The Connecticut labor press., 1920-01-17
TRADES IJNIONISM HELPS
FRANCE REGAIN VICOR

French Labor Representatives
Say Eight-Hour Day, Now Ac-
complished Fact, Is Absolutely
Necessary to Welfare of Nation.
They Denounce Reports of Un-
willingness to Work as Propa-
ganda of Financiers Seeking
Exorbitant Interest.
In the current number OF the Journal
of the international Molders' On1on,
Iohn P. Frey, editor of the Journal,
presents in translation a composite ad-
dress delivered by three leading French
labor men in Cincinnati just prior to the
departure of the French delegates to the
International Labor Conference.
This is the only public speech OF any
of the French delegates so far reported
and is for that reason important. In
addition, through this address the
French labor men present new facts
with which Americans ought to be made
familiar.
By JOHN P. FREY.
During the latter part of November,
-unionists>in Cincinnati were fav-
ored by the presences OF three promin,
ent French labor leaders, Marcel
Bidegaray head of the French Locomo-
tive Engineers; Georges Dumoulln,
assistant secretary of the Confederation
Generate du Travail (the French Fed
Grafton of Labor), and Raoul Lenoir,
secretary of the French Federation of
Metal Workers. These three trades
union leaders had come to America as
advisors to the French delegation at
tending the International Labor Confer
ence in Washington.
1t was their first visit to America and
they desired to meet representative
trades-unionists and visit some of the
industrial centers. Cincinnati was one
of their objectives and here they had
the opportunity of meeting ofhcers OF
the eight international unions with head
quarters in Cincinnati and number OF
local labor leaders, at banquet winch
was given in their honor.
The substance of their remarks SO
impressed the labor men gathered
around the banquet table that there
was a unanimous desire that the
thoughts which had been expressed
should be made a. matter of record.
Instead of giving resume OF each ad-
dress, the attempt is being made to give
in composite form the thoughts and
some OF the striking sentences contained
in the speeches:
In substance they said:
"We have come to America largely
with a desire to learn your ways OF liv-
ing. investigate industrial processes, and
endeayor to understand trades-union
policy as it has been developed and ap-
plied lin the United States.
previously we have been forced to
Judge the American trades-union move
ment at distance, we have not had the
privilege of coming into personal con-
tact with representatives OF the Amer
ican trades-union movement, and but
little of the American trades-unlon
literature had been translated into
French. Under these circumstances it
is probable that we have not always
formed the right conclusions relative tc
the American labor movement, and pos
sibly for the same reason American
trades-unionists may not thoroughly un-
derstand our own.
nFrom the scanty knowledge hltering
through to France, and from your off1c-
ial journals, we have learned that IN
America there were powerful organlza-
tions of workers and strong organlza-
tions of employers, many of whom not
being upon a friendly footing with the
other. We have seen reports of great
strikes in America and found that the
methods employed by employers IN these
strikes did not differ III substance and
purpose from those which were fire.
quently applied in France. We have
discovered, however, that organization
among your employers, just as In your
American industry, is upon larger
scale than in our native country.
"In the past the workers of the civil
lied countries have not been united in
ternationally in a sufficiently practical
and effective manner, and as one result
we find the workers today living IN the
different countries facing somewhat dit
ferent problems, or contending with the
same problem which presents itself IN
another aspect because of national con-
ditions, and in more than one instance
working under conditions which estab-
lish standards which are dangerous to
the workers of other countries"
After preliminary consideration OF
some of their American impressions,
they referred to conditions IN their ma
tive land In substance they said:
AS ErenChmen we DO NOT consider
that the war was French war, it was
something much more than that it was
a war carried on for the defense and
maintenance of certain fundamental
principles, and the United States came
into the war because its citizens believed
that worldwide principles were at stake.
Since the war it has been the policy
OF, the French trades lnion movement
to bring about reconciliation between
the workers of the different European
countries, for it is only through we'll
established reconciliation between the
forces of labor that future wars can he
prevented.
THE victory which was won when
the Armistice was signed did not solve
the industrial and social problems; these
remain to be solved, and their success
full solution depends upon the greatest
possible cooperation between trade
unionists throughout the world.
''In America you have wonderful in
dustrial developments, but there are still
problems upon your minds, for we are
. Informed that exploitation still con-
tinues in many of your industries. Your
final victory will not be won until the
exploitation of one human being by an
Cther has been prevented. There is this
much which you must always bear in
mind. and that is, that exploiters are in
common agreement as to methods and
purposes, regardless of political or geo.