Evening star., 1940-02-11

Says Roll Coll at Joint
Conference Will End
Long Controversy
Continued From Page A-l0.)
to learn? Is it not now apparent
that the politicians are not going to
get you a job unless you force the
politicians to get you q Job? You
know, after all, you young people,
labor and the common people are
only going to get that degree Of
consideration from the politicians
and from the public representatives
that you force them to give you, by
your organization, by your work, and
by your crystallized articulate voices
and by the fact you expect to fight
for your rights as Americans.
Ought to Call Conference
To Find Crux Of Problem.
You listened to the President to-
day. When you came away you did
not know where to get q job If you
needed one. He did not say that If
you waited one year there would
be a job for you. He did not say
that If you waited Ave years there
would be job for you, because ap-
parently he did not know. And if
he does not know he finds himself in
the same fix that you were on the
Finnish question. And If he does
not know he ought to do something
about 1t. He ought to call a con-
ference capable of finding out the
essence and the crux of the problem
and Of devising ways and means for
economic America to emerge from
the slough Of despond and the agony
which has convulsed the entire Ma
ton.
I do not know what the future of
the American Youth Congress may
be or what resolutions it may adopt.
I wish, however, to give you this
message, and I give it to you as
chairman OF Labor's National Nom
Partisan League, not identified with
either the Democratic or the Re-
publican party but standing always
for the rights and principles OF free
America. for the support OF its meri-
torious institutions, for the preserva-
ton Of the flag, and for the protec-
ton of the homeland, and for a Job
and civil liberties. And while other
people may be condemning you and
the Republican party saying it
doesn't want to associate with YOU
and the Democratic party through
its titular spokesman saying he
doubts that you know what you are
talking about, as chairman of La
bors Non-Partisan League I issue
an invitation to the American Youth
Congress to become affiliated or
come to a working arrangement
with Labor's Non-Partisan League
of America.
I want to say this to you also,
that If you ever decide to accept
that aff1liation or come to that work.
ing arrangement with the millions of
others in this country that you can
thus associate yourselves with, we
won't be sending any detectives
down to your meetings to scruti-
nlze your resolutions to see what
you are putting In them.
Time for Common Peopls
And Youth to Get Together.
1t Ii time for labor, 1t is tine for
the common people and it is time
Tor the youth of America. to get
together. There are problems ahead
and everybody can do his part, and
1T Is going to take united effort on
the part of those who are the chief
sufferers Of doing nothing in this
country. So we welcome you, when-
ever you are ready, but don't come
unless you are prepared to work and
unless you are prepared to fight in
this cause for greater opportunities
for yourselves.
Surely, I am widely criticized be-
cause some people say I am so Wig
orous in my statements at times and
quite agree that I think pretty
strongly on some of these PROPOSE
tions. They run to the question OF
life and death. and I am prepared
at any time to debate the rights
of labor, the rights of the youth of
America, the rights of the common
people OF America. with any cham
pion'in any forensic arena in Amer
lea, or all of them standing to-
gether.
One other subject that I want to
touch upon before I close. In the
newspapers of yesterday and today
1t seems that President Roosevelt
and President Green of the Alileri-
can Federation of Labor have agreed
that I am solely responsible for the
non-convening of the peace confer
ences between those two organiza-
tions. the American Federation of
Labor and the Congress of Indus
trial Organizations.
Well, that is a remarkable dis
covery, because I have been willing
to admit 1t all the time. I have not
wished to go into any more peace
conferences unless had some rea-
son to believe they would be fruit
full, and the last ones we were in
were unfruitful. I have been per-
fectly willing at any time if the
Secretary of Labor or Mr.. Green or
any one else would give me infor-
nation to the effect that the posi-
tion of the American Federation of
Labor would be any different If a
new conference were called.
Wrote President
Letter From California.
I do not quite understand how
the White House Press Bureau per-
mitted to 60 out the statement in
the newspapers today that I had
no answer to the Presidents COM
munication on the subject of last
October. AS a matter of fact,
wrote the President letter from
San Francisco, Calf, on october
Is, 1899, in answer to his letter Of
Orfof1ar & IT. cold.