Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-10-29
b the Associated Press.

WILKES BARRE. Pa. October
2s.-The text of President Roose'
yelt's speech here today follows:
When I found that I was to
speak in Harrisburg today. and
realized that it is John Mitchell
day. I determined to come by way
of Wilkes-Barre. wanted to pay
my tribute to him.
In 1918 I was Assistant Secre-
tary of the Navy. was asked to
examine charges of collision in
coal bids for the Navy. needed
help from some one whose integrity
and knowledge could trust. re-
called then how impressed Theo-
dore Roosevelt had been with John
Mitchell's handling of the great
coal strike of 1902. I asked John
Mitchell to help me. In three days
he taught me great deal about
coal and mining. What he taught
me saved the United States Navy
MANY hundreds of thousands OF
dollars a year in its coal bill.
IL
and miners in every other coal field
in the United States, have fuller
picture of this man, who was one
of the most significant figures IN
American labor history. For years
he went about the unspectacular
but necessary job of clearing the
ground for the progress Of a
great labor movement He taught
a dispersed industry how to or
ganize. He taught both manage
ment and labor that the only
basis for stability is to be found
in contracts that can and will be
lived up to by both management
and labor.
Broke Tradition of Defeat
Among Mine Workers.
BY victory in the first great
battle of the mine workers. he
broke the tradition of defeat which
had always hung over the aspira-
lions of those he led. He con-
WINGED the public that the gains Of
labor we're the gains of all--that
the labor movement was some
thing to be welcomed rather than
feared. He made public opinion
a Judge to which labor could more
confidently appeal. His work was
necessary before other men could
do theirs.
We now build upon the work OF
John Mitchell. He pioneered in
his day for collective bargaining.
Today we have put upon the Fed
eral statute books the legal
mechanism to make collective bar
gaining a reality.
He pioneered in his day for the
education of the public. Today we
aim to make the public conscious
that the welfare of labor Is the
welfare of all.
Carrying forward his work and
that of others like him, We have
begun to build system of old-age
pensions and unemployment in
surance to substitute for uncer-
tainty a new security in the life
OF the wage Garner and his family.
Attempt to Coerce Labor in
Social Security Act Scored.
How far we have come is shown
by the patriotic resentment with
which labor and the public alike
are meeting the latest attempts OF
a handful of employers to mislead
and coerce labor with regard to
the social security act Here is
repetition of the arrogance and the
ruthlessness which the operators
utilized to try to break the solid
ranks Of labor when the miners
fought at Armageddon in 1902.
No employer has right to put
his political preferences in the pay
envelope. That is coercion even If
he tells the whole truth.
But this propaganda miSrepre-
sents by telling only half the truth.
Labor and fair-minded public
must place such tactics In class
with the coercion of the strong
arm squad and the whispering Of
the planted labor spy.
This pay envelope propaganda
has one clear objective-to sabo-
tage the social security act. To
sabotage that act is to sabotage
labor. For that act, as you know.
was worked out with labor and en-
acted with the active support Of
labor-all kinds of labor.
Cites Reasons" for Fight
On Social Security Act.
Why do these employers seek to
repeal the social security act? Be-
cause under the act they have to
pay for far more than half of the
insurance given to the workers.
Get these facts straight:
The act provides for two kinds
Of insurance for the worker.
For that insurance both the en-
ployer and the worker pay pre-
miums-just as you pay premiums
on any other insurance policy.
Those premiums are collected in
the form of the taxes you hear so
much about.
The first kind Of insurance COW
ers old age. Here the employer