The Connecticut labor news., 1923-09-08


 every true American. This was his creed:
 'sThe workman's lowest wage must be enough for comfort, enough to make his house a home, enough to insure him that the struggle for ex- istence shall not crowd out the things worth existing for"
 Just as President Harding stood in the forefront Of the world seekers 0f a practical, workable method of se- curing peace among nations, he stood in the forefront of the workers for in duStT1al peace at home He realized that America, to lead the> work to lasting peace, must find the means for insuring industrial peace in America, must set the world an example of united, industrious, happy, and pros porous nation Throughout his career he sought to press home the lesson that the place for settling industrial disputes is around the council table where workers and employers sit down together on equal terms. He insisted that the time to settle indus trial disputes was before they reached the point of the employment of force His teachings have borne fruit for today we are nearer industrial peace lin America than have ever been be- fore No better proof of this can be found than in the work of the Division of Consolidation of the De- Ipartment of Labor for the last year. The services of the Department Commissioners of Consolidation have been called for in 534 cases during the year, involving strikes or threat ened strikes. Of these 428 disputes have been adjusted or settled. In ad- dition 87 disputes which were pending at the beginning of the year have Hence is demonstrating both to labor and management the fact that the best time to settle an industrial dis pute is before 1t has come to the point of an appeal to force. A suspension of production in any industry today means loss to both employer and worker, as well as to the public which the industry serves, and the prosper ity of the whole country which is ulti- mafely based upon continuous pro- duction I hope to live to see that Labor Day in the future when no American industry will allow any dis pute between worker and employer to reach the strike stage with its misery, sorrow and despair.
 Here in the United States too we have reached a new era for labor,- the era of the educated workman. We have always prided ourselves on our American thirst for education, but within the past few years,-since the great war-educated Americans have been turning more and more to the manual and mechanical trades.
 
 the fetich of the white collar job. The patriotic impulses of the war, to- gether with the increased wages caused by war demands for produc- tion, taught many of our young men that in the ranks of manual labor they could find healthy employment at re- wages. Most of these young men were of the so-called edu- cated classes, and they brought to the field of manual labor an educational standard which has beeh bearing re- suits, for the intelligent workman trained in his craft is the best work man, for himself, for his employer and for his community. That educa- and heart and hand IS the education which will elevate labor to its proper place in the human scale of things.
 BOtn emDlOy6I. dnQ HI America are steadily real1Zing the importance of cooperation, are more and more convinced that they are partners in production, and that in- tellingent working together offers the best results for both of them. As standards of intelligence among our workers improve they are reaching the point where they stand on more nearly equal basis with the employer in their negotiations and in their daily life Many causes are contributing to this better feeling between the work CTS who make industry possible and the men who manage industry. Labor in many crafts has already establishedl apprentice schools, where beginners hay be trained in the trades, and where at the same time, they may have their full share of academic in struction. Labor is coming to know that the worker who can visualize his completed task, the carpenter who can see in the future the great build ing for which he saws the board, is the worker who gets the most out of life in material and spiritual returns.
 President Hardings faith in the equality of worker and employer in industry, based on intelligent crafts and intelligent management was striking1y illustrated during the coal strike of 1922 when mixed