Norwich bulletin., 1922-09-18
Humanity in Government
By James J. Dav,s, Secretary of Labor. THE WELFARE OF THE WAGE
 EARNER

EARNER.
 "The purpose of the department of la Dor will be to foster, promote and de- velop the welfare of the wage earners of the United States, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employ ment."
 With these words, congress in tho law which created the department of labor, in 1913, fixed the high aims which gov ern the activities of the branch of the government devoted to the service of the working folk of the nation. This act wrote into statute law practical rec ognition of the rights of the body of workers who make up the great major ity of our people. It accepted the prin- ciple that happy, contented, progrss- sive group of working men and Wcmen l was fundamentally necessary to the pro- gross of our country It demonstrated that popular government has finally and irrevocably committed itself to the doctrine for which the working men and women of the world have struggled through all the centuries since fl was l laid down by the Carpenter of Nazareth the doctrine that the laborer is wor- ] thy of his hire
 In the welfare of the wage-earner | lies the future of the republic, The basis of the best patriotism lies in the homes of the people, and the vast majority oi the people of America today are the l wage-earners. A contented, satisfied
 workman. happy in his work, earning a wage sufficient to insure comfort and ad- vancement to his family is a social. eco- homie and political asset to his coTnmu- | nity and to his country. In the direc-
 tion of making every wage-earner in | the United States this kind of a citizen | lies the work of the department of la bor. It is a task that calls for the full cooperation of every American It Is a movement for the betterment of the in dividual and the nation that callS for concerted effort by all of the people The government cannot accomplish 1t by legislative action. executive order or iu-
 dicial decree. The government repre- senting the people can only encourage The people must aid. It Is with the pur- pose of giving the people clearer un- derstanding Of the purposes and meth ods of the department of labor and oi enlisting the support of enlightened pub. lie opinion that these articles are writ. ten. If they serve to acquaint any con.
 siderable fraction of our people with the opportunities, and services that are
 offered to them through the department
 of labor they will have done their duty
 In its purpose to foster, promote ant
 develop the welfare of the nations wag,
 earners, the department of labor has rs
 authority to foster any special privilege:
 for the wage-earner. The safeguardine
 of the rights of labor, the bettern an Of working conditions the advancement nent these are the objects of the de
 partment. In the pursuit of these ob
 jects it covers wide field. Under tn, beneficient Jurisdiction come not alonl
 workingmen and workingwomen, but tn,
 children of workingmen and women an. the unfortunate little ones who by pres of economic circumstances have beer 1. forced into the stern path of labor be fore their time Its great care is hu
 manity-n1en, women and children.
 The present department of labor witl it's wide field of activity was the out , growth and development of an agitation that began shortly after the Civil war when recognition in the federal gov , ernrnent for the great group of wage , earners of the country was first sought , This agitation resulted in the creation ; of the bureau of labor in the depart ment of the interior in 1884 The lav creating this bureau was approved b. , President Arthur. This bureau was Ia
 ter enlarged and in 1888 was made al
 Independent establishment of the gov | i. | ly to the president Tn 1908, under tn administration of President Roosevelt the department of commerce and labo was created and the bureau of labor wa I transferred to the new department. !, continued and insistent demand that tn
 wage earner be accorded presentation ] | in the cabinet of the president resulte' q in the enactment of a law. approved b.
 President Taft March A. 1913, creatinl
 the department of labor and transfer v ring to it the bureau of labor, now tn < bureau of labor statistics, the children
 bureau. the bureaus of immigration an
 naturalization. The law also gave tn
 secretary of labor authority to concil ! fate Industrial disputes submitted { . him. During the war. the activities .
 the department were widely extended ,, and many wartime bureaus were adde ] to the organization With the depart e ment back on a peace basis, the woman
 bureau and the United States employ
 ment service have been developed q
 normal and necessary services, base S upon the skeleton organization left frof \ the war work. The United States Train t ing Service also Is continued to soru
 extent through the junior division of tn
 employment service. Only the bureau c
 industrial housing and transportation, ( : | the SlrlcIly war SerVlceS remains Tn eA istence to dispose of the many million 2 of dollars in property which 1t acquired E Today these make up the department ( 't labor.
 Each of these bureaus pursues d, U finite, clear cut line of service in tn > department purpose of fostering tt welfare of the wage-earner. The bt
 reau of immigration guards the gate
 Of the nation, and under the laws passe
 by congress protects the America s, workman from injurious competitio