Republican farmer., 1919-08-29
ARTICLES CANNOT HANDLE
 LABOR EVILS Point Toward Program That May Disturb Do-
 mestic Peace. CANNOT ENTHUSE
 ANY ONE CLASS Make Standard Lowest and Level Down To It, Says
 Thomas.

Washington, Aug. 22.---The labor provisions of the peace treaty fail to cope with threatening labor evils and point toward a program which may disturb the domestic peace of the United States, Senator Thomas, Dem. ocrat Colorado, declared today in the Senate. He expressed grave doubt whether that section of the treaty could be accepted under the constitu- tion.
 The international labor conference to be set up, he declared, would be an important integral part of the League or Nations, though the provisions ere ating it are not included in the league covenant.
 ''Inasmuch as organized labor cor rectly speaks of itself as a class,'' he said, it is entirely apparent to say
 they including this program in the
 treaty, distinct recognition and separ- ate organization are given to a class.
 To enthrone a class, whether by re-
 VoIuuon or by treaty it is but to
 estrange other classes.
 Tt may be possible to reach the
 goal of uniformity in the conditions
 of labor, but I question whether it
 can be done otherwise than by mak-
 ing the standard the lowest, and lev cling down to it. Strict uniformity
 in world labor conditions can be at
 tained only at the expense of the
 American wage earner. cannot
 avoid the conclusion that these arti-
 cles designed for his physical spirit
 ual improvement may make him the equivalent of continental wage earn
 er''
 Referring to the provision. that the credentials of delegates to the Inter- national Conference may be passed on by the conference itself, he continued: Personally I do not like a covenant whcih subjects the selection of high ! officials by the Government of the United States for tl-e discharge of inn portant international functions of re- view and possible rejection by an ex- ternaI authority. The treaty thus
 makes the conference a substitute for
 or a supplement to the President and the Senate.
 For some time I entertained a ] doubt whether Article 405 did not in-
 vest this conference with a species 1 of legislative or treaty making pow ! CTS. And proposals for the exten- 1 sion of this power will probably soon | follow the establishment of the per-
 manent organization, if I correctly apprehend the purport of the official | introduction.
 "I do not look for the early ad- vent of the stupendous upheava' | which must come to the structure o1 | the American government before il | can constitutionally assent to such | a delegation of power, but I car well imagine how efforts to secure il | would profoundly disturb our do-
 mestic peace; for the labor program ! points that way"
 l He also said he could not avoid tn; | conclusion that certain judicial right vested by the constitution in Ameri | can courts would be delegated to tn. | tribunals set up by the labor sec | ton.
 Painting a gloomy picture of la ] Dor conditions in this country an: | declaring that organized labor wa,
 employing methods which threate1 {! the nations political and social ex ] istence. he declared these were tn, real matters that should concern leg | islators.