The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1919-01-17
Don't Crock the Boat" if You
Would Have Industrial
Peace and Welfare.


slider industrial relations and kin
dred subjects now prominently in
the public mind, attended by rep
resentatives of various large inter
ests as we'll as men who are stu
dents of social and economic prob
lens. President Samuel Gompers,
American Federation of Labor, gave
voice to the following thoughts up
on the grave dangers confronting
the American pepole:
"To get the men to respond to
the call to arms in defense of our
Republic and our institutions re-
quired much effort, but it was not
difficult of accomplishment. To
persuade our civilian population to
do service behind and for the men
at the fighting front, was difficult,
but not so difficult, as are the prob
lens before us today.
81 am not one who believes that
the wisest and best condition of
the people is what is generally un-
derstood by contentment. Content
ment, in my way of thinking, is
stagnation. A healthy discomfort is
the awakening of the aspiration for
better things. 1t is essential today
that the people Of our country shall
be alert to all that is Transporting
and all that is impending. Thus
far we have lived our lives alone
and worked out for our own des-
TIMES along the line of the policies
we believed to be the best for us.
Today, after either winning the war
or helping to win the war, we are
to have our Representatives around
table where a treaty of peace is
to be formulated
"The representatives of no one
Government can have the control
ling voice. Optimist as l am, | new
err fail to look upon the other side
of the shield. Hoping for the best
always, and striving as best | can
to accomplish the right, or to help
accomplish the right, | know the
game played by the opponents of
right. The democratic legislation
erected by the Congress of the
United States, by the several states
of our Union, by our municipalities,
granting greater freedom of thought
and action of voluntary charact-
err. the understanding of what here
we mean by sovereignty of citizen
ship and of the man and of the wo-
man, a conception not held by any
other country on the face of the
globe appealed to the American
people, without regard to their sta
ton in life, to see to it, to supervise,
to be vigilant, lest around the peace
table there are purloined from us,
right under our very noses, many of
the liberties and the freedom of
our people.
"The treaty made by the United
States with any other country or
group of countries, that treaty be-
ing ratified by the Senate of the
United States, becomes the supreme
law of the land, and any law upon
the statute books that is in conflict
with the terms of that treaty be-
comes imperative and ineffective
and nil. We don't want to have
made in vain all the sacrifice of
our boys. We don't want to have
that flesh of our flesh and blood
of our blood given, and all the
treasure given, and all the sacrifice
made, in vain, and to have to make
the fight all over again for the
American people in their homes.
While our boys were fighting and
our men and women were working
here to maintain freedom and de-
mocracy abroad, we ought to be
alert now to see to it that we are
not going to lose our liberty and
democracy at home.
81 am impressed particularly with
the appeal to the conscience, to the
Judgment, to the ideals, to the
Americanism of our people for
united action. You cannot get
freedom, nor practice freedom, on
empty stomachs. The hungry men
may engage in a riot, may engage
in revolt, but their course is never
of a constructive character. Hun
cry stomachs do not make reason
ing brains. 1t is necessary to main
tain the standards of life of the
American working people that they
may have sound bodies, and the op-
portunity for reasonable thinking,
with aspirations of such a character
they will build up the institutions
n. d