Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1924-02-08
GROUND IS BROKEN
FOR INTERNATIONAL
LABOR BUILDING
CONTINUED from Page u


Grafton of Labor it would not be pos
sible for him to attend the ceremony,
and continued:
"Of course, I cannot tell you
in words the deep interest I feel
in the work and the future pos
sibilities o fthe International La
Dor office. The erection of a
building for service in further
ance of the purposes outlined in
the Preamble of the International
Labor Charter is pregnant with
momentous Importance. You
were right when you say that as
president of the international
commission which formulated the
Labor Charter in Paris, and Gre
ated the International Labor Of
flee, it would be appropriate for
me to be with you at the lay
ing of the cornerstone for the
building and it, therefore, causes
me additional regret that | can
not be with you on that auspiic-
ious occasion.
"Permit me to express the \
earnest hope for the perpetual
ton and success of the Interna-
tional Labor organization. Rest
ISSUED that anything that l can
contribute to attain that end will
be gladly and promptly per-
formed"
In concluding the speech of vel
come to those present at the cere-
mony, Albert Thomas, director of the
Labor office, said:
1.-THE Third Assembly, when the
construction of the new building was
decided upon, expressed the hope that
every member of the league would
contribute to the structure of this
building by gift of building mate
rails, of ornaments or works of art
the most characteristic
forms of national production. That
appeal has already met with eager
response; and Japan, Latvia, Italy
Denmark, the Netherlands, have al
ready sent US, or have decided to send
works representative of their nation
al art.
"But the strength of the Interna-
tional Labor organization is founded
not only on stone, wood, ad steel; il
is founded above all in the hearts Of
men.
"We are proud to think that i
was not during the first period of en-
thusiastic confidence which the new
born organization inpired that the ma
tons decided to erect this building
but after four years of experiment
toll and struggle, in the course Of
which the vitality of the ideal of its
creators has been amply demon
strated.
"In spite of the apprehensions and
fears that the bitter competitive
arouses in all nations = nay
even because of those fears = they
now realize that henceforth they must
bind themselves by conventions for
the protection of the workers. Never
again, in the admirable words OF
Jaures, LES nations qui marchent vers
Pavenir ne pourront s'isoler de rhu-
mantle (can those nations who are
in the van of progress remain iso-
lated from humanity?) However
great may be the burdens which they
have to bear, never again can those
who are responsible for controlling
and rganizing production afford to re-
main Indifferent to the health and the
strength of the worker or to his JOY
in his task"
owe are here today to lay tho
foundation stone of the House of En-.
to achieve justice
right and all the best of which
humanity is capable.
Dedicated to labor and to the
rights of labor the International La.
Dor office has a two-fold character
practical and symbolical.
practical in that it aims at estab-
fishing economic democracy; symbo.
lical in that it stands for the frater,
nal organization of labor.
Looking beyond the strife of daily
life, the working class, in its long
struggle for emancipation, has always
demanded that social problems be
judged and solved in the light Of
right.