Evening star., 1933-10-07
@HE text OF President Roosevelt's
address at the dedication Of the
Samuel Gompers Memorial
NHov.,,>,ork FNl1auc.

Monument follows:
It Is fitting that in the Capital
of the Nation q statue should stand
through the ages, to remind future gen
erations Of the services to that Nation
of q patriot who served his country
we'll It Is fitting that the Government:
through its representatives. should
take part in the dedication OF TINS
monument It is fitting that should
appear here in my official capacity;
but it Is also fitting that should be
here in my personal capacity. as one
who has always been proud OF the per-
sonal friendship which he held Tor
many years with Samuel Gompers.
I knew him first when as a very
Young man came to New York City
and received his fine support In the
establishment of pure milk stations Tor
the feeding Of undernourished baDles:
From then on, we had many mutual
tasks. 1t Is, think. commentary on
the progress toward social justice whlcn
we have accomp). shed in a short space
of time, when / tell you that In the
year lsl1-only % years ago-Samuel
Gompers, Robert F. Wagner, Alfred e.
Smith and I were labeled as radicals
when we fought for and finally sue
ceeded in passing bill through the
New York State Legislature limiting
the work of women In industry to "a
hours a week.
Points to Victories.
These early struggles for social bet
terment-struggles which In large part
were initiated by him-have met With
growing success with every passing
year. l like to think that Samuel
Gompers is today, and at this moment.
aware Of the fact that through the
quick and practical action OF the na-
tional recovery act, child labor In the
United States has at last come to
an end.
During the years Of the Wilson ad-
ministration, the friendship between
us grew and strengthened. need not
speak Of his great service to organized
labor in its relations with private EN-
ployers; but I can speak rightfully OF
the splendid cooperation which at all
times he gave to the sympathetic ad-
justment OF problems relating to work.
ers for the Government itself. He un-
derstood we'll the fact that those who
serve the Government serve the people
as q whole.
Recalls War Program.
It was in the fulhllment of this prin-
ciple that he approached the whole
subject of the relationship Of labor to
the Government at the outbreak OF the
World War. As a member of the Ad-
visory Committee of the Council Of Ma
tional Defense, he was part OF the
great organization which met the crisis
Of war. But more than that. 1t was
his patriotic leadership for the unani-
nous mobilization of the workers In
every part of the Union which supple
, mented the mobilization OF the men
| who went to the front.
The keen analysis Of President Will
son made this reference to Mr.. Com
pers. in November. 1917:
If I may be permitted to do so. j
want to express my admiration OF his
patriotic courage, his large vision and
| his statesmanlike sense of what has tc
| be done I like to lay my mind along.
side of a mind that knows how to pull
! in harness The horses that kick over
| the traces will have to be put IN q
| corral"
In those few words President Wilson
summed up the splendid national serv-
ices of Samuel Gompers, and at the
same time preached sermon that ap-
piled to capital and labor alike.
Praises Labor Of Today.
That sermon is just as good today as
it was in 1877. We are engaged in an
other war, and believe from the bottom
of my heart that organized labor is
doing its share to win this war. The
whole of the country has a common
enemy; industry, agriculture, capital
labor are all engaged in fighting 1t. Just
as in 1917, we are seeking to pull ir
| harness; Just as in 1917 horses that
kick over the traces will have to be put
in a corral
Mr.. Gompers understood and went
along with that thought during the
years Of the war. and We have many
| evidences of his acceptance of the fact
that the horses pulling in harness were
the horses Of the employees and OF the
employers as we'll. In those years
few, happily very few, horses had to
be lassoed-both kinds OF horses, anc
today the conditions are very similar.
! In the field of organized labor there
are problems just as there were in the
Spring of 1917-Questions Of jurisdiction
which have to be settled quickly ano
effectively in order to prevent the SLOW
ing-up Of the general program. There
are the perfectly natural proDlemS OF
selfish individuals who seek personal
gain by running counter to the calm
Judgment of sound leadership. There
are hot-heads who think that results
can be obtained by noise or violence
there are insidious voices seeking tc
! instill methods or PRINCIPLES which are
wholly foreign to the American form oi
democratic government.
Cites Resistance to Change.
On the part of employers, there art
some who shudder at anything new