New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-11-21

The Hon James II. Thomas, genera seCfe'
tarv OF the National Union Of Railwaymeh
o. Great Britain and Ireland, member OF
Parliament and a member OF the brllish
Labor Commission which recently visited
this country, addressed the committee OF Ia
bor q. the Council Of National Defence on
Nav Is last. He described the part that
British organized labor was taking IN the
war.
Mr.. James OConnell, president OF the
metal trades department OF the America"
Federation Of Labor, a member OF tne III
dustrial Relations Commission and mem
Der of committees organized under the Oouh-
ell Of National Defence, addressed the re-
cant convention of the boilermakers union
at Kansas City. He advised as TO "na'
should be the attitude Of organized iaoor /"
thi. country in the war.
Extracts from the addresses of these TWO
national labor leaders are here submitted
for comparison.
The following is taken from the remarks
Of Mr. Thomas, as published IN The Afher'-
can Federationis":
"The labor movement Of Great Britain
is definitely anti-war. looked upo"
war as hell let loose but We
,roro focod with something that
wac oven worse than war, and 1t was ma
ticnal dishonor.
The labor movement, as whole, having
decided TO stand by the government, we
we're Immediately brought up against 'ne
proposition Of whether our support meant
merely lin service or really genuine sacri-
fec. The mere making of speeches is a
detail; the mere support of government
BIZ public declaration is valueless TO thaI
government unless it carries with it some
n-,c,;ca1 secrifce. The British trade
Ynion movement, having first decided to sup
mort the war, Immediately applied itself to
the WAYS and means by which it could best
do il. and the first thing we did was 10
declare there should exist during the period
of the war an industrial truce. That IS 70
say, that, with the war raging as 1t was,
il would be madness and folly 10 have side
by side with that war raging an industrial
var in orr own country, and we entered INTO
an agreement with the employers whereby
they on the one hand, agreed that they
would not interfere with or reduce the con-
ditions prevalent at the time, in return for
Wltcn we, on Inc plHtI manu-, "SANSN N''"
we should not attempt TO set up any new
standard conditions, and that truce was prac-
tically agreed to by the whole of the orga-
nized workers of Great Britain.
Iabors Agreement and Conditions
"Not only was our difficulty in supplying
munitions TO our own people, but supply
ing them TO the other Allies well. The
government said if every skilled man was
turned on to this job there would still be
a shortage. The result was that they called
organized labor into their conference and
said: we want you TO agree to unskilled
men and women being taught and trained
for this work Our trades unions agreed
but they made this condition, that
all these privileges, all these rules, that
were relaxed, were to be restored immedi-
atcly the war was over, with the result
that again there was brought into the man
facture of munitions hundreds of thousands
of men and women, previously unskilled, who
were trained in various ways and gave as
sistance in the manufacture Of what was
hitherto skilled industry.
ITO the employers would say. remember
that the protection of this great state has
enabled you 70 amass your wealth by the
assistance OF labor. You have a duty 10
recognize that in the world war selfish in
terests must be obliterated. To the worker !
would say, in spite Of all your struggles and