The Robesonian. [volume] (Lumberton, N.C.) 1870-current, 1917-11-15
THE PRESIDENTS VIEWS

Speech Before American Fedora
ton of Labor-Opposes Peace
Until War Against Germany
Has Been Won.
President Wilson delivered an ad-
dress Monday at Buffalo, N. Y, be-
fore the American Federation of La
Dor as follows:
"Mr. President, Delegates of the
American Federation of Labor, Lad |
les and Gentlemen:
Il esteem it great privilege and !
a real honor to be thus admitted to |
your public concils. When your ex-
ecutive committee paid me the COM
pliment of inviting me here, | gladly
accepted the invitation because it
seems to me that this, above all other
times in our history, is the time for
common counsel for the drawing not
only of the energies but Of the minds
of the nation together. thought that
it was welcome opportunity for dis
closing to you some of the thoughts
that have been gathering in my mind
during the last momentous months.
AS ''Fellow Citizen.
81 am introduced to you as the
i President of the United States and yet
/ would be pleased if you would put
the thought of the office ir5o 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
men should speak to one another, who
wish to be frank in a moment more
critical perhaps than the history of
the world has ever yet known. A
moment when it is every mans duty
to forget himself, to forget his own
interests, to fill himself with the no
bility Of great national and world
conception, and act upon new plat
form elevated to where men have
views of the long destiny of mankind
Il 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 wal
came about and just what tits for
You can explain most wars simply
but the explanation of this is not sc
simple. It's root run deep into al
the obscure soils of history and in my
tween old principals Of power and thu
new principles of freedom.
Germany Started the War.
"The war was started by Germany
Authorities deny that they started it
But I am willing to let the statemen
: | have just made await the verdic
of history. And the thing that need
> to be explained is why German,
started the war.
| Remember what the position o
| Germany in the wrld was-as envi
= able a position as any nation has ev
er~occupied. The whole world stoo
at admiration of her wonderful intel
1ectual and material achievements
- and all the intellectual men of tn
world went to school to her. AS
university man, have been surround
h ed by men trained in Germany, me
v who had resorted to Germany becaus
= nowhere else could they get sue
) thorough and searching training, pal
: ticularly in the principles Of scienC
O and the principles that underlie moo
e ern material achievements.
r. Tradesmen Feared Her.
J. "Her men of science had made he
r. industries perhaps the most compete1
f industries in the world, and the lab
e made in Germany was a guarante
$ of good workmanship and of materia
4 She had access to all the markets {
J. the world and every other man WI
IT. traded in those markets feared Ge,
many because Of her effective and a
IS most irresistible competition. She ha
: place in the sun. Why was she M
q satisfied? What more did she want
= There was nothing in the world {
peace that she did not already hay
E and have in abundance.
eve boast Of the extra ordina1
e pace of American advancement. v
show with pride the statistics Of tt
o increase of our industries and of tt
: population of our cities. Well, tho
70 statistics did not match the rece1
IN statistics of Germany. Her old citi
r took on youth, grew faster than al
IS American cities ever. grew; her Q
ST industries opened their eyes and sd
as a new world and went out for its co
as quest; and yet the authorities Of &c
many were not satisfied. ou ha
" one part of the answer to the que
N ton why she was not satisfied in h
j. methods of competition. There is
r. important industry in Germany up
which the government has not laid
hands to direct it, and, when neces
ID. ty arises, control it.
IL "You have only to ask any m
W whom you meet, who is familiar W.
n the war in the matter Of internatit
n, | al competition to find out the nae
he | DDS of competition which the Germ
manufacturers and exporters used