Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1925-11-06
PRESIDENT GREEN EXPLAINS
PURPOSE OF ORGANIZED LABOR
"LAB0R'S REWARD" MOVIE

tSoHoiufc NetIafe.
This development in sustained, or
ganized effort and the accomplish
ments of the American Federation Of
Labor. since its formation in 1851.
are set forth in chronological order
in the moving picture. entitled la
bor'S Reward which will be shown in
all cities and towns of the nation un-
der the auspices of the American Fed
GRAFTON of Labor and the Union Label
Trades Department of the American
Federation. We have blended. in this
picture, historical facts with a human
interest story which will touch and
quicken human emotions and which
will appeal to the judgment and reaS-
onlng powers of all who see il. am
confident that while viewing this pic
tufe men and women will find their
feelings alternating between pity and
indignation for the wrongs perpetral-
ed upon these defenseleSS workers in
the great industrial group and high
est admiration for organized labor and
its accomplishments in bringing pro-
lection and help into the homes and
lives Of the unfortunates. The story
of the experiences of Mary and her
sister and their father is not a story
of an extraordinary or isolated family
experience. Every year there are
hundreds of thousands of such cases
| throughout America.
"rhe officers and members of the
American Federation of Labor most
earnestly hope that all associated with
labor, either directly or indirectly,
as well as the general public, may see
/. ~ e..
charge, throughout the villages, towna
and cities of America during the
coming winter.
Must Understand Labor.
"At this time it seems quite appro-
pirate to refer to the great cause of
organized labor and the necessity for
Organization among the working men
and women of America. First of all
we wish that the American people
might properly understand organized
labor, its purposes and its policies.
1t is only through a proper under
standing that one may arrive at a
just and righteous conclusion with
reference to the merits and woTthi-
ness of any cause or any organization.
Such a conclusion can be arrived at
only after prejudice and preconceived
opinions are laid aside.
Feeling alone should not influence
judgment in making appraisement OF
the worth and value of organized la
bor. Organized labor is great
humane movement. Ii combines with
in it all the elements of fraternal or
ganizations, business organizations,
religious and economic organizations.
Its membership is composed of men
and women who work for wages and
who render service for which compen-
sation is paid. Millions of members
of organized labor are linked and
held together by those ties of broth
erhood and fraternity. While the
great employing corporations repre-
sent the material phase of our indus
trial life the labor organizations
represent the human element of indus !
try. Naturally the officers of corpora
tions seek for profits out of the money |
invested in industrial enterprises, |
magnify these profits and endeavor to
constantly increase the earnings OF
their corporations. On the other hand
| labor organizations and their officers
see in the workers employed IN indus
| try men and women, human beings, |
yearning for and desiring the enjoy
ment of all the good things of life.
Workers Want Happy Homes.
''rhe workers seek for comfortable |
and happy homes. They seek whole
some food, proper clothing and the
Ownership of their own homes. They |
seek to promote cultural life through |
| the protection of children and through |
education and through the application
! of those refining processes which come |
! through education and understanding. |
! They seek to enhance spiritual values
and to promote spiritual welfare; not, |
perhaps, in a literal, religious sense, |
but in the development of the spiritual
side of the natures of men and women
SO that they will aspire to reallza-
ton of their purposes. The dreaming
of a better day and a better life, the
aspiring toward the enjoyment OF
higher and better things, the yearn-
| ing for the unseen and the unreallzed
and the elevation of life TO a hlgnef
and nobler standard are all develop
ments in the spiritual nature OF work |
ing people. -
"There may be those who charge /
organized labor with being material
istic and with seeking only the pro-
motion of material things. They are
entertaining a mistaken idea. To the |
contrary. organized labor emphasizes
the idealistic side Of life, using only |
| the materialistic for the purpose OF
advacing and promoting the cultural,
the spiritual and the reereationai /
phases of human life. Naturally
when workers are compelled 10 strike
for decent wages the public sees IN
such a strike only the matelalstlc.
The public arrives at the CONCLUSION
that organized labor seeks only higher
wages and that it is engaged IN uSln2
its economic power 10 force from eih-
ployers higher wages.
"On the other hand workers m
volved in such a strike are forced 70
suffer and to sacrifice. Because OF
the attempts Of the employers 10 force
them back to work through starvation
methods the workers are interested
in securing food sufficient to enable
them TO carry on until victory IS as
snred Here is where materialism
seems TO be emphasized and unless
the public is scrupulously dlscrimnat-
ing it may arrive at an erroneous
conclusion.
Higher Wages Are Necessary.
THE workers, through their labor
organizations. demand higher wages
reasonable hours Of work and tolera-
HE conditions of employment In9se