Evening star., 1919-03-03
Governors and Mayors
of Country Gather
at White House.
DISCUSS PROBLEMS
OF RECONSTRUCTION
Session Is Opened by President.
Labor Secretary Charges
Bolshevism in Strikes.

Bolshevism in Strikes.
If the United States represents or
serves through her public men any
selfish interest the nation will be-
come candidate "for the most last
ing discredit that will ever attach to
men in history" President Wilson said
in opening the conference Of gov
ernors and mayors at the White
House this morning.
Representation at Meeting.
Twenty-one governors were in at
tendance in person. twenty-five were
represented by prominent citizens OF
their respective states. while more
than hundred mayors. representing
the most important cities in the coun-
try, were present
The delegates are here to discuss
reconstruction problems None ap-
peared to be pessimistic regarding
the future, but there, was genera
feeling that the labor conditions were
grave. InOuS1l HOt o'iN NA'~~
the country must prepare for some
readjuStment difficulties.
II hope the deliberations of the con-
ference will assume WIDE range,
said President Wilson. inciud,ng
means for the restoration OF labor
conditions to a normal basis as soon
as possible and effecting such al
locations of labor and industry as the
circumstances may make necessary
The President said he had been
forced to crowd into a week of ef-
fort q month of work and for that
reason was denied the privilege OF
taking part in the deliberations OF
Indeed, I have not been permitted
to deliberate very much recently. SAD
Mr. WILTON, while a sFntlo went around
the distinguished assembly
Presented by Labor Secretary.
Secretary of Labor Wilson, chair
man Of the conference. presented the
president. Secretary Wilson declared
the strikes at Seattle, Butte and. other
cities were not economic, were not
the results of dissatismaction among
the workers with wages, hours of Ia
bof or other economic conditions
They were political and social in their
origin and designed for the purpose
of establishing a soviet government
in this country, Secretary Wilson
said.
President Wilson received an en-
thusiastic reception He was loudly
appiauded when he said that the dele
gates to the peace conference in
France, representing more than 1907
oe0, 900 people, had no thought of self
service or OF serving any special IN
terest They were there to serve the
civilized nations of the world. the
Whan NJ wilson concluded his re-
marks Secretary Wilson analyzed the
labor situation. The Secretary said
that survey Of the country as Tar
as the department had gone showed
ment- This figure. by complete sur
vey, the Secretary declared. would be
increased probably to 100000.
"Grave But Not Alarming"
This is a grave situation, but by no
means alarming, for even in times OF
great commercial and industrial ac-
tivity the normal number of men out
of employment in the United States is
more than a million" said Secretary
Wilson. The Secretary referred to the
almost complete absence OF strikes
and other labor upheavalS during the
war.
During that entire period we had not
a strike of more than local impor-
tance," said Mr.. Wilson. IF we could
tEaffSform pSdcG-IIHie IndtDiHS oSri
night into military organization by
the exercise of the same intelligence
and by the use of the same industry.
we ought to be able to convert war
machine into a peace machine in the
same period.
Mr.. Wilson said the reconstruction
problems of the United States were
trivial as compared with the problems
of Great Britain. In England, the
speaker said, 1t is necessary to have
toJ Spn n
countries for it, while in the United
States all the raw material is at hand
and ready for use. Mr.. Wilson took
it for granted that period of great
labor and skill of practically all able
bodied men in the United States would
follow a temporary luii-
He said that many employers were
waiting for prices to fail before en-
tering upon new commitments But
he declared that prices would not
drop soon, nor would the cost Of
labor come down. He said that many
workmsn during the war period saved
their money and thus made prepara-
tion for a night against the lowering
OF wages.
I'VE are short in our normal supply
of workers by from two to five mil
lion men," Secretary Wilson said,
after he had explained that immigra-
tion which brought about six hun
States every year prior to the war
rad practically ceased four years ago
Mr.. Wilson said one reason for
unrest in the United States was that
the ideals of labor are higher than
in any country in the world. and when
the economic conditions make it i'm
possible for the workers to reach
these ideals, they become restive and
dissatisfied. But this is not an un-
wholesome condition, the Secretary
declared.
Cooperation With States.
Secretary of War Baker declared
that cooperation between the states
and the federal government had been
Sully established during the conflict
and If this had not been done 1t would
have been impossible to conduct to q
Victorious close SO colossal an enter
prise.
When the war closed we had con-
tracts with our citizens and with cit
izens in other countries aggregatins
more than seven billion dollars" said