The Connecticut labor news., 1923-02-02

are the custodians, in some degree, of the principles which have made men 1 free and governments just"
 It IS not within the subject assigned
 to me to discuss any international
 problems, or even domestic questions
 except as they relate to that great
 mass of our people who are known as l laboring men and women. In this country, thank God, we have few
 idlers. It is not the conventional
 thing to be without ones daily task. | Most of us are born in circumstances which compel us to earn our daily I bread Few of us have attained hnan-
 cial independence. The prosperity of America depends upon the prosperity
 of the so-called working classes. The
 conditions of employment, both for
 men and women. and especially the latter, means much to future genera tions that will carry on after we have l departed. Labor organized and un l organized asks for no special pr1vll-
 ege, but does ask for equal rights and
 equal opportunities. Every step in the 1 progress of labor has been fought
 with a bitterness. Its evolution has
 never been the easy down hill course.
 and upward through all of the ages
 
 gained constantly and ever. Its ideals it must ever cherish and ever strive for There are many who advocate
 the establishment of a labor party.
 Many attempts have been made to or ganize such a political unit. These attempts in this country have not been successful and they will not be so long as either of the great parties
 may be construed as liberal, so long as either of the great parties express the desires, hopes and aspirations of the laboring men and women. So long as our democratic party con- tinues to be liberal and remains true
 to its fundamental beliefs, so long will labor party in this country be
 impossible Our interests are not an tagonistic to the hopes of any other group. We recognize that what is good for us is good for the farmer and equally good for the capitalist and for all citizens. If it were not
 so, we would be seeking ourselves special privilege to which we are not entitled.
 May I not quote a dissenting opin- ion of MT. Justice Brandeis of the Supreme Court of the United States, in which he said:-
 "In England workman struggling to improve his condition, even when acting singly, was confronted until 1873 with laws limiting the amount of wages he might demand. Until 1924 he was punishable as a criminal if he combined with his fellow workmen to raise wages Or shorten hours or to effect the business in any way, even if there was no resort to a strike. Until 1871 members of a union who s. +o leave work were liable criminally, al though the employees were not under contract and the persuasion was both peaceful and unattended by picketing. Until 1871 threatening a strike, what ever the cause, was a criminal act. l Not until 1875 was the right of work | CTS to combine in order to attain their | end conceded fully. In that year Parliament declared that workmen combining in furtherance of trade dispute should not be indicted for criminal conspiracy, unless the act, if done by one person, would be indict- able as a. crime, After that statute a combination of Workmen to affect the ordinary objects of strike was no longer a criminal offense, but picketing, though peaceful, in aid of a , strike remained illegal, and likewise the boycott. Not until 1oo6 was the i. ban on peaceful picketing and the bringing of pressure upon an em- ployer by means of secondary strike f act of inducing workers to break their contract of. employment (previously held an actionable wrong) was ex- pressly declared legal. In England in the condition of and their emancipation to have been deemed re- gently the paramount public need"
 These words of Justice Brandeis illustrate the strides that working men have made in an effort to i'm prove their conditions We have accomplished a great deal in this country, both nationally and state wise, Although nearly every bit of :. has been bitterly fought, progress has been made and that progress having been once attained, we have seldom taken backward step. I could illustrate by the recita- I might be pardoned for giving just the instance of the workmen's com pensation law. You will recall with what difficulties the various state were induced to pass the benehcient legislation, yet there is no state that after the experiment was tried that has repealed the law.
 There are millions of women in this country engaged in useful occupa- tions. We, whose life has been de- voted to the labor movement, know with what difficulty women are organ ized and with what great difficulty an endeavor is made tosimprove the con ditions under which they labor. The girl entering into the shop ordinarily looks upon her work but as brief, ] feeting transitory time of her exist !, ence, She looks forward, and thank God that she does, to that time when she will be married and be mother