The Penn's Grove record., 1919-09-05
The League and Labor

The Peace Treaty n Une League
of Nations Covenant contain labor
articles the like of which were never
in a former peace treaty. They were
put there largely by the influence OF
| Samuel Gompers, the foremost leader
of labor in America. The purpose IS
to emancipate labor of all nations so
they will be enlightened to not only be
| greater producers, but larger consul
mers of the luxuries of life.
By raising the efficiency OF labor
and the scale of living in other
| tries American labor will not have to
compete in the world.
With labor raised to a higher stand
| ard in other countries the great plea
for a protective tariff will fall.
Samuel Gompers, in answer to an
INQUIRY in regard to the opposition IN
the Senate Committee on Foreign
Affairs to the labor articles in the COW
enant of the League of Nations and
the Treaty of Peace signed at YER
sailles, declared that "the world can
not be safe for democracy until 1t IS
safe for labor"
"The Covenant for a League of Ma
tions and the Treaty of Peace OF when
it is a part, negotiated at Paris, hold
the first world agreement among the
nations to keep all that has peer Sc
cured for labor and to make the stand
ards already gained universal, adyanc-
ing and improving for all men, o all
women and for all children" he SAID.
"This agreement is not yet in force.
The Senate of the United States has
had the covenant and Treaty for eight
weeks, during all of which it has been
in committee. Until it is ratified by
a two-thirds vote of the Senate, the
covenant and Treaty are not safe n
the United States is not a party TO II;
ANY amendment to this Treaty Will
send it back to all the twenty-seven
nations concerned, Germany included.
Raises LabOr's Level
s'This first international charter for
the right of labor should be adopted
without delay. 1t begins among the
nations the great and sublime task of
labor the world over. Every work
man in the world, wherever he may be,
is put in peril by every workman
whose hours are long, whose pay, IS
inadequate, whose conditions OF labor
are dangerous and whose standard OF
life is low. Every child at work at
too early an age makes it more diff
cult to maintain the age standard for
the labor of childhood. This is four
teen years in many of our states. 1t
should be sixteen. Children working
at a lower age make it harder to I'M
prove and to keep the present child
standards. So with women. Every
woman toiling II and IA hours a day
renders it harder for every woman
working eight hours a day-it should
be six-to keep her hours secure.
"The world needs to be made safe
for labor as we'll as for democracy.
Labor must be safe in all lands or it
is safe in none. Even American labor
cannot be wholly secur until labor
everywhere is raised in hours, in con-
dition, and in wages to a just and uni
versal standard. Under paid, over
houred, starved labor will always be
seeking the land of better conditions
ready to lower them. The only sure
protection for any labor anywhere is
universal justice to all labor every
where.
The Covenant and Treaty delayed
so long in the Senate purposes to
gain this" Mr.. Gompers continued.
"They declare labor is not a commo-
dity. They make it the right and duty
of every land to bring before a world
tribunal conditions anywhere which
are perilous to it's own labor. They
create a central international labor
bureau to learn what these conditions
are and whether laws as to labor are
enforced.
every country binds itself to make
no agreement with any other country
lowering the standards of labor. The
covenant provides a marine commits
sion by which labor at sea can be
watched and the sailor protected
against unfair and underpaid competi-
ton. An international union card has
long existed. The Treaty looks to
raising labor conditions to their high
est present level in all lands and end
ing the competition of unfair condi-
lions in the future so that there shall
be international conditions as we'll as
international cards.
"This cannot come in a day, IN a
year, OF in a decade; but it is possible
to turn the world of nations in this
direction, to give the command for
any recommendation or draft conven-
ton by the conference to lessen the
protection afforded by it's existing legis-
lation to the workers concerned The
labor articles of the Treaty were
drawn by labor men for labor. They
will stand"