
the conditions that prevailed before
the war in the matter of international
competition to find out the methods oil
competition which the German manu-
facturers and exporters used under
the patronage and support of the gov
eminent of Germany. You will FIND
that they were the same sorts OF com
petition that we have tried - prevent