Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1923-10-12

| Portland, OregOn-MuSlc, Oratory
and applause in western abundance
marked the opening of the forty-third
convention of the American Fedora
ton of Labor. Never was conven-
tion more auspiciously opened.
| While the great gathering rose to
it's feet in cheers and while the radio
apparatus carried his words out
through vast spaces, President Com
| pers laid down the paramount issues
| in his opening speeches.
The address dealt with:
Child labor, which must be abol
| ished.
2-The Reds-American labor must
go forward under the law.
3-The farmers, who were urged to
| organize, in order that through under
standing with labor there may be elm
ination of the exploitation of both.
The address in part follows:
"Modern history, modern industrl-
al development has brought in its
| wake not only the great civilizing in
fluences, but it has brought evils of
great moment and menace. There
| can be no greater menace to the pro-
| gress and civilization of our time than
| the sacrifice of young and innocent
children upon the altar Of Mammon.
| The conscience of the American peo-
| pie has been awakened, and cry has
gone forth from one end of America
to the other that the child life of our
country must be conserved at all haz-
ards.
End Child Labor
"To say to this universal demand
of our people that the constitution of
| the United States is impOtent for the
people to protect the children of our
time is begging the question. The
courts have decided that two laws
which the Congress of the United
States enacted upon the demand of
the people of our country for the pas
sage of laws to protect children and
minors from undue exploitation, are
null and void, that the people, through
| their chosen representatives, cannot
pass a low to protect the child life
of America.
MOthered by Necessity
"When the report of the Executive
| Council of the American Federation
of Labor shall be presented to you,
| you will observe recommendations
upon this subject which regard as the
vital question of the hour. This move
ment and, as we term it, the trade
union movement, and this, it's FEEDER
alton, is not born necessarily out of
an idea, it is born of necessity. 1t was
born in the beginning by hunger,
hunger for better food, hunger for
better shelter and for all that goes to
make up a fuller, a broader and a
| higher life-hunger to make this life
and world better for our being in. it
and contributing our share of our
work and our service in the solution
of the great problems yet before us.
immigration Is Responsible
eve are not always able to deter
mine who these shall be. The trade
union movement has not the choice
of the material with which it must
work. We have held, and hold that
if the hordes of men from the back
ward countries of Europe are brought
into the United States, with all OF
the COMMISSIONS and commissions upon
their heads, if they are good enough
to be brought to our America for
profit they are good enough for US to
|
long as they are wage earners and
organizable we will organize them
and try to make better men and better
citizens of them.
Unity With Farmers
"Your governor, both your COVER
nor and our friend, and his honor,
the mayor have spoken well and truth
fully upon the condition of the farm
ers of our country. | wonder when
the time shall come-and let us pray
that it may be soon-when the men on
the farm and the men in the factory
and workshop and mine shall come
together for the purpose of protect
| ing each other and all against their
common enemy, the common exploi-
ters? The difficulty with the farm
ers, the trouble with the farmers
was that they were led by gentlemen
farmers, by political farmers, by
trust farmers and magazine owner
farmers, and that what they wanted
and the goal to which | believed they
should strive was, as the American
trade union movement is made up of
wage earners, for wage earners and
by wage earners, they wanted
movement of dirt farmers, real far
mers who are working upon the soil.
"The antagonists, natural or ignor-
ant, have at all times and up to the
present time, fairly successfully kept
the agricultural and industrial work
ers from each other. They have
| pointed out a certain class of work
ers and comparison of their daily
wage with the income of farmers
upon certain products. No reference
was made to the fabulous profits
made by the stock jobber, by the ex-
changes, by the money lenders and
the Intermediary commissioners, and
on both sides. The profiteers on both
sides have taken more out of the pro-
ducts of each than are given in the
form of returns to the farmers and
wages to the workers.
Forward Within the Law
"We are now in a most fortunate
position. Our movement is growing.
The spirit Of our movement has