Evening star., 1939-11-15
International Labor
Office Anniversary
Marked by Banquet
Miss Perkins Sees Need
Of Strengthening Agency
To Prepare for Peace

The International Labor ONCE,
whose headquarters are in Geneva,
celebrated its Goth birthday ami
versary here last night with a ban
quet at the Mayfower, where six
speakers reflected the general con-
sciousness of the irony in the fact
that the ONCE .ounded in the wake
OF the World War now enters its
third decade during the new war
which the other was supposed to
make impossible. Without exception,
the speakers urged that the ofice
continue with even greater vigor its
work for the world wide improve
ment of labor standards.
with the declaration of war"
said Secretary of Labor Perkins, who
presided at the meeting, "the I. L. o.
virtually became the last interna-
tional convention body which could
continue working for common pur-
poses for which 1t was originally
organized.
"The need of preserving labor
standards under the impact of war
pressures, the need for machinery
for keeping track of the shifts from
peace to war production, real knowl-
edge of the nature and extent of the
industrial and labor problems that
will have to be met in demobiliza-
tion both of armies and of war in
dustries of all countries, belligerent
or neutral, upon the declaration of
peace are all within the orbit of the
I. L. o.
"Must Be Strengthened.
"The I. L. o. as a practical instru-
ment for dealing realistically with
one segment Of the common eco
nomic life must be strengthened and
sustained. 1t is still tie of knowl-
edge and action that binds people
of good will the world around. We
must prepare for peace now"
William Green, president of the
American Federation of Labor, re-
called that his predecessor, Samuel
Gompers, first advanced the idea of
the I. l.. o. as long ago as 1914,
even though it was not until 20
years later that the United States
Government decided to adhere to it,
He emphasized the wartime need of
doubled work from the Labor ONCE,
but he dealt in his speech chiefly
with the broad general question of
collective bargaining. He pleaded
for bargaining through contract as
opposed to labor-standard-fixing by
"the cumbersome and bureaucratic
processes of Government action"
John Winant Of New Hampshire,
the director of the I. L. o. re-
marked:
In this war crisis, the function of
the International Labor Organiza-
ton is to preserve and extend the
social frontiers of democracy"
Recalls Initial Conference.
The organization, he recalled, had
its first conference in Washington
from October 20 to November 20,
1919. Its membership then, as it is
now, consisted of representatives of
labor, industry and the government
from each OF the countries adhering
to the organization. Its extraordi-
nary influence over the course of
labor legislation throughout the
world is traceable to the fact that
its standards are the subject of
international conventions, which,
when adopted, are binding on the
nations accepting them.
"Sixty-seven conventions have now
been adopted, which have received
865 ratiflcations," Mr.. Winant said
in summary. The subjects dealt
with cover every sphere of social
legislation, such as the protection
of women and children, social insur-
ance, hours of labor, unemployment
and protection of workers from acci-
dents and industrial disease, and in
greater or less degree affect the
actual conditions of workers in all
branches of production-manufac-
turing, transport on land and sea,
mining, agriculture and commerce" !"
Senator Ebert Thomas. Democrat,
of Utah, said he saw the 1. l.. o.
bringing us ever nearer the attain
ment of social justice, although he
observed that it never can be OBJ
tanned really because the scope of
social justice is ever enlarging. DR..
Royal Meeker, former United States
Commissioner of Labor Statistics,
who attended the 1919 meeting, and
Henry I. Hartman, former president
of the United States Chamber Of
Commerce, also spoke.