Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1921-08-05
Labor Day
Celebt
Imperative
eRrsloENr eoMPEss
URGES THAT LABOR
DAY BE CELEBRATED
sy Samuel Gompers

p;tb the approach of Labor Day il
l. necessary that there be stock
ling and a making of plans for the
ssI,ire work of our labor movement.
American labor. on its day of eele-
A.stian and eommemoration this year
,,ss, give 10 the world a message of
bona of courage. of determination
nd of constructive thought.
Tho forces of destruction and OF
.asetien have made every possible on
s1anebt They have sought 10 ssdis.
-, N tear down. to despoil. % I'm
nr,son TO corrupt They haxesought
- iniure and destroy by &economie
,niyht hv the passage of lIartful laws,
hy the abuse of injunctiens, by the
,naniulation of wealth and by the
.nse of that portion of fhe public press
which eustomarily lends itself TO the
uses of the unprincipsed.
The trade union movement has
stood like a rock through the storm
No assault of reaction at any period
of history was ever more successfully
withstood No body of men and
women anywhere at any time ever
manifested a sterner spirit or stood
more unitedly than the American
trade union movement in the face of
the hostile attitude of aggressive and
ruthless organizations OF. employers.
hent upon breaking down the organi-
cations of the wage earners.
Our movement has now reached the
noint in the struggle where's ~ Is not
enough to stand firm in re4istnnces
We have resisted at every point until
,he drive of the labor-hating or<rtFl
tion has been brought to poH
where it is without initiative, with
out enthusiasm, without what may
be called driving power. This does
not mean that 1t is not still men,
ace. II Is a menace as long as ii ex-
lists. and 1t remains menace which
cannot be lost sight of for moment.
But IL has for the present been beaten
out of its initial momentum by the
tremendous effort of the trade union
movement
The time has come for Labor TO as
sumo the aggressive. We have held
the line. s0urs sitjohseafc tntaces-fe'
is the hour for a great forward move
ment. With a unity such as our
movement has never excelled. with
spirit of determination unequalled, let
us face the future prepared to take
advantage of every opportunity which
the future offers
The labor movement predicates the
success of every effort upon the right
eousness of its position and on the
strength of its organization. The
principles of our movement have been
tried and found true. The great need
Of the day is organization and more
organization--mor unity and solid
arity. The necessity of trade union.
ism-always a necessity and hope of
deliverance--must be carried to the
unorganized everywhere.
The organizers of the American
Federation of Labor, both those who
give their full time to the work and
those who serve as volunteers, the
officers of national and international
unions, of state federations city cen
tral bodies and local unions, have ever
been faithful and self-sacrificing, but
the movement calls upon them for
redoubled effort, for greater conse-
Grafton to the work and for more
energetic deliyerance of the message
of organized labor
In addition it should be considered
the sacred duty of every individual
member of the trade union movement,
every member of the great rank and
file. TO constitute himself an untiriag
organizer of men and women for the
great tasks that lie ahead.
Labor Day this year should be made
a red-letter day in the history of or
ganization work. Upon that day our
movement everywhere should so con
ften ~ ff Il fa.. 70 IG
and its practical purposes the atten
ton of all wage earners. The oh
seryance of labor's great holiday
should be so ordered in every com
munity as to drive home the mes
sage of trade unionism and to carry
10 all hearts and minds the thought
that the organized labor movement is
the great movement of workers for
human freedom and progress.
The trade union movement is dedi-
Gated to the proposition that auto
cratic control of industry must be de-
stroyed in order that there may be
luil development of human freedom
and in order that all men and women
may have voice in the determination
of their destiny.
This is purpose worthy of the
oest effort of great wage-earning
population. 1t is an ideal to fire
me souls of men 1t is the great
TASK of the labor movement.
ms task, this great constructive
ehort for human freedom, can be ac-
eonphshed only as the workers or
same. Democracy enters into mod
en- industry only through the organi-
zauon Of the workers. Autocratic
Ssohlfol with all of its brutality and
..aa!astiee, remain in full flower where
4gae Is no organization of labor.
Inc greatest contribution which the
members ,aers of our movement can make
-oady to the cause of human, prog
ss fess Is the unrestrained giving of ef-
'oft IN the work of organization.
v.k, 9et Labor Day as the day upon
flt Thlen our great effort is to begin. Set
e- e-soof Day as the day upon which We
Use holding the line and begin to
1--we 1--we forward in a great resistless
ssa 80 Upon that day let there be
0Ostratlons, let there be great